Chapter 2
“When is this going to be over?” I whispered to Sadie.
“We have the guest speaker, then receive our diplomas. What’s your problem?” she hissed.
“I’m tired. We shouldn’t have gone out last night.”
For the past hour, we”d been seated, enduring the class speakers” presentations. Personally, I was eager for it to end. Last night”s indulgence in too many beers left me with a nagging headache behind my eyes. I regretted not taking an aspirin before leaving the dorm.
Shifting in my chair, I attempted to find a more comfortable position, crossing my legs to alleviate some discomfort. Sadie nudged me as I stifled a yawn, the grogginess setting in. I gazed down at the floor until Sadie”s soft curse caught my attention as they announced the guest speaker.
“Oh, my fucking God,” she muttered.
As my eyes lifted, they locked onto the captivating figure striding confidently towards the lectern, commanding the stage with an effortless grace. A soft gasp escaped my lips, caught in a trance by his magnetic presence. His allure was undeniable, a symphony of rugged charm and refinement.
In a heartbeat, my mind wandered to forbidden fantasies, imagining the sensation of his touch and the whispered promises that lingered in the air. His sandy brown hair, meticulously styled fade, beckoned my fingers to trace their path through its thick strands.
Clad in a charcoal suit that accentuated every sinew of his sculpted physique, he stood as a vision of masculine perfection. The fabric hugged his form, hinting at the power and strength concealed beneath its tailored lines. Around me, I sensed a collective awe, as if time itself had paused to admire Oliver Fox.
His words wove a spell as he began to speak, casting us all under hypnotic sway. His voice, smooth as honey, enveloped the room with each syllable, stirring a longing within me. My pulse quickened, my skin tingling with a feverish heat as I hung on to every intoxicating inflection. As his tongue darted out to moisten his inviting lips, I felt a surge of desire, a primal urge to surrender to the irresistible allure of this enigmatic man.
In the presence of Oliver Fox, my imagination danced with tantalizing possibilities, each moment a whispered invitation into a world I knew I might never enter. His reputation preceded him, a man of influence whose ventures spanned the breadth of the city, country, and beyond. His trajectory was impressive from a real estate tycoon to a diverse portfolio.
I hung on to his every syllable, drawn into a realm where the boundaries between aspiration and reality blurred. As the time arrived to claim our hard-earned diplomas, I found myself on the brink of encountering the elusive Mr. Fox himself, poised to hand us our tickets to the future.
With each step toward the stage, anticipation swirled within me, mingling with a fluttering of nerves. His proximity ignited a symphony of sensations, making each movement toward the platform an act of delicate balance.
As I drew closer, I couldn”t help but be captivated by the depths of his gaze, pools of blue reminiscent of precious sapphires. Even his lashes seemed to hold a secret allure, framing eyes that spoke volumes without uttering a word.
Oliver”s smile, a beacon of warmth and charm, welcomed me as I approached, a gesture that bridged the divide between admiration and reality. In that fleeting moment, as our hands met in a handshake, his hand soft and warm, gently closing over my cool and clammy one.
“Miss Stewart, congratulations.”
“Tha - thank you, Mr. Fox,” I stuttered.
“I wish you good luck.”
As Oliver Fox released my hand with a nod, I found myself drifting back to my seat in a haze, my mind swirling with lingering impressions of his presence. I was grappling with a sense of bewilderment as if I had just glimpsed a deity walking amongst mortals.
After graduation, refreshments were served, and we found ourselves surrounded by family and friends, sipping sparkling cider amidst a flurry of photographs. Among the familiar faces, Laura Layton and several other classmates joined our group.
”Congratulations,” Ty”s voice broke through the chatter, and I turned to find him behind me, dressed sharply in a black suit and white shirt. His discomfort with the formal attire was evident, a departure from his usual slacks and sports jacket. I embraced him, feeling the warmth of his affection as he pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek.
”Thank you,” I replied softly, meeting his gaze.
”You look wonderful,” he murmured.
I smirked. ”As do you. Going all out with the full suit?”
”Only the best for special occasions,” he quipped, releasing me and exchanging pleasantries with my family before slipping away into the crowd.
”He”s so in love with you,” Sadie whispered into my ear as Ty disappeared from view.
”Stop it. He”s just a good friend,” I protested, though a flicker of uncertainty danced in my mind.
”He wants to be more than friends,” Sadie insisted, her tone tinged with conviction.
“He does not,” I shot back.
But he did. Ty made it clear several times that he wanted to be more than friends, but I felt no chemistry with him.
“What are you two talking about,” my mother asked.
I quickly segued from our conversation about Ty. “How my lame brothers didn’t bother to come to my graduation.”
“Matthew was here to see you get your diploma, and Finley saw you via Facetime.”
I raised my eyebrows, “Really?” I almost squealed.
“Yes. Matthew had a client meeting so he couldn’t stay, and you know Finley is in California.”
I felt warmth in my chest that my brothers took the time to see me graduate. They were both wrapped up in their own careers, Finley especially since he was building his tech company.
“At least they took the time.”
“Make sure you call to thank them,” my mother said.
I raised my eyebrows. “For what?”
“You’ll see.”
I frowned and was about to question my mother until she turned to talk to Laura’s mother.
“What was that supposed to mean?” Sadie asked.
I shrugged. “I have no idea.”
After pictures and the reception, we went out to lunch with our parents. By the time we got back to our apartment, it was well after 3 p.m., and we were exhausted. All I wanted to do was plop down on my bed and take a nap. Our apartment was in a door-manned building with sunny exposure, and my parents insisted we lived in a good area.
I knew the rent would be tight with Sadie’s budget, but her parents agreed they would feel more comfortable if we lived there. The Fulbright family didn’t have much money, but they gave Sadie whatever they could to help her out. They wouldn’t have to if she would stop being so stubborn and let me pay a bigger portion of the rent.
We took the elevator to the fifteenth floor, and I waited for Sadie to open the door. She halted, stopping short, which caused me to bump into her and almost knock her down.
“What gives?” I asked.
“What the fuck!”
I looked over her shoulder and saw that our living room had been fully furnished with a large beige sectional, two dark wood end tables with white ceramic lamps, a matching coffee table, and a large multicolored area rug. On the wall hung a big flatscreen television, and below it was a console made of the same type of wood as the coffee and end tables.
“Holy shit, this must be what my mother meant. My brothers bought us living room furniture for a graduation gift.”
Sadie narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure you didn’t have something to do with this?”
I shook my head. “Absolutely not. I knew you wanted to help pay for the furniture.”
“I didn’t want to help pay for it; I wanted to pay half.”
“Well, we don’t need to worry about it. I wonder how they orchestrated this?”
Sadie wandered over to the coffee table and scooped up the thick white envelope that sat there. She slipped her finger under and pulled out the card. Inside were two five-hundred-dollar visa gift cards and a note from my brothers. The handwriting looked like Matthew’s.
Ryleigh and Sadie,
Congratulations on your graduation. Please accept this gift for your first new home; you both deserve it. We’re very proud of you. The gift cards are for art or whatever you need for your apartment. The world is waiting for you. Good luck.
Love,
Matthew and Finley
Sadie sniffled and wiped her eyes as she read the card.
“Are you crying?” I asked with a smile.
“It’s sweet. My brothers couldn’t even bother to come.”
“That’s because we only got four tickets apiece. It wouldn’t be fair to take two brothers and not the other. Your parents were there, and that’s all that counts.”
“I guess.”
“Did you really want your brothers there?”
She giggled, “Maybe for a second. They’re already fighting over who will get my room. I’m not even out of the house for two seconds yet.”
“Be glad you didn’t have to move back there.”
“I am. We should call your brothers.”
I agreed. I never would’ve expected my brothers to give us such an expensive gift. Matthew could more than afford it, but Finley was pouring his profits back into his business and needed every penny.
“I’ll send Finley a text. There’s no way of knowing where he is right now. He might be in a meeting.”
I typed out a heartfelt text to Finley and called Matthew as Sadie headed to her bedroom to change her clothes.
“There’s the graduate. How does it feel?” Matthew asked as soon as he picked up.
“Great. Thank you for coming to my graduation. I knew you were busy.”
“Cut the crap. You knew I would be there. Anything else you want to say?”
“Smug bastard. Thank you for the furniture and gift cards. You didn’t need to do that.”
“I think we did. We had this discussion.”
Matthew and I had lunch a few weeks ago and I told him Sadie wanted to wait for her first few paychecks before we got living room furniture. He knew how I felt about having a big, empty room with nowhere to sit but our bedrooms.
“I love you, Matthew.”
“I know you do. Remember that when I need a home-cooked meal or someone to watch Blackie.”
Blackie was Matthew’s French bulldog. I loved the little guy and had no qualms about babysitting if my brother had to go out of town. His apartment was on the Upper West Side, facing Central Park. Sadie and I stayed there several times, enjoying the terrace, rooftop deck, and building gym.
“I’ll take him right now if you want to give him up.”
He chuckled. “Hell, no. That’s my buddy. I have a meeting with my boss in six minutes. We should get together for lunch this week.”
“I’d like that. You’re buying?”
“As always.”
“Talk to you later.”
He ended the call, and I went to my bedroom to change into shorts and a t-shirt. When I was down to my lavender lace underwear, I looked in the mirror over my dresser. My body was lean and slightly muscular, thanks to hours in the gym.
I pushed my mahogany hair over my shoulders and leaned in to look at my bloodshot hazel eyes. My headache had faded some, probably because I drank a gallon of water at lunch.
“You have abs.”
I looked up to see Sadie leaning against the doorjamb. She had changed into tiny powder blue shorts and a matching tank top.
“Now I just need to keep it up. I have to figure out a schedule.”
“Workout in the morning or evening?” Sadie asked.
I flexed my stomach in the mirror, seeing how my abs popped. They were nowhere near bodybuilder status but still respectable.
“I’m not sure. Maybe morning. My gym is only a few blocks away, but winter will be hard.”
“So, you bundle up, and you’re good to go.”
I pulled on my shorts and t-shirt while Sadie plopped down on the new couch, stretching out.
She put her leg on top of the couch. “This is very comfortable.”
“I hope so. I bet it cost enough.”
I was willing to guess that Matthew picked out the design. He decorated his apartment on his own and had great taste. Without him, Finley’s place would have wood boards on concrete blocks like a poor college student.
“Your brothers were very generous.”
“Yes, they were. They just want us to be secure. What should we spend the gift cards on?”
I sat down next to her and grabbed the cards from the table.
“We need some linens and stuff for the kitchen.”
“We have time until we start our new jobs. I guess we could go tomorrow and pick up some stuff from Macy’s.”
“Sounds good to me. Right now, I just want to relax.”
“Want something to drink? We have champagne in the refrigerator.”
Sadie stared at me and burst out laughing. “How could you possibly want to drink after last night?”
I shrugged. “We graduated. One glass of champagne isn’t going to hurt.”
“You had two glasses at lunch.”
“My parents insisted.”
That’s not what happened. I thought a little hair of the dog would help the pounding headache that was still nagging by the time we got to lunch.
“They didn’t have to pay,” she protested.
“They wanted to. You need to stop thinking every time someone offers to pay for something, it’s because they feel sorry for you,” I huffed.
Sadie bolted up. “Why would you say something like that? You have no idea how it feels. I worked my ass off to get my scholarship to Columbia. No one handed me anything.”
I glared at her. “Does that mean that I did get handed something? I didn’t ask for my father to get murdered. I would gladly return my trust fund if I could have him back.”
I stalked off to my bedroom and slammed the door. I wanted to start off living in our new home on a good note, but this wasn’t it. I crawled onto my bed and buried my head in my pillow. A minute later, I heard my door open and the mattress dip with the weight of Sadie.
She put her hand on my arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
I turned over to look at her. “Neither did I. I don’t want to fight with you. We’re roommates and best friends.”
She smiled. “I know. I don’t know why I’m so sensitive about the money thing.”
I caught her gaze. “You’ve always been. It doesn’t mean anything.”
She looked away. I felt horrible that she had to struggle, but her father didn’t make as much money as Anders. Throughout college, I always tried to buy things for our room and pay for meals while being sensitive to her feelings.
“When you don’t have it, it does.”
“Let’s stop talking about this before we have another argument.”
“Deal. Let’s have some champagne and take it easy.”
She got off my bed, and I followed her to the living room. I was already in love with the couch. It was comfortable and I arranged myself on the chaise while Sadie opened the bottle of champagne. We toasted to our graduation and the good times ahead. We talked briefly until we both dozed off, waking up when the sun started sinking in the sky.
“Do you want to share a pizza with me?” I asked.
“Sounds good. Can we get mushrooms on it?”
I wrinkled my nose since mushrooms weren’t my favorite, but I compromised.
“Only half.”
“I’ll call it into Lou’s down the street. They deliver. I’m paying,” she said.
I frowned but let it go. After security, rent, and filling the refrigerator with food, I knew Sadie had little left of her contingency fund.
“Fine with me.”
“Do you want to get a Caesar salad with it?”
“Nope, just the pizza. I’ll go back to eating better tomorrow.”
Sadie chuckled. “You mean after you eat leftover pizza for breakfast?”
I laughed. “Yeah, after that.”
“Dammit, Ryleigh, wake up.”
Sadie shook me out of another horrible nightmare. I was disoriented and sat up, squinting at the light from the hallway.
I exhaled loudly. “Fuck. I’m sorry.”
“I guess I should’ve expected it.”
It was stress. So many changes in such a short time. I should’ve expected it. When I was in sixth grade, our class went to some nature preserve for the weekend, and I woke up screaming. It was the change. I never went on a school trip again.
“I don’t know how to stop,” I said apologetically.
“You’re like having a baby.”
I bit my lip. “Was I screaming at the top of my lungs this time?”
“No. You were calling for your father. I waited to see if you would stop, but you got louder.”
“I’m sorry,” I said again.
She squeezed my shoulder. “Stop apologizing. I’m used to it. I understand.”
“But you shouldn’t have to deal with my nightmares. Maybe I should’ve moved home.”
“Bullshit. This will pass like it always does. Another week or two, and you’ll be fine.”
She rose from my bed, and I looked at her retreating figure.
“Sadie, can you sleep with me?”
“Boy, that must have been a bad one.”
At the beginning of freshman year, after Sadie discovered my nightmares and I told her the story of my father, she pushed her bed next to mine. Within a couple of weeks, the nightmares passed, and I was fine. Now, I needed her comfort again.
“Yeah. If it’ll stop you from giving me a heart attack, I’ll do it.”
I smiled weakly and flipped the covers back on my bed so she could slip in on the other side.
Sadie and I spent the next few days getting our apartment into shape. We spent the gift cards on art for the walls, kitchen, and bathroom items. We roamed the neighborhood to familiarize ourselves with the s and shops. Luckily, our apartment had a washer-dryer combo, so we didn’t need to use the laundromat around the corner.
The night before we started work, I had no appetite, even though we got my favorite sweet and sour chicken from the Chinese place on the corner. I picked at the food with my chopsticks.
“What’s the matter?” Sadie asked as she spooned up some pork fried rice onto her plate.
“I’m nervous.”
“Just picture them in their underwear.”
“How would that help? You’ve been watching too many Brady Bunch reruns.”
“It’ll help calm you.”
“No, it won’t. I just need to get over first-day jitters.”
“Soon enough.” Sadie put her fork down and looked at me. “Does this mean I’m in for another nightmare tonight?”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “I hope not.”
After the second day of living in our new apartment, my nightmares had abated. I slept soundly through the night ever since.
“Me either. I don’t want to be exhausted for my first day.”
“You could always sleep in my room,” I said.
“Do you want me to?”
I shrugged. “Would you? I hate to inconvenience you.”
“It’s not an inconvenience. Your bed is comfortable. If it will stop you from having nightmares, I’ll do it.”
“Good, then it’s settled.”
I felt better and dipped a piece of my chicken into the tangy sauce it came with. We spent the rest of the night watching television and munching on popcorn we made with our new air popper.
I managed to avoid any nightmares with Sadie sleeping beside me, at least the kind that woke me with a scream. I had a small one that jarred me from sleep shortly before the alarm on my phone went off at 6 am.
This one had taken me to the point where I almost saw the murderer’s face. It was so frustrating, not that it mattered. The trail for my father’s killer had long gone cold. I doubted Ty would find any clues. Sadie popped out of bed as soon as the alarm sounded.
“Do you mind if I shower first?”
I yawned. “Go ahead. I’ll make a pot of coffee.”
“Thanks.”
She grabbed her robe and padded out of my bedroom. A minute later, I heard the shower running in the hall bath. I pushed the covers off and went to the kitchen, hitting the button on the coffee maker to brew. I made sure to set it up the night before. By the time Sadie emerged from the steamy bathroom, the aroma of coffee filled the air.
I took my time in the shower, conditioning my hair twice and shaving my legs. I don’t know why I bothered since I barely had stubble. I found Sadie sitting on the couch, drinking coffee from one of the large yellow polka-dot ceramic mugs we recently bought. She looked very professional in her black skirt, white blouse and black heels.
“You took a long time in there.”
“I shaved.”
“Oh. Get a move on. I want to leave for the subway by 7:15.”
We both needed to be in the office by 8:30, but the ride on the train was only about fifteen minutes. I think Sadie wanted to familiarize herself with her surroundings before she went up to her office. She was on the tenth and I was on the fourteenth floor of the twenty-three floor building.
I hustled myself into the bedroom, pulling on a pair of light blue lace boy shorts and a matching bra. I decided not to fuss with my hair and put it in a tight ponytail before I put on the sapphire-colored dress I’d selected the night before. The clock was nearing 7 a.m., and I did a fast makeup job with mascara, a little blush, and lip gloss.
“What do you think?” I asked Sadie as I came out of my room.
“I like it. That dress looks good on you.”
“Which shoes?”
“My nude heels. I think they would look fine.”
“I agree. Get them on, and let’s get out of here.”
I went to get my purse, sliding on my shoes before leaving the bedroom. We were in the elevator when I groaned.
“What?” Sadie said.
“I forgot my travel mug. I didn’t even drink any coffee. Did you remember to shut off the maker?”
Fuck. I was useless without coffee. I hoped I could get some before I went upstairs.
“Yes, as soon as I got a cup.”
“Maybe I can get a cup from the small deli next to the office.”
“Don’t. You know how it makes you more nervous.”
“I feel groggy.”
She smirked as we exited our building. “That’s surprising with the length of time you were in the shower.”
“I need the power of caffeine.”
“I’m surprised your adrenaline isn’t spurring you on. You didn’t have any nightmares last night; that’s good.”
I didn’t bother to tell Sadie I had one. I would keep that information to myself.
“Yeah, I was good.”
We hurried to the subway station several blocks away. It was a lovely late May morning with clear skies and a slightly warm breeze. I couldn’t wait for the summer. I loved the heat and wearing as little clothing as possible. When we arrived, the train platform was crowded, and I knew we would be standing for the ride to midtown. It didn’t bother me.