Chapter 29
Zeus
Zeus
How are you feeling tonight?
Yas
It was a long night.
Zeus
Everything okay? Did you want to talk before bed again?
Yas
No, I think I’m actually okay. I just had dinner with my parents tonight, and they’re still feeling bad about things not working out with the marriage they tried to arrange for me.
Zeus frowned at the text message. Started to type to ask if she’d actually liked the guy they’d arranged her marriage with, then quickly deleted it.
Even if she was still sad about him, this wasn’t the time or place to ask.
He’d rather do it when he could see her expression, if he was going to talk to her about her ex.
Yas
It is weird being home without Hope now, though.
Zeus
I’m sure. I got to see her and Sarah earlier when I went over to take Hope for a walk.
Yas
Oh, that was kind of you. Sarah seemed to be doing pretty well when I saw her, but I bet she appreciated not having to walk Hope.
Zeus
She did. She told me how much she liked you.
Yas
Funny, she mentioned to me that you’re such a nice boy… and single.
That made Zeus laugh. Was his neighbor trying to do a bit of matchmaking? He certainly didn’t mind, as long as she didn’t accidentally scare Yas off. Maybe he should drop a word in Sarah’s ear that Yas was a little skittish and not to press too hard.
He’d think about that some more tomorrow.
The main thing was knowing Yasmine was safe, and that she felt safe.
She wasn’t worried about Pete James tonight.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t need to be. As far as Zeus could tell, the man had gone back to his normal routine.
Hopefully, he’d given up on finding his wife and harassing others to do it. Sometimes, men like that did.
Sometimes, they didn’t.
Zeus would be keeping an eye on him for multiple reasons.
Especially because Pete James was the kind of asshole whose connections constantly saved him from experiencing the consequences of his own actions.
Those were usually the worst kind of men.
The ones who thought they could do whatever they wanted because the people around them had always made that possible.
He refocused on the text message.
Zeus
She told me you’re a very nice girl. I didn’t tell her otherwise.
Yas
Oh? What makes you think I’m not a nice girl?
Zeus
Because I know what a naughty girl you are.
Yas
Maybe I should have told her that you’re not as nice as she thinks
Zeus
Do you have any time this week when you can be not-nice for me?
Yas
Well, I know we’ll be together for Hope’s surgery on Wednesday, but I have an early meeting on Thursday morning. What about Friday night?
I can be very not-nice to you on Friday evening.
Zeus
Friday evening works for me. My place? You could come over for dinner so I can make sure you eat before I’m not-nice to you.
Yas
Are you sure feeding me isn’t too nice for you?
Zeus
It’s entirely selfish. I want to make sure you have the energy for all the very not-nice things I’m going to do to you.
Yas
I can get behind that.
Zeus
And then I’ll get behind you
Yas
LMAO
That was terrible
Zeus
That’s not what you’ll be saying on Friday.
Yas
I’d better not be.
Going to bed now.
Zeus
Think of me while you’re getting yourself off.
Yas
Who says I’m getting myself off tonight?
Zeus
Don’t lie to me, princess, or I’ll be even more not-nice to you on Friday
Yas
=P
Zeus
Call me if you need me.
Friday was the day the senator was visiting Naomi’s shelter, and it would be all-hands on deck for the Black Fox team, but they should be done there well before dinnertime. Dinner and an evening with Yas would be a nice end to the week.
And he definitely agreed with her about Wednesday.
He was going to be too focused on Hope and everything going on with her to enjoy an evening with Yas.
Even after the surgery was over. He wanted to be on deck in case Sarah needed help with anything, for either herself or for Hope, right after the surgery.
Yas
Good night, Z.
Zeus
Good night, princess.
All in all, a productive conversation.
And now, he had a date for Friday night.
Even if she didn’t know it was a date.
Yasmine
Going into the office without Hope felt odd. Even though the dog had only done so for a couple of days, it had been a really nice couple of days. She already missed having a companion at her side.
As she opened the door to the office, she saw Amara perched on the edge of Veronica’s desk.
Slowly straightening from where she’d been leaning over Veronica, Amara brushed her long brown hair back from her shoulder.
The bright red skirt and jacket she was wearing had been paired with a cream blouse with a sharply pointed collar. She smiled at Yasmine.
“Good morning.” Her gaze automatically went to Yasmine’s side, near her feet. “So, Hope is back with her owner?”
“She is and happy to be so. Though I’ll be out tomorrow afternoon to take her to surgery, don’t forget,” Yasmine said, glancing at Veronica, since that reminder was really for her. She frowned. “Veronica, are you okay? You’re looking a little flushed.”
“F-Fine. I’m fine. Um, maybe it is a little warm in here.
” Veronica cleared her throat, her eyes a little wider than usual as she reached up to tug at the collar of her shirt.
It was short-sleeved, so she shouldn’t be that warm.
Maybe it was that time of the month or something.
“I’ve got your afternoon blocked off on the calendar. ”
“Thank you.” Yasmine’s phone buzzed, and she paused in her steps so she could dig around in her bag for it without tripping over herself.
“We’ll finish our conversation later, Veronica,” Amara said smoothly as she got to her feet and headed toward her office.
“Yes, ma’am.”
There it was. Yasmine pulled the vibrating phone out of her purse. Ah, shoot, it was Grace. Hopefully, nothing bad had happened. She had to admit, she did get a little kernel of worry at seeing Grace’s name on her phone screen. Amara closed her door, leaving Veronica and Yasmine alone in the front.
“I’ll be in my office,” Yasmine told Veronica, holding up her phone. “I’ve got to take this.” She frowned at her office manager again, who was still bright pink although diligently focused on her computer. “Seriously, Veronica, if you’re not feeling well, you can go home.”
“I’m fine, but thank you.” Veronica was staring so hard at her computer screen, it was a wonder she didn’t burn a hole through it.
Well, Yasmine would have to check on her a little later.
If she was still looking off, Yasmine was going to send her home, even if Veronica protested.
Sometimes, Veronica could take her position and responsibilities a little too seriously.
It wouldn’t be the first time she’d come to work with a cold and ended up making herself worse because she didn’t want to let Yasmine and Amara down.
Swiping to accept the call, Yasmine put the phone to her ear as she headed to her own office.
“Good morning, Grace.”
Please don’t have bad news, please don’t have bad news.
“Good morning, dear!” Grace’s chipper tone immediately calmed Yasmine’s fears. If something had happened to Sarah or Hope, there was no way Grace would be so cheerful. “I just got off the phone with Sarah, and I felt the need to immediately call you and thank you again.”
A rush of warmth went through Yasmine.
“Oh, well, that’s appreciated, though you didn’t have to.”
“I absolutely did. You should not hide your light under a bush, Yasmine. You went above and beyond, and you deserve the credit for that. Especially because Sarah told me that you’ve gone even further beyond, and you and her neighbor are paying for Hope’s surgery.”
“I… well, yes, that’s true. It’s no hardship for us, though.”
“Just because it isn’t hard doesn’t mean it’s easy. And even if it’s easy, that still doesn’t mean it’s something you shouldn’t be recognized for.” Grace’s voice had taken on a bit more of a scolding tone now.
“Okay, okay, I see your point,” Yasmine conceded, laughing.
She was often the first of her friends to tell them they shouldn’t be overly humble.
They needed to own their accomplishments.
This might not be an accomplishment, but it was a good deed, and she should recognize that.
“I am happy to help. Hope deserves a long, wonderful future with Sarah.”
“She does. I’m going to be coming up later this week to help Sarah with her and Hope’s recovery, but I also wanted to let you know that I’d like to contribute to Hope’s surgery as well.”
“I certainly won’t say no to that,” Yasmine said. “Did you have an amount in mind?”
By the time she got off the phone with Grace, they’d ended up agreeing to split the cost three ways.
She didn’t think Zeus would object to her including Grace in Operation Save Hope.
Not that they’d discussed a name for it, but that was what popped into her head while she was talking to Grace about it.
Yasmine wouldn’t say it was a lonely day at the office exactly, but she definitely missed Hope’s presence. When Zeus texted her around lunchtime with a picture of Hope and Tiger, obviously on a walk together with him, she both grinned and felt a little pang in her heart.
Yasmine
They look good together! How’s Sarah doing?
Zeus
Trying to do too much already, which is why I made sure to have my dog walker take Hope as well.
Oh, so it wasn’t Zeus walking them. That shouldn’t make a difference, but for some reason, she did feel a little better.
Yasmine
That was sweet of you.
Speaking of sweet, I just talked to Sarah’s friend, Grace. She’s coming on Friday to help Sarah and Hope through the weekend and next week, but she also wanted to help pay for Hope’s surgery.
I figured you wouldn’t mind splitting it three ways.
Zeus
Not at all. I’ll use my savings to buy Hope the biggest stuffed animal I can find.
She couldn’t help but laugh. That sounded exactly like something he would do.
Yasmine
Won’t Tiger be jealous?
Zeus
Maybe, but he would just rip it apart in ten seconds, so it’s not worth spending money on any stuffie that costs more than five bucks. If that.
Yasmine
Hope won’t tear it apart?
Maybe she’d get together a basket of cheap stuffies for Tiger for Christmas or something.
Immediately, she checked that thought. It was freaking spring, and here she was, planning to buy her fuck buddy’s dog Christmas presents. Who knew if they’d even still be in each other’s lives by then?
On the other hand, it wasn’t as if she was planning Christmas presents for Zeus.
Just for his dog. That was different, wasn’t it?
Yes. Just because she liked someone’s dog enough that she wanted to get them a present didn’t mean she was getting emotionally invested in their owner in a bad way. Same thing with her and Hope.
Zeus
Hope likes to cuddle with her stuffies.
Yasmine
Noted.
She could get something for Hope and also get a ‘just because’ basket of cheap stuffed toys for Tiger. It’s not like she had to wait for Christmas. Her brain had just jumped ahead that far in the future because Christmas was a natural time to give presents.
Zeus
I’ll see you tomorrow for the surgery?
Yasmine
Absolutely. I’ll be at Sarah’s at nine.
Zeus
See you then.
A little smile played across her lips as she put her phone down and headed out of the office to get some lunch and take a walk. Which was natural. What girl wouldn’t smile when being given multiple orgasms by a hot guy?
“You look like you’re having a good day,” Veronica commented as Yasmine walked through the front office.
Yasmine cast a discerning eye over the other woman.
“And you look like you’re feeling better.”
Veronica’s cheeks turned a tad pink. She really did flush easily. Clearly, Yasmine had been worried about nothing. Sometimes, she just forgot how easily pale people turned different colors.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Veronica waved her hand. “Are you going to be out long?”
“No, I’m just going to grab something from the deli around the corner and come back to eat it here. I have a lot to do since I’ll be out tomorrow for Hope’s surgery.”
“Makes sense.” Veronica made a note on the pad in front of her. “Tell Sarah that we’re all pulling for her and Hope.”
“I will.”
Still smiling, Yasmine made her way to the elevator. This was going to be a good week. She could feel it.