Page 16 of Wicked Desire (Sapphic Billionaire Club #2)

Grace

F our days later…

The pounding on my door got louder the longer I ignored it.

I pulled the blanket up over my head, then sighed as the knocking stopped.

Unfortunately, it was followed by the sound of my front door opening and slamming closed again.

Damn it, that had to be Ariel and Maeve.

Why did we all agree to share entry codes with each other?

I listened as they headed straight for my bedroom. Maybe if I stayed completely still they’d think I was sleeping and go away?

Sadly, I wasn’t that lucky.

“Oh for God’s sake!” I heard Maeve say as she came in. “It smells rank in here.”

I didn’t move. Maeve opened the curtains with a snap, bringing bright sunlight into the room, while Ariel gripped my comforter and tore it off my body.

“Get up!” she ordered.

“Go away,” I grumbled, trying and failing to keep her from separating me from my comforter.

“You’ve been moping in this bed for four days now,” Maeve said.

“I have not,” I replied. “I also was on the couch for a while.”

She leaned over me, then grimaced. “Holy shit, you need a shower. The dumpster behind the building smells better than you do right now.”

“Go away,” I repeated.

“And you desperately need to brush your teeth. Jeez.”

I glared at her, but she didn’t go away.

“Come on, get up and take a shower.”

“I want to be alone,” I said.

“Too bad,” Maeve shot back. “You’ve wallowed long enough.”

Before I knew what was happening, Ariel grabbed my ankle and dragged me down to the bottom of the bed. She was stronger than she looked. It was all that yoga she did with Sadie.

“Hey!”

“If we have to drag you into the shower we will,” Ariel threatened.

When I didn’t respond, she pulled by the legs until I landed on the floor with a thump. I was suddenly grateful that I’d gone with the extra thick padding underneath the carpet.

“You’re an asshole, you know that?” I yelled up from the floor.

“You’ve got five seconds to get your perky ass up and into the shower or I swear to Christ we will rip those rank pajamas off you and bathe you ourselves.”

I glanced between my friends, knowing that they weren’t kidding.

“Fine.” I got up and spread my arms wide. “I’m up, are you happy?”

“Not while you’ve got your armpits open we’re not,” Ariel said. “Get in the fucking shower before we pass out from the stench. And put on some deodorant when you’re finished.”

Ignoring them both, I stomped into the bathroom.

Dropping my clothes on the floor, I walked into the shower and turned on the hot water.

I had to admit it felt kind of good. I started to perk up as I scrubbed my body and washed and conditioned my hair, then exited the shower and brushed and flossed my teeth.

When I came back into the bedroom I saw that all my bottles and food containers were gone, and my friends had stripped my bed.

Knowing I wasn’t lucky enough to be alone again, I threw on some clothes and headed for the kitchen.

Maeve and Ariel were at the table, sipping coffee.

Without a word, Ariel went to the machine on the counter and made a cup for me, before pointing at the chair across from them.

“Sit.”

Maeve slid me a bag. “Breakfast sandwiches. Eat.”

I started to say that I wasn’t hungry, but then my stomach growled, telling me I was wrong. I unwrapped a sandwich and took a large bite. It was delicious.

“Okay, give it to me so I can go back to bed.”

“What?” Ariel asked with fake confusion.

I waved my hand impatiently. “Whatever lecture you two have planned.”

“Grace, what’s going on?” Maeve asked softly. “You haven’t shown up for work for four days. You don’t answer our calls or texts. And your mother called a little while ago looking for you. She said that you quit your job there and she hasn’t heard from you since. You didn’t even tell us.”

“We didn’t get the Grant Park College project,” I mumbled around my sandwich. “My parents were pissed and when they went off on me, I quit.”

“I’m sorry,” Ariel said. “Although to be honest, we all thought it was a long shot. Is Nicole upset too?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. We broke up.”

“Let me get this straight,” Ariel said. “You didn’t get the project, you quit your family’s company, and you and Nicole broke up, all in the same day?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’ve been moping ever since? Ignoring all our calls and texts.”

“I needed to be alone,” I said defensively.

“Wallowing never helps,” Ariel said.

I sighed dramatically but didn’t answer. I was too exhausted to argue with her.

“I’ve got to be honest,” Maeve said. “I’m glad you finally quit Sanderson Real Estate Services. Your parents never respected you or the work you do. They totally take you for granted. And working what was basically two full time jobs was slowly killing you.”

“Well, I only have one job now,” I said bitterly.

“If you bother to show up again,” Ariel snapped back. “We’ve been covering for you all week.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled, lowering my chin to my chest and staring into my coffee.

“This isn’t how we do things,” Ariel told me, digging the knife in more. “We don’t ignore each other. We don’t blow off work. This isn’t like you.”

“What happened with Nicole?” Maeve asked before I could respond. “Why did you break up?”

“I went to her house to tell her the bad news, and her mom was there. Not only did her mom not know we were together, she didn’t even know Nicole was gay.”

“So she’s private,” Maeve said. “I don’t tell my family about everyone I date.”

“It’s more than that, she’s got this weird relationship with her parents, like she never grew up. And…,” I took a deep shuddering breath. “When her mother asked if we were together Nicole recoiled in horror and said – and I quote – of course not.”

My friends winced in unison.

“What are you going to do now?” Ariel asked.

“Focus on my work at AGM, like I always should have been doing,” I replied. “I know I haven’t been pulling my weight…”

“You’ve always pulled your weight,” Ariel interrupted. “Except for this week that is.”

“Well I’ll be totally focused on the business now.”

Mr. Mittens strolled into the kitchen and gave me an angry meow. The poor guy had been feeling neglected the last few days. I got up to get him some fresh water and to refill his dish. Not seeing any of his favorite fishes, he left again. Someone else that I let down.

“But what about Nicole?” Maeve asked as I returned to the table to finish my sandwich. “What are you going to do about her?”

“There’s nothing to do,” I said. “It’s over.”

“But you’re in love with her.”

“Yeah.” My voice sounded glum even to me.

“And I’m pretty sure she’s in love with you,” Ariel continued.

I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now.”

“You’re just giving up then?” she asked.

“What else can I do?”

“Fight for the woman you love,” Ariel said, her voice conveying that she thought I was an idiot. “Has she tried to contact you?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t looked at my phone in days. I don’t even know where it is.”

Maeve popped up and stomped around my condo, returning a few minutes later with my phone and a charger.

She plugged the charger into the outlet by the table, then attached my phone to it, bringing it back to life.

The device started beeping with message after message.

I sighed and pressed my forehead down on the table, too depressed to deal with any of it.

My nosy friends had no such hesitance.

“You have dozens of missed texts and calls,” Maeve reported. “The two of us, your mother, Theo, your assistant, and several from Nicole.”

“Delete it all,” I said wearily.

“I’ll do no such thing,” she shot back. “We’ve decided that we’re going to have a Schitt’s Creek marathon, eat some junk food, and get you out of this stupor.”

“Great,” I sighed. “Just what I don’t need, more time with you two.”

“We love you too,” Ariel said fondly. “And you can thank us later. Now eat your damned sandwich.”