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Cat’s elegant brows lifted. “Well now. Alondra does not do many men the ‘courtesy’ of choosing them as her own. I get now why she’s taking his interest in you so unbelievably personally. She deigned to choose him; she did him that great honor. He, however, did not acknowledge the extent of her graciousness. He slighted and rejected her instead, as if he had the right; as if he stupidly felt he could do better.”
Sighing, I dipped my chin. “She’s always been in competition with me on some level purely because I’m female, but as she feels that she’s more successful and more beautiful etc., etc., she sleeps happily at night, content in her belief that she’s the fairest of them all. That Trace would show interest in me when he could have belonged to her … it will be making her question her belief that she’s ‘winning’ our competition. It will be threatening her fragile self-perception.”
Izzy gave a slow shake of the head. “God, I loathe narcissists. They’re bloody exhausting.”
Inaya sidled up to me. “It’ll make Alondra even more furious that he ignored her warnings to stay away from you. She’s going to come at you hard at some point. But don’t let her bullshit spoil what’s growing between you and the guys.”
I let out a tired sigh. “I don’t know that anything is growing between us. As I said before, I refuse to get my hopes up. Now, how’s your grams doing?”
Inaya’s mouth curved. “Changing the subject, are we?”
“Yes. Go with it.”
“Fine. But first, I want to know something.” She leaned into me. “Did any anal stuff go on this weekend?”
I slid Adrian a quick glance, knowing he had to have heard that, considering he was standing fairly close to her. To his credit, he kept his expression utterly composed. I shot Inaya an exasperated look. “I’m not even crediting that question with a response.”
“Thatwasa response,” she said.
“Whatever.” I turned to Izzy. “Have you decided whether or not you’ll move in with Cole?”
The brunette shot me an amused look, knowing I was aiming to redirect the spotlight onto her. “No, not yet,” she replied, apparently deciding to take pity on me, bless her soul.
Inaya frowned. “Hasn’t he pushed you on it?”
Absently sliding hangers along a nearby rack, making them click-clack as they clashed into each other, Izzy shook her head. “Nope. He sees no need, because he’s still positive that I’ll agree.”
I gave her a patient smile. “You will. You know you will. You just feel like you shouldn’t yet.”
Cat nodded. “Look, me and Danton moved quickly once we were officially together. But I’m glad that we did. What’s the point in umming and ahing over stuff when life’s too short?”
Izzy shrugged. “I’m wary of rocking the boat.”
“I get that,” said Cat. “But a rocking boat doesn’t necessarily flip over.” She turned to me. “Now go try on that dress and make sure it fits you okay. Next, we find shoes to match.”
The dress did fit. And we did in fact find shoes that matched it perfectly. I wore the outfit when I ventured to the Vault later that day, and it was a hit with the boys. They both took me hard and rough. They both made me come like a goddamn freight train. They both stroked and whispered to me afterwards.
But they didn’t do what my girls had predicted: they didn’t suggest an arrangement.
Chapter Eight
Ending my video call with the production team of my current project three weeks later, I placed my phone down on the mattress beside me. Glad my workday was officially over, I did a long, languid stretch. Hey, I loved my job. I really did. To the extent that I often worked more hours than I should. Still, I liked to wind down and relax as much as anyone else. Or, in the case of this evening, get ready to head out.
With regards to the project, a lot of progress had been made on all sides. Most notably for me and Zhen, the director had approved of the costume sketches that we forwarded, only suggesting minor additions. Also, my wonderful apprentice and I had finished one of said costumes—which the production team had just confirmed they loved—and we were midway through another.
Since my plans for tonight didn’t involve lazily lounging around, I slipped off the bed, gathered my papers and pens together, and then made my way to my home office. Inside, I made a beeline for my desk, where I stuck my pens in the pots atop the surface and then returned my papers to their designated drawer.
I took a moment to briefly skim my fingers over the work in progress that currently adorned a mannequin, carefully not to knock any of the pins, before leaving the office.
I went straight to the kitchen and switched on my coffee machine. I had a full two hours before I needed to leave the apartment, but I decided I might as well start getting ready now. I’d already showered earlier, so it would just be a matter of freshening up and getting out of my sweats. First, though, I needed more caffeine to give me a pick-me-up.
As I sipped at my drink, I returned to my bedroom. After placing my cup on the nightstand, I headed straight to my closet. There, I carefully slipped a cute floral blouse off a hanger and rested it over my arm before then snatching a soft pair of light-blue jeans from a shelf. I wouldn’t need to get dolled up, since my plans didn’t involve going to the Vault.
Between sips of coffee, I dabbed on some makeup, pulled on my clothes, and used my straighteners to smooth out the few kinks in my hair. I’d earlier allowed my pink mop to air dry, so it hadn’t looked its best.
Finally done, I then transferred my bits and bobs from my black leather purse to the creamy white one I’d retrieved from my closet that matched my outfit. Now I just needed to slip on some—
My intercom buzzed.
