Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Carley
When I woke up on Saturday morning, I was more tired than I ever remember being. My head hurt, and my body felt like I’d run a marathon.
It felt just like it did the morning I woke up in Nick’s bed.
I got my coffee and began to fix the report Mr. Anastos needed so badly, he had me working on a Saturday. It was a simple mathematical error that needed to be fixed, and the margins weren’t off. Not even by a millimeter.
I think he was just looking for something else to criticize me over. When I sent it back to him, almost immediately he responded with:
Carley—
I already fixed that one. It couldn’t wait any longer. Send me the hours report from the past two months.
—D.A.
No please. No thank you. Just one hundred percent pure asshole.
I got him the reports he needed and logged off before he could send me another task. I even went so far as to shut off the notifications for the email app on my phone. Luckily, he was quiet for the rest of the weekend anyhow.
Just as I’m settling into my work after getting back from lunch, I hear the elevator ding.
I pick my head up, and my eyes meet the sliding doors about seventy-five feet in front of my desk.
My heart drops into my stomach when I spot Ez, Nick’s best friend, walking toward my desk with Ronald from finance.
Is this for real?
Do he and Eliana live in the city? I’d assumed they lived in California, like Nick.
“Ez?” I practically squeak with shock and excitement. “What are you doing here?”
“Gianna?” I see his eyes lock onto the nameplate on my desk, and I panic.
My palms are covered in sweat instantly, and I can feel my body temperature rise at the same time as my blood pressure. My throat is suddenly very dry, and it’s hard to swallow.
“Um. It’s Carley, actually.” I wait for his response apprehensively.
“Huh.” Is all he gives me.
The questioning look on his face has me fighting to get my words out quickly, to try and explain to him why I lied before he has a chance to accuse me of being a horrible person.
“I’ll meet you in the boardroom whenever you’re ready,” Ronald looks suspiciously from Ez to me before walking away.
“I don’t usually give my real name out to random guys. At least, not until I get to know them better. I had a bad experience once and …”
I stop blabbering and take a deep breath. I’m about to speak again, but Ez beats me to it.
“I can understand that.” he smiles.
“I’ve been wishing I could take it back since the moment it happened. I should have given Nick my real name.”
“Well, sometimes things happen for a reason,” Ez explains.
“Wait.” Something just clicked in my head. “You’re Ezra Treuth? Of Martinique Enterprises?”
“The one and only,” he smiles, performing a slight bow.
“How crazy is that? How do you know Mr. Anastos?”
Ez puckers his lips and squints, as though he’s choosing his words carefully. A weird feeling creeps up my spine as I watch him. His reaction seems odd, but I know some of the business Mr. Anastos conducts is confidential.
“It’s okay if you can’t answer. I know some things can’t be discussed publicly.” I try letting him off the hook.
Ez sucks in a breath before answering, “Yeah, it’s … a bit of a confidential, financial, partnership.”
“Understood,” I nod.
“Well, I better get going—”
“Ez—”
I speak up at the same time as him.
“Oh, yeah. Definitely. I don’t want to be the reason you’re late. Mr. Anastos would not approve. Not that he approves of much of anything I do, but—oh god. Please don’t tell him I said that.”
“It’s fine. I won’t tell him.” He smiles at me as though he finds me entertaining. “So I take it the new job hasn’t been going smoothly?”
Carley, this is not the time for honesty.
But what if Ez takes pity on me and offers to pass along a message to Nick? Or even Mr. Anastos? He could tell Nick I miss him. Or he can let Mr. Anastos know I seem unhappy?
Oh my god, I’m pathetic.
Saylor was right, this is the real world. I can’t expect people to coddle me because I’m upset. But I’m planning on leaving anyway, so what could it hurt to tell Ez how I feel? Maybe it will get back to Mr. Anastos. At least, then he might be nicer to his next assistant.
“Honestly, Mr. Anastos is kind of a dick.”
Judging by the laugh that just escaped his nose, Ez wasn’t expecting that.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just …
sometimes he has very unrealistic expectations.
He’s snippy, he never tells me I’m doing a good job.
He refuses to speak to me on the phone, only through email.
It’s absurd. If he’s so unhappy with my performance, why doesn’t he just fire me, you know? ”
Ez is leaning against my desk now, his chin propped up on his fist, listening intently as if it’s one of the most fascinating conversations he’s ever been a part of.
He doesn’t, however, offer any advice. He probably feels like he can’t speak against Mr. Anastos because of their partnership.
He wouldn’t want anything he says to get back to him. I can understand that.
“Anyway, it doesn’t really matter. I have two interviews next week for a new position with different companies. Hopefully, I’ll be out of here by the end of the month.”
“Oh, really?” Ez seems surprised by this and slightly concerned.
It’s sweet he’s worried, but I’ll be fine.
Offering him a smile, I debate asking him to give Nick a message for me.
I shouldn’t. He’s already late as it is.
Also, I don’t want to seem clingy. My eyes meet his and he looks like he wants to tell me something as badly as I want to say something to him.
Is it about Nick? Has Nick been talking about me? Has he been trying to find me, too? I take a deep breath, deciding I would regret not saying something just as much as I regret leaving Nick the morning after our dinner without a word.
“Ez? Would you…” I pause. “Would it be possible for you to relay a message to Nick for me?”
“Of course,” he agrees, and the relief I feel is palpable.
“Can you tell him I’m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye?”
That’s not all you want to say, Carley.
If you’re going to do it, then do it.
“Also,” I continue, my heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest.
Grabbing a sticky note and a pen, I jot down my real name and my phone number.
“Tell him I’ve been able to think of little else, other than him, for the past month.
He’s consumed my thoughts and my dreams. I know he lives three thousand miles away from here, and a relationship between us would never work …
” I pause briefly as I begin to get choked up.
“But in the event he’s been going through the same agony I’ve been going through, and he’d like to reach out, tell him I would love to hear from him. ”
Ez studies me carefully, like he’s trying to determine whether I’m being sincere or not.
Biting my lip, my nerves kick in, thinking he isn’t going to take the small, square piece of paper I am holding out.
That he won’t deliver my message to Nick, and I’ve blown the only chance I have at contacting him.
He removes his fist from under his chin and tugs the pink square from my hand gently.
“I’d be glad to,” he smiles. “I think he would be happy to hear from you, too.”
My hand lands on my stomach as my breath leaves me in a relieved sigh.
“Thank you so much, Ez, really. It means everything to me.”
“You’re very welcome, Carley.”
With a final nod, Ez tucks my information into the inside pocket of his suit and walks around my desk and into the boardroom across from Mr. Anastos’s office.
I watch him with a smile, recalling how much fun it was, the four of us at the bar that last night in Greece. What I wouldn’t give to be back there right now.
Back in Nick’s bed, curled around his hard, chiseled body. To have him deep inside of me again. Not knowing how he felt when he woke to find me gone, I take a deep breath and pray he even wants to have anything to do with me anymore.
* * *
“Saylor, you’re never going to believe who I ran into today,” I squeal to the empty living room as I walk through the door of our apartment later that evening.
I cross the living room and turn the corner to find Saylor in the kitchen, cooking dinner ... And the blond boy from the bar on Friday night sitting at our kitchen island.
“Woah,” I stop dead in my tracks.
“Carley, you remember Ren, right?”
“Um, yeah. Hi.”
“Hey, it’s the ghost,” he laughs, tipping his beer bottle in greeting.
Saylor told me they ended up making out almost all night after I left the bar. He even followed them to the club afterward, but I did not see this coming. The only time she has guys over is usually between the hours of two and four in the morning.
“Sorry about that. I wasn’t feeling very well on Friday night.”
“Yeah, she was having big D problems, if you know what I mean.” She winks at him, and he laughs lightly.
I close my eyes in embarrassment at Saylor’s reference to Dimos Anastos. Or did she mean dick problems? Not that it matters, either one would have been correct.
“Don’t listen to her. My boss just … Well, he’s an asshole, and I’m looking for a new job. But anyway. Say, guess who came into the office today?”
“No idea.”
“Ez!”
“Who?” She scrunches her nose and furrows the skin between her brows.
“Nick’s friend. The one who was with him in Greece,” I remind her.
“Ohhhh! What was he doing there?”
“A business meeting. Side note, he’s a business associate of Mr. Anastos. How weird is that?”
“Super weird …” she cocks one eyebrow high. “Like … very, very weird.”
“I know, right? Small world. Anyway, we got to talking, and he’s going to pass a message, as well as my number, along to Nick for me!”
“OHEMGEE!”
Saylor and I jump up and down with excitement in the kitchen like we’re twelve all over again, completely forgetting Ren is here.
“Oh, okay. I see why you ghosted me. You have a boyfriend,” Ren jokes.
“Yeah, right,” Saylor jokes. “She wishes.”
“We … connected in Greece, and I was an idiot and left without getting his number or email or anything. The more time that goes by, the more I miss him.”
I don’t know why I’m explaining this to Ren as though he’s a friend. I don’t know this kid. I quickly turn my attention back to Saylor.
“God, I really hope he calls, texts … anything at this point.”
“Me too,” she winks at me.
“Well, dinner smells amazing. Let me go get changed, and I’ll be back out to help in a minute.”