Chapter 4
FOUR
Go Back Where You Came From
After going back and forth with Bruno in the meeting, we all went to our neutral corners for rest and recovery. I felt like a fighter between rounds, waiting for the bell to return to the center of the ring.
Inside my office, Eliana stared at me, confused.
"What?" I yelled, tired of her eyes.
"Damn, you two must have a lot of history."
That was an understatement. "It's a long story."
"What are the chances he's the one Greenslate assigned to supervise your launch?"
She didn't really need an answer, so I stood and began to pace. "It's just my luck. What should be one of the happiest times of my life is soured by Bruno Gasol."
Eliana glanced at the office phone. "If you can't handle it…maybe we call and request a replacement."
My eyes flew open. I was trying to build a reputation in the business world, a space that wasn't fair to women to begin with, and now I was supposed to let word get out I couldn't work with a man because we once fucked? Bruno strutted in like he could be professional, so damnit, I could too.
"Eliana, if he can do it, so can I. Shit, I'm not the one who should be uncomfortable."
Her voice softened. "Mind if I ask what happened between you and Mr. Gasol?"
I patted her shoulder. "After Amoré Nights is launched and the blizzard named Bruno leaves our orbit, I'll gladly share. But for now, I have to rush home. I'm having dinner with the girls."
Eliana's eyes widened. "Oh, it's tonight."
"Yes. The weekly Aston Lane College bitches meeting is tonight, and it's my time to host."
As I headed toward the door, my secretary chuckled. "Why you four would call yourselves bitches I will never understand."
"We heard it so much, we just decided to embrace it."
A short while later, I entered my luxury New York condo.
As the door shut behind me, I removed my shoes and took a deep breath, happy to be home.
Today was one for the record books. I walked farther into the condo.
The windows and marble floor sparkled, which told me Linda, my cleaner, had been here today.
It lifted my mood to walk into a clean space.
I inhaled and recognized a delicious smell.
Dominic, my personal chef, was clearly already at work.
Following the rosemary and garlic, I approached the open-concept kitchen and spotted him moving with his usual grace.
After a friendly chat, I walked toward the living room, passing my comfy gray sofa that faced the fireplace.
One touch on the remote lit the flames and gave the room a bit of ambiance.
Everything looked beautiful. From where I stood, the dining table was set with expensive silverware, white orchids, and glowing candles.
When you paid good money, you got a great team.
After a quick glance at my watch, I rushed to rinse the day from my body and hair.
The girls would be here soon, and this was the only part of the day I was certain would go well.
Forty-five minutes later, I exited the bedroom.
After the embarrassing mistake earlier, I stopped in the hallway in front of a mirror to make sure my clothes weren't inside out.
All those years spent learning to dress myself, and today I forget the skill.
I tugged at the sleeve of a newly purchased cashmere sweater, wondering if the soft blue was the right color for my olive-toned skin.
Since it was too late to second-guess the choice, I pushed the thought aside and pulled my thick damp curls into a bun.
As usual, I kept my jewelry simple because I had no desire to be like my madre.
Only my watch and diamond studs that caught the light when I moved.
Downstairs, I heard the door shut. Dominic must have finished and let himself out. At least one man in my life knew how to make himself useful.
Minutes later the doorbell rang, and I walked with my wine glass in hand. Using my free hand, I opened the door. "What's up, bitches?"
Mei walked in first. This Chinese beauty, with her sharp cheekbones and almond eyes, snatched my glass and lifted it to her mouth. "Thanks."
My mouth fell open. She had no idea what kind of day I'd had but went straight for the one thing holding me together.
Mei patted my shoulder in a playful way and stepped past me.
As always, my full-time medical student and part-time model friend walked with easy confidence while taking the wine glass farther from me.
"Really? You're doing door service but didn't bring me one?"
Turning my head from one to the other, I complained, "That bitch stole my drink."
Olivia greeted me with a wide, warm smile that turned into a soft chuckle as she stepped past me, her long legs and blonde hair bouncing behind her.
She slipped out of heels I had never spotted in a store and wore a dress I fully intended to get the details on before the night ended.
As she made her way further into my home, Mei offered her glass.
That figured. Olivia was an heiress too, but unlike me, not many told her no.
"I'll get my own," she said as I joined them.
Next to me, Olivia filled a wine glass so high I wondered why she even bothered moving it from the bottle.
Mei seemed to read my mind. "You might as well have just lifted the bottle to your head."
We laughed, like we were back in the college dorms, not professional women with corporate jobs and mortgages.
"Getting drunk is one thing. I'm still going to do it with class," Olivia said.
"Says the woman who vomited in the taxi last week," I said.
We shared another laugh, then the doorbell rang. I hurried to answer it. "Oh, good, Demetria is here. We can finally get this started. You guys wouldn't believe the day I had."
"Let me guess, fucked a man over breakfast, another for lunch, and one probably lined up for after we leave," Mei mocked.
Damn, they really knew me well.
Opening the door, I smiled. "You're late."
"The law firm had a meeting. Sorry."
We embraced, and in a matter of seconds, Demetria, who I was the closest to of all the girls, picked up on something. "Are you OK?"
After she'd removed her shoes and headed toward Mei, who held a glass of wine out to her, I shared, "Bruno is back."
All three of them just stared at me, frozen. Olivia had her mouth slightly open like she forgot to close it, Mei blinked hard as if trying to process what she'd just heard, and Demetria tilted her head, eyebrows raised high, clearly questioning if I'd spoken correctly.
"Let's eat," I said, walking past them all toward the table.
"Fuck food. Where did you see that piece of shit?" Olivia asked.
Only when I reached the table and lowered my glass did I answer. "At Amoré Nights."
"What? Why was he there?" Mei asked.
It made no sense to stand talking while the food got cold, so I pulled my seat out, sat, and everyone followed. Demetria sat beside me, her long curly black hair falling over one shoulder, and she swallowed her wine like a marathon runner on the finish line.
"Spill it."
As ordered, I told my friends about the day I'd had.
"Here, take your wine back," Mei said, even though I'd already poured another glass.
Olivia stabbed her fork into her salad as she spoke. "Of all the damn employees at Greenslate, it just had to be him."
"That's exactly what I said," I answered and felt Demetria's eyes on me.
Mei chewed, and soon after swallowing, she spoke. "Men suck, we know that, but none more than Bruno. Why didn't he ask to be reassigned? Why come to your company and disturb your peace?"
"Maybe he still wants you back," Demetria said, and we all stared at her. She might be my closest friend, but we hardly saw eye to eye on men.
"Are you fucking serious?" Olivia spat.
"What? I still believe in love, even if it's trendy not to," Demetria said.
I sighed.
Mei shook her head. "How? Why?"
"The rest of us have been burned too many times, and smarter now, survivors of lying sacks of shit," I said.
Olivia, who had quit our men are only good for one thing club after getting engaged to Luke Forrester, the only man actually worth shit in this world, kept noticeably quiet.
However, Mei and I had active membership cards, but not Demetria, who was still in search of a special man.
"I just do," Demetria said flatly.
She cried the same as us, maybe even worse, but naively thought there was another decent man out there—all she had to do was keep searching.
"He had her. Remember, the cheating bastard wasn't satisfied."
Thankfully, Olivia spoke. I didn't have the energy. Demetria had encouraged me to forgive Bruno all along.
"Nope, we aren't doing this. Let's go back to the earlier rule," Mei suggested.
"We don't talk about Bruno," Olivia sang.
I chuckled but looked at Demetria, who studied me intently. "Once Amoré Nights is launched, Bruno will be out of my life. Period."
"Are you sure deep down that's what you really want?" Demetria pushed.
Squinting, I just stared. She'd known me long enough not to need an answer.
"Wait, you really think Alex would take him back?" Olivia asked, with a concerned look.
Demetria spoke quickly. "I support her in whatever she chooses. I just don't want her to feel she can't take him back if that's what…"
"If any of you see me back with Bruno, please take me to the nearest treatment facility and have me committed. I'd have to be out of my fucking mind."
Laughter erupted between us the second I finished speaking, the kind that made Olivia clutch her sides and Mei wipe tears from her eyes. I leaned back with a smirk, proud of myself. I wouldn't let an ex-boyfriend throw me off balance.
As always, a night with the ladies was perfect. When it ended, I was all smiles and in a great mood. An hour later, the doorbell rang again. I lowered my wine glass and walked barefoot over to the door.
I flung it open, my breath uneven. My huge breasts were displayed nicely by the hallway light, both nipples were already hard, my pussy was wet, and the pooling between my thighs grew as Dominic's gaze roamed without shame, stopping on the curve of my hips.
My personal chef looked hungry, and I wasn't about to send him away starving.
"You made dinner. The least I can do is offer dessert."