Chapter 14
14
“O livia!”
I jolted up in bed, confused. Liz seized me by the shoulders and shook me. “What’s going on?”
“Fantastic. You’re awake.” She released me and peered down at me curiously. “Have you been taking peyote or something?”
“ What ?” Grumpily, I added, “Why did you wake me up?”
“You were yelling all sorts of craziness about vampires. You weren’t making any sense, but you sounded freaked. I figured I’d do you a solid and wake you up before you clawed your face off.”
“I was?” I rubbed my eyes. “What time is it?”
“Almost five,” she said with a smirk I didn’t care for.
“ In the evening ?” I screeched.
“If anyone around here is a vampire, Olivia, it’s you.” Liz picked up my phone and handed it to me. “Here, it’s been ringing nonstop. I can’t believe it didn’t wake you up. I could hear it clear in the next room. It’s been driving me mental.”
“I guess I was tired,” I said, frowning at the phone. Eight missed calls from two different numbers I didn’t recognize, though they both had the 415 San Francisco area code. Ever the optimistic, I hoped one of the numbers belonged to Robert
“I’ll leave you to it. I’m running late for date night with David.”
“Where are you guys going?”
“The movies. I’m dragging him to see that new rom-com about the attorney who falls for the criminal she’s representing. I’m sure he’ll wind up being innocent in the end.” She snorted. “And then they’ll fall in love, live happily ever after, blah-blah-blah.”
“David’s going to love that.”
“I told him I’d throw him a blowjob after. I said I’d even swallow, which,” she added with an arched brow, “kind of turns me on, anyway. But he doesn’t need to know that.”
“Oh my God,” I snickered. “Way too much information, Liz.”
“You know me. I consider it a bad day when I don’t gross somebody out.” She pecked me on the cheek. “See you later!”
I checked my messages, seeing that I had a text and several voicemails. The text was from Michael, asking me to call him back after sundown on a number that was different than the one I had for Dignitary. It occurred to me that they might have reconsidered not firing me, but it seemed the sort of news Marlena would want to deliver. Still, I was uneasy.
I listened to voicemail next, nearly dropping the phone when I heard: Hi, Olivia. It’s me, Nick. Long time, no hear, huh? So, um, I was wondering how you’ve been. Give me a call, okay?
I had to listen to the message three times before I could believe my ears. Even still, I was questioning if I might be hallucinating. Our breakup had been ugly, and we’d left things on even uglier terms. The last words I’d spoken to Nick via a voicemail—my only option, since he’d refused to face me like a man after I caught him cheating—had been along the lines of, “If I never see you again, it will still be too soon, you pathetic coward.”
I saved the message so I could play it back later for Liz, who, like me, would only believe it if she could hear it for herself. Then, I listened to the next. It’s Nick again. Listen, I saw you in the newspaper and it made me think of you. Call me.
Did the entire world see that damn article?
Seething, I listened to the next message. Olivia, it’s me again. I didn’t want to do this over the phone, but I’m missing you like crazy, okay? When I saw you with that . . . guy, it made me realize what a huge mistake I made. Please call me. I need to hear your voice.
Then, the next: I’m losing my shit over here, baby. I miss you so much. Please, please, call me back. I need to know you’re okay.
Seriously? He needs to know I’m okay—now he cares? I gaped at the phone, incredulous, then erased all the remaining messages. I’d heard enough.
Blood boiling, I lobbed the phone down on the bed. “Oh, he’s losing his shit?” I snarled at the empty room. How dare he complain to me about his mental anguish after everything he put me through! And could the asshole be any more transparent? He’d wanted nothing to do with me months ago, but after seeing me out with a hot, handsome, successful billionaire, suddenly he felt I was worthy of attention? Was that what it took, having another man validate me?
I recollected all the times I’d called Nick and cried pitifully, begging him to meet in person to explain himself. Like a scared little boy, he’d hidden, refusing to give me even five measly minutes of his time. He’d denied me the closure I’d needed to move on with my life.
And what had he done instead? He’d creeped into our apartment while I was back in Florida attending Tilly’s funeral and moved his things out. He didn’t even leave a note. I’d come home, devastated over losing not only my grandmother but my boyfriend as well, believing I’d been robbed. It wasn’t until I saw my diploma missing—a packing detail he’d later claimed was an oversight, though I had my doubts because he’d always been resentful of my aspirations that didn’t directly involve him—that I understood what had happened. Thankfully, we’d been on a month-to-month lease, or else I really would have been screwed. Not that he would have cared.
Nick had the uncanny talent for twisting every situation so that he was made out to be the victim. To think that he’d blamed me for his infidelity, saying that I’d left him feeling lonely, that I’d abandoned him to selfishly work on myself. “Well, fuck him,” I fumed.
This time, Nick would not get the best of me. It would be snowing in hell before I returned his call. Let him be the one left in the dark for once.
I was so riled that I felt as if I had a live wire running up my back instead of a spine. What I needed was to escape the suffocating confines of my sleep-smelling bedroom and get some fresh air. I peeked out the window and made a quick assessment. The sun had already started to fade, but I still had time for a quick run.
I skulked over to the closet and found my sneakers, then pulled socks, shorts, a sports bra, and a tank from my dresser. I threw it all on and smoothed my hair back into a tight ponytail, sticking my tongue out at my reflection in the mirror. Look out world, the bitch is coming.
I began to search for my headphones, but then reconsidered, not wanting Nick to destroy my good running vibes by calling. Again. Better to leave my phone behind altogether, since I needed some quiet time, anyway.
Apparently, the universe had other plans. Just as I’d plugged my phone into the wall charger, it bleeped with a text from Michael, who was asking if I’d gotten the message from him earlier. I was surprised he was up, with the sun still being out. Did vampires get insomnia?
I tapped out a quick message:
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the message. I received your text earlier, but I didn’t want to call you back and wake you! I’m outside jogging right now. Would it be okay if I called you once I got home, so I could hear you better? I’m just on the trail behind my apartment, so I won’t be too long.
I felt a little bad for lying—technically, I hadn’t left for my run yet—but I was amped to get outside before the sun set. Plus, if I was going to be fired later, why not cling to happiness over being employed while I still was?
I hit send and held my breath as I saw three bubbles pop up as he typed out a reply. Please, please, don’t fire me, Michael. I wondered what was so urgent that he’d contacted me twice.
I let out a relieved breath as I read his message: Of course. Take your time, dear! I’m in the office doing paperwork, so I’ll be here all night. Don’t forget to call me back at the number I gave you!
Well, that didn’t sound too bad, did it? Very unlike someone who was planning on ending a certain someone’s employment. Maybe I’d been booked for another outing, and I’d been panicking over nothing. Robert wasn’t the only vampire in existence; Dignitary had dozens of other clients in need of a decoy.
Robert. I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart aching over the probability that I may never get to spend quality time with that stunning man again. I’d tried convincing myself earlier that I may still get to see him outside of Dignitary, but thanks to Nick, I’d become too much of a realist when it came to romance. Jaded, even.
It was ludicrous to think that a blood-drinking vampire billionaire with a severe sun allergy might bump into me somewhere like the grocery store or park. Embarrassing as it was, I’d even toyed with the idea of showing up at his home unannounced, despite it being desperate and crazy. And what could I say when he opened the door, anyway, that I happened to be in his neighborhood of gazillion-dollar mansions because I had a friend who lived on a cliff nearby? And what if he was already entertaining another woman when I showed? I’d probably die on the spot of humiliation.
I frowned when three bubbles popped up again on Michael’s end. P.S. If you happen to talk to Marlena, it’s best you don’t mention this conversation. Have a good run. x
Well, that was weird. I considered briefly that Michael was trying to do something shady unbeknownst to Marlena, like pressure me to have sex with him to keep my job. I shook my head at the ridiculousness of it. Michael, so kindly in his mannerisms, seemed far from the type—though I supposed the worst predators always did. Still, I didn’t know if he even liked women on a sexual level. Or men for that matter. Maybe he was asexual, not that it was my business either way. I shrugged. Guess I’d get to the bottom of things when I called back.
On the off chance that Liz might come home, I powered my phone down, so that she wouldn’t see any questionable messages on the screen. She didn’t make a habit of touching my phone, but considering either of us could be executed if she learned about the existence of vampires, I figured I couldn’t be too safe. I threaded my house key onto my shoelace, grabbed my trusty can of pepper spray, and sprinted out the door.