Chapter 18 #2
“Excuse me, ladies.” Vinny stands and leaves the room, pulling out his phone as he closes the door behind him.
“Do you think Vinny is going to invite him instead?” Scarlet whispers.
I lift my shoulders to my ears. “Maybe.”
At least I hope so.
“And he would listen to Vinny, right?”
I doubt Mason would listen to anyone, but I know he respects Vinny. “I suppose.”
A few minutes later my phone lights up with a message and Scarlet, unashamedly leans over to look at the screen.
“You text now?” she squeaks out.
“Barely.” I frown.
“Open it!”
Mason
Would Pixie like to stay for dinner this evening?
“OH MY GOD! He called you Pixie?! Fuck it’s happening!
” She slaps my arm then falters. “But what’s happening?
” She frowns. “Goddamn it, who cares!” Scarlet buzzes beside me and it makes me giggle, but I also have a lead weight pulling me back down to the ground—hard.
Ellis is going to Mason’s this evening. At the penthouse.
The only place I haven’t had to face since the night I found out I was pregnant.
“Will you calm down?” I swallow, needing her to chill before she sends me deeper into my anxiety.
“You have to go! You can ask him to the ball!” She claps.
I already know I’m going. This is the next step and something I told him I’d try, and I used Lowerwick to get that.
I go to the penthouse. He comes to Lowerwick.
Vinny slips back into the room and seats himself at the island next to Scarlet.
“Mason just asked Nina to dinner!” Scarlet tells him, not being able to control her mouth.
“He did?” He looks at me with a small smile.
“Yup! She’s going to ask him tonight if he will come to the ball. No! Wait! She is going to tell him tonight that he is coming to the ball.” She grins, excited, and I can’t help but join her in her glee. Scarlet is one of the most infectious people I’ve ever met.
She could get Satan smiling.
“Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?” Vinny lifts his chin to Scarlet, then turns to give me a wink.
I tilt my head a little, giving him a wary look.
The old fool is up to something.
And I bet it involves me, dinner, and the one place I’ve ever felt at home.
Mase
“We’re headed to lunch. We get to pop Jasmine’s sushi cherry today. You want anything?” George asks, poking his head into my office door. I spot Jasmine’s head from where she stands at his back.
“No. Redirect calls to Elliot.”
“Elliot left for the day.”
My head snaps towards him. “What?” I check my watch. “It’s twelve o’clock.”
“He said he had a meeting,” Jasmine adds, peeping under George’s arm which he moves to allow her room to stand next to him.
“Is everything okay, Mase?” George asks.
Meeting my ass. He’s been in and out of the office all week. Guaranteed he’s fucking someone new.
“Yeah, you guys head out.” I turn back to my screen but notice that they don’t leave. George looks at Jasmine and she hisses something back at him.
“What is it, George?”
“All it is, sir.” His head rears back. “Sir? Oh, I’ve never called you sir before.” He snorts a laugh.
“George,” I grind out.
“Right. So, we overheard you on the phone with Vinny. And—”
“How?” I interrupt.
“How?” George’s brows dip low.
“How did you overhear my call from all the way out there?” I point to the reception.
“We were listening on the phone. George thought it was Nina.”
George covers Jasmine’s mouth with his hand. “What. Are you stupid! That’s not what happened,” George tells me.
“Why lie? That’s exactly what happened.” Jasmine’s lip twitches on one side.
I sit back in surprise. More at the fact Jasmine is being so relaxed in front of me.
“Just when I thought you were a classy girl,” George tells her.
“There’s nothing classy about listening in on people’s phone conversations, George.” I try to keep my own lip from twitching, moving my hand to run along my mouth. “I’m very disappointed.”
He stands looking at me with confusion in his eyes. “I-I…”
“Fuck off, you two,” I dismiss them, not wanting them to see my smile.
“That’s it?” George frowns.
“Don’t question it.” Jasmine pulls on his arm and they leave my office. I shake my head, wondering when they decided they were going to become friends and also wondering why the two of them listening in on my conversation with Vinny doesn’t bother me like it should.
“One more thing, it was the thing actually. You sort of interrupted me before.”
I drop my pen, looking up at him with an impatient glare. “Yes, George?” I say, short.
“If Nina agrees to come to the penthouse this evening.” He smiles. “Then flowers. Promise me you will buy her some flowers.”
“She’s coming over to spend time with Ellis, not for any other benefit to me or our situation. Are you sure you were listening to my conversation, George?”
“I was. And I’m not sure if you have been living under a rock for the past year, but I haven’t seen you send any, nor have I been asked to send any arrangements. The woman birthed your child.”
I snigger, slapping my hands on my armrests. “Some days I wonder what I would do without you, George. Then other days, I think of how fucking peaceful my office would be without you in it.”
“I’m presuming it’s a no on the flowers…” He turns his head slightly in question. “Sushi?”
“You’re burying yourself here, George,” Jasmine tells him, pulling him from my office and letting the door close behind them.
I’ve never understood the gift of flowers. Why would someone want something that is only going to die within a matter of days? Seems morbid to me.
Nina isn’t a gifts sort of person. She hates me spending money on her, and I can already picture her beating me with any bunch I’d give her.
Nina
I can do tonight.
What time?
Whatever Vinny knows, he isn’t telling me, but that was far too easy. It only makes me feel uneasy.
Maybe flowers would soften her up? She’ll be anxious coming to the house.
No thorns.
George
Do I have a budget, and does she have a favourite flower?
It’s flowers?? How much do they cost?!
Well, your use of ‘they’ is very vague. There are about 400,000 different flower species in the world, so...
Jasmine, could you please get me a bouquet of flowers whilst on lunch. Something substantial and still alive.
Jasmine
Ok.
I quickly text Nina and tell her to come over at five thirty. It gives me enough time to get home and shower. I’ll order something in for dinner so I’m not having to cook.
I scroll till I find Elliot’s name and then hit call.
He doesn’t skip days anymore and it pisses me off that he hasn’t even bothered to tell me he’s left for the day.
I know I was a complete bastard for the months that followed Nina leaving me, but I always checked in with the guys.
Elliot has been out of office the majority of the last two weeks.
Whoever he’s fucking better be worth it.
“Hello?” he answers after the fourth ring.
“Where are you?” I snap.
“’Afternoon, sunshine.”
“Where are you?” I grate out.
I hear cars roaring in the background and music playing. “I’m out.”
“Out where? And why am I the only one in the office this week? It’s bullshit.”
“Are you seriously throwing your toys out the pram when we’ve all not sto—” He pauses, cursing under his breath. “I’m fucking busy, Lowell, I’ll call you later.”
The line cuts off and I drop my phone with a thud to the hard wood of my desk.
Damn drama queen.
He’s being shady and I don’t fucking like it.