Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Adalyn
I stood in the middle of the bedroom in shock. I couldn’t believe he would rather stay in another room when he could have damn well stayed in mine. What the fuck is wrong with that man?
“Are you okay?” he asked as he slipped into his clothes.
“I’m fine. Why?”
“You looked like you were lost in your thoughts.”
“I was just thinking about the fixtures for the kitchen.” I waved my hand in front of my face. “And I really need you to schedule some time to come with me and pick out lighting for the house.”
“Fine. How about Saturday? I’ll skip the office, and we can go together and get it over with. I can give you one day only. That’s all I have time for. I trust you, Adalyn. Far more than I did the others.”
A knock on the door interrupted our little moment. Harrison walked over, opened it, and took his room key.
“Thanks for tonight.” He smiled, still holding the door open.
“You’re welcome.” I gave him a simple nod.
I was all fired up, fired up because he felt the need to get his own room. Fired up that I felt like nothing but a piece of meat for his enjoyment and fired up that I let myself get involved. I went into the bathroom and started the water for a bath. After pouring in a capful of vanilla & lavender bubble bath, I walked over to the bar, grabbed the bottle of white wine from the rack, and drank half of it as I lay in the bubble-filled tub.
I carefully climbed out of the tub so as not to slip and injure my foot even more. After drying off and slipping into my robe, I put my walking boot back on, lay across the bed with my phone in my hand, and Facetimed Carly.
“Hey. Daniel and I were just talking about you.” Carly smiled. “What’s wrong, Adalyn?”
“I had sex with Harrison again. It’s storming terribly here, and the power to his building went out. So instead of staying in my room with me, he got his own room for the night.”
“What the fuck? Ugh, Ad, I’m sorry. You don’t deserve this.”
“Don’t be. I HATE men! No offense, Daniel.”
“None taken.” He smiled as he stood behind Carly.
“I don’t blame you,” Carly spoke. “The breakup with Stephen is still an open wound, and you need to heal from that on your own, not in the arms of another man. Especially one who’s just out to use you for his own pleasure. Forget about Harrison Grant, and for the love of God, stop sleeping with him!”
“I am. The only thing I’m focusing on now is my job. Harrison can go find himself another woman to use and burn.”
I ended the call and fell asleep.
The next morning, as I was getting dressed, my phone dinged with a text message from Harrison.
“Good morning. How about some breakfast before we start our day?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
I set my phone down and didn’t reply. Fuck him. After brushing my hair and putting on my jacket, I grabbed my purse and took the elevator down to the lobby. When the elevator opened, I stepped out. As I was headed toward the lobby door, I heard a voice from behind. Shit.
“Excuse me.”
I stopped and turned around to see Harrison standing with his arms folded.
“Hey. What’s up?”
“What’s up? You didn’t reply to my text message.”
“Yes. I did. I told you no.”
“And I asked you ‘why not’, and you didn’t reply.”
“Oh, sorry. I was busy. Anyway, I have to run. Hope your power comes back on.” I gave him a fake smile as I dashed out of the hotel.
“Adalyn!” I heard him shout.
I climbed into the limo, took a deep breath, and told Roberto to step on it. When I arrived at the townhouse, the cabinet salesman was already waiting for me, and the contractors had just come.
“I’m sorry I’m late. Traffic is awful.”
“No problem, Miss Banks.”
He measured the kitchen first, and we went over the designs for all eight bathrooms, the laundry room, and the service kitchen.
“How long for the kitchen cabinets to come in?” I asked. “I need them here ASAP.”
“I’ll place the order today. I can put a rush on them, but there’s a ten percent rush fee.”
“That’s fine.” I smiled. “And by rush, you mean?—”
“I can have them delivered by next Monday.”
“Perfect. Put a rush on the entire order. What about the quartz countertops?”
“Those are no problem at all. I can have those ready at the same time.”
“You are amazing.” I smiled as I walked him to the door. “Mr. Grant is a very impatient man. He’ll be happy to hear how accommodating you are. I foresee his family and friends wanting to remodel their kitchens and bathrooms when he tells them about you. Cha Ching.” I grinned.
Just as the cabinet guy walked out, the flooring guy walked in.
“Hey, Adalyn.”
“Hey, Jimmy. Come on in.”
He brought all his wood and tile samples, and we went through every inch of the house. I picked exactly what I knew would be a perfect fit.
“Adalyn!” I heard Athena’s voice from the foyer.
“Good morning.” I smiled as I hugged her. “What are you doing here?”
“Just checking on things.” She smirked.
“Things or someone.” I grinned.
“Maybe someone as well. Wow. It is so good to see that hideous red carpet gone. The place looks better already. I love the color you picked for the foyer. What’s it called?”
“Thank you. It’s Dove Gray. It was between this color and another shade of gray. I’m happy I chose this one.”
“It’s lovely. Is Pete here?”
“Yes.” I smiled. “He’s in the service kitchen. “I was just about to head over there to check on things. Would you like to join me?”
“I would love to. You can tell me what your plans are for the decorating.”