Chapter 9
Zara
Dear Sandra,
I wish we never drank alcohol.
Ever.
But you know this.
Miss you,
Zara
”What an asshole,”I mumble under my breath as I rush out of the bed and look around for my clothes, almost tripping over myself. ”Of course, he has to be an asshole. Why can”t there be one decent, regular, good-looking guy in New York City?” I say to myself.
I locate my panties and bra, put them on quickly, and then grab the rest of my clothes. I grab my handbag and search for my phone so that I can call an Uber, and that”s when I realize it’s not there.
”Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I say, looking around. ”Where is my phone?” And that”s when I see it on the side table. I think for a couple of seconds. I don”t remember putting it there, but perhaps I did.
I grab it and notice a room phone beside it, and an idea pops into my head. ”I”ll show you breakfast, asshole,” I say as I pick up the phone and press zero.
”Front desk, how may I help you?”
”Hi. I know it”s early, but I was wondering if I could put in a room service order for breakfast,” I say sweetly.
”Of course, ma”am. I”ll put you right through to the kitchen.”
”Thank you,” I say and wait as she patches me through.
”Room service,” a young man says. ”How can I help you?”
”Hi. I was wondering if I could place an order for breakfast. I want to surprise my,” I lick my lips, ”new fiancé with something special.”
”Of course, ma”am. What would you like?”
”How”s about two orders of eggs Benedict, please.”
”And would you like fruit with that? Or potatoes?”
”Oh, fruit and potatoes, please. And mimosas.”
”Yes, ma”am. Two mimosas?”
”What about four mimosas? We really like to celebrate. And how”s about some pancakes with blueberries and also some waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.” I giggle. ”We do love the whipped cream.”
”Yes, ma”am. Anything else?”
”I don”t suppose you have salmon and caviar for breakfast, do you?”
”Uh, I”m not sure. I could check with the chef.”
”Yeah, if you could, that would be amazing.”
”Sure. And will this be charged to the room?”
”Oh, of course. My new fiancé wouldn”t think about it being any other way.”
”Okay. And what time would you like this?”
”Let”s say six a.m.,” I say.
”Sure.”
”Thank you.”
”You”re welcome. Have a good evening or morning. Well, you know,” he says, coughing.
”I know. Thank you.” I hang up quickly. I smile to myself. ”That”s going to cost him a fortune.” And even though I know money means nothing to Zeus, it”s still going to irk him to have all that food arrive in the morning and have to pay for it.
I am still in shock that he actually suggested that I would go to a store and make him breakfast like I owed him something. Yeah, the sex was amazing. And yeah, he had done things to me with his tongue that I didn”t think were possible, but he’s a jerk. Why is it that I had to meet a grade-A jerk for my first one-night stand? I see that Lila has sent me several text messages, and I wonder if she”s up. I call her number and hope that she”s not sleeping.
”Hey,” she says, yawning. ”You okay?”
”What are you doing up?” I ask her.
”I couldn”t sleep,” she says. ”I”ve been waiting to see what the reviews will say.”
”What? What do you mean what the reviews will say? You”re not going to see them at four o”clock in the morning, Lila.”
”I know, but I”m so nervous. It”s going to make or break the entire production.”
”I know. I”m sure it”s going to be amazing,” I lie. If there”s one thing I”m sure about, that is not it.
”So, where are you?”
”I”m at The Plaza.”
”Wow. That good-looking guy took you to The Plaza?”
”Yeah, but I”m leaving.”
”Oh, no. What happened? Did you not have sex with him?”
”Yeah, I had sex with him,” I say, giggling, ”and it was amazing. But he”s just another New York douchebag.”
”Oh? What happened?”
”Hold on, let me just grab my stuff and I”m leaving.” I head toward the door. I wonder if I should tell Zeus I”m on my way out, but I decide not to. I never want to see him again. I hurry out of the door and toward the elevator.
”Oh my gosh. Lila, you are not going to believe what happened.”
”What happened?”
”To be honest, I don”t even know. I was sleeping, and I woke up, and he was staring down at me, and he started questioning me like he was with the freaking FBI or something.”
”Ooh. Do you think he”s a covert spy?”
”No. No, I don”t think he”s a covert spy,” I say. ”He”s just a jerk. Like Christian Bale in that one movie.”
”What? American Psycho?” she says.
”Maybe. No, he wasn”t a psycho like that, but he was rude. And I don”t know who he thought I was, but he started questioning me like…” I sigh. ”Anyway, I don”t even want to talk about it anymore. I don”t even want to think about him.”
”Oh, I”m sorry that the night was so bad.”
”It wasn”t bad, bad. I mean, I”m not going to lie; he was the best sex I”ve ever had in my life.”
”But what?” she asks.
”But I don”t know that I”d do it again.”
”Oh, why not?”
”Because he seemed like he had a couple of screws loose. And no offense to people who do have a couple of screws loose, but I don”t like dealing with that.”
”I know. Are you coming back home?”
”Yeah, I”m on the way back. Is Elise there?”
”No,” she says. ”Did you really expect her to be?”
”No, I didn”t.”
”But the kids will be back later this morning, and I guess we”ll be looking after them,” she says. ”Or rather, I”ll be looking after them, seeing as you have to go to work.”
”I got tomorrow off,” I say quickly.
”You did?” She sounds surprised.
”Yeah. I told them it was your big night and we would probably go out, and I wanted to enjoy it and not go to work with a hangover,” I say, lying.
”Oh my gosh. Zara, you”re amazing. You don”t know how thankful I am that you have given me this opportunity to pursue my acting. I never would”ve been able to do this if you weren”t?—”
”Lila, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn”t have graduated from college. The fact that you gave me money that your grandma left you in her will, I will never forget that.”
”Well, I gave you money because you wouldn”t have been able to pay your tuition or buy your books and…”
”I know I was going to have to drop out, but you don”t know how much that means to me.”
”I do. And you don”t know how much this means to me. You know I really want to make it as an actress, and this is the first play I”ve ever been a part of that I feel proud of.”
I sigh as I exit the elevator and walk across the lobby so that I can leave the hotel.
”What is it, Zara?” she asks softly.
”Nothing,” I say because I can”t tell her that I don”t think that this opportunity is going to be the one that makes it for her. I don”t want to be the one to burst that bubble for her. I don”t want to be the voice of reason or the face of truth. I just want to be her best friend and support her. And it”s not like I am a theater critic. Maybe the critics will love it. Maybe they”ll think it”s the next Cats or Phantom of the Opera. I don”t know.
”You want me to make some eggs for you when you get home?”
”That sounds great,” I say, nodding at the doorman as he points toward the taxis.
”I”m gonna catch a cab, and I”ll be home within fifteen minutes, I think.”
”Awesome. And I can”t wait to hear all about your night and the hot sex that you had. I”m so jealous.”
”Trust me, there”s nothing to be jealous of. And it seems like you were having a good night yourself.”
She groans. ”Oh, no. My night sucked. I thought it was going to be something good, but…” She sighs. ”Anyway, I don”t want to talk about me. I want to hear all about you.”
”Well, you kind of know that my night sucked too.”
”But you said the sex was good.”
”Yeah, the sex was good. But he was a jackass.”
”Yeah, well, you”re never going to see him again, right? Or did you leave him your number? Is he going to take you on a date? Oh my gosh. Are you going to meet him at the top of the Empire State Building and hold up a sign and…”
”Lila, you need to stop with the movie references. That is never going to happen. This is not Sleepless in Seattle.” As if. More like Arrogant Dickhead in New York.
”I know, but how cool would it be if it was?” She’s giddy, and I wonder if she got any sleep at all. “I could play you in the movie.”
“Dream on, Lila. That’s never going to happen.”
NEVER!