Chapter 34
"Gianna is no longer at Siren House, Bishop."
I held the phone to my ear, frozen in place. "What?"
Madam sighed softly. "She's gone. Stopped by yesterday and told me she won't be back."
My stomach dropped. "Did she say why?" I asked carefully.
Madam paused for a few seconds. "No," she said simply.
So…she didn’t say shit to Madam. Just left.
Fuck.
I scared her off. I didn't mean to do that. I just wanted to see her. And now she was just…gone.
Nah…it couldn’t just end like that.
"Bishop?" Madam said.
I cleared my throat. "Yeah?"
"This is for the best. You are a valued client at Siren House. I would like to keep you as a member as long as moving forward you understand the core principles."
"No attachments. No entanglements," I replied gruffly.
"Thank you." She paused before continuing. "Now, if you're interested, Monroe has some availability this weekend."
I paused in thought. Before Gianna, I would've said yes without hesitation. Monroe was beautiful. Skilled. Knew exactly how to cater to a man’s ego without making it obvious.
But now—all I could think about was Gianna.
The way she looked at me in that restaurant with fear and disappointment.
The way she said it was over with that finality in her tone. That shit hurt my heart.
Madam must’ve sensed my hesitation because she spoke again softer this time. “Bishop…”
I dragged my hand down my face tiredly. “Book it.” The words tasted hollow coming out.
“Very well,” Madam replied smoothly. “Saturday evening? 8 p.m.”
“Yeah.”
Another pause. “Take care of yourself,” she said before ending the call.
The line disconnected. I just sat there in silence staring ahead at nothing.
Gianna was really gone.
Not unavailable.
Not booked.
Gone.
My chest tightened hard enough to piss me off. I stood abruptly from my desk and paced toward the windows, gripping my phone tighter in my hand while my thoughts spiraled.
What the fuck was I supposed to do now?
Go back home pretending everything was normal?
Lay next to Eva while thinking about another woman?
Sit through meetings while hearing Gianna’s voice playing in the back of my mind?
I couldn’t even focus on money anymore and that was how I knew this shit had gone too far because money always mattered. Always.
My phone buzzed suddenly in my hand. Eva. I stared at the screen for a long moment before answering. “Yeah.”
“You forgot the twins have dance rehearsal tonight?” she asked sounding irritated.
Fuck.
I closed my eyes briefly. “I’m on my way.”
“You said that an hour ago, Bishop.”
“I said I’m on my way,” I responded harsher than I intended.
The irritation in her voice faded slightly. “Are you alright?”
“No.” The honesty slipped out before I could stop it. Silence hit the line.
“What’s going on with you lately?” she asked quietly. "I thought we were doing good."
I looked back out the windows again, jaw tight. Everything. Everything was going on
and it all traced back to one woman. "I'm sorry…" my tone softened. "I'll be there. I'm leaving now."
"Alright," she mumbled before hanging up.
I was losing it. I could feel it. Gianna had fucked my whole world up and I could only blame myself. Scooping my keys off the desk I hurried out doing my best to put that fucking temptress out of my head.