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Just then, a tall, handsome, white man in a navy, tailored suit, walked by. The man, who had close-cropped hair and evening stubble, looked like he was in his early to mid-thirties.
As soon as the man heard Chess’s name, he halted and he turned to look at her. “You’re Chelsea?”
“Yes.” Chess met his eyes. “And you are?”
“Ah.” The man strode forward to shake her hand. “Ren Masterson, Global Sales EVP-” He paused for a breath then said, “And Tazeem’s friend.”
His knowing look as he mentioned being Tazeem’s friend immediately clued her in that he hadn’t just stopped by out of curiosity.
“Ms. Winters,” the receptionist interrupted the conversation. “Peter will be here in a few minutes. If you could just-”
“Just a minute, Maria.” Ren stopped the receptionist. To Chess, he asked, “Is it okay if we talk for a second?”
Chess nodded. “Sure.”
“Maria, tell Peter to hold on for a couple of minutes.” Turning back to Chess, he smiled. “This way please.”
The two headed to Ren’s office. Once they were inside, Ren didn’t waste any time. “Are you looking for Tazeem?”
Chess waffled over whether to answer that question for some time. Her experiences at Synovent had taught her that not every coworker was to be trusted. This man who claimed to be Tazeem’s friend might actually be his rival who was looking for dirt so he could get one over Tazeem. Still, her ‘asshole’ radar was pretty accurate and this guy wasn’t pinging it.
So, she decided to go with her instincts. “Yes, I’m looking for him.”
“You should go see him at his place.” Ren frowned. “He’s not looking good.”
Chess’s heart jerked in alarm. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I think what happened between you two really got to him.” Ren sighed. “I’ve been trying to get him out of his funk but it’s not working. Maybe you’ll do better.”
Chess’s eyes widened in surprise. “He told you what happened between us?”
Ren answered simply. “I’m his friend.”
She didn’t have to beg for Tazeem’s address. Ren handed it over without a fuss, and even told her of the shortcut she could take to get there faster. Minutes later, she was on her way to Tazeem’s house.
She’d thought that she might have trouble getting through security at his building, but surprisingly, when they let Tazeem know that she wanted to see him, he gave the go-ahead to let her in.
There was no one in the elevator with her, which was great because there was no one to witness just how nervous she was. She could still remember just how much hate Tazeem had looked at her with when they’d last seen each other. Would he be just as angry today or more? The higher up the elevator climbed, the faster her breathing became, and the more fretfully she rubbed her hands.
By the time the elevator stopped, she was a bundle of nerves. Surprisingly, her legs didn’t buckle beneath her as she walked down the hallway that led to his condo. When she got to Tazeem’s door, she dragged in a deep breath to calm herself before pressing the buzzer. It took less than a minute for him to get to the door, but that time felt like an eternity. By the time the door swung open, her palms were sweaty and her heart was sprinting like an Olympian.
But as soon as she saw Tazeem, that nervousness was swept away by shock.
She let out a startled gush of breath. “Tazeem?”
The man standing on that doorstep looked nothing like the Tazeem she knew. Her Tazeem was charming, cool, and always put together. This man was just a haggard copy of the man she knew.
Even though he knew she was coming up, he hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt. He was just wearing blue sweatpants. Normally, that would’ve been sexy as hell given that he had the body of a Greek god, but the rest of the package left a lot to be desired.
His eyes were bloodshot like he hadn’t slept for some time. His face was scruffy as if he hadn’t shaved for a couple of days. And though she was standing a few feet from him, she could smell the alcohol wafting from him in waves.
The man looked like he’d been through it.
Chess’s breath caught in her throat even as pain squeezed her lungs. She’d done this to him.
She stepped into the apartment and closer to him. The bag she was carrying fell to the ground as her arms coiled around his neck.
She’d done this to him. She’d broken Tazeem.
