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.
NINETEEN
Nina
I’m anxious as I climb from the Audi. I’ve barely said a word to Vinny on the drive over, although he has had plenty to say to me.
You wouldn’t believe that I struggled to get a word from him when we first met. No, now I have this brute of a man, giving me advice, and trying to always steer me to the right path. I love him for it, but if he tells me everything is going to be alright one more time, I might just snap.
“You want me to come up?”
I turn to him and find Ellis already out of the car and in his arms, the changing bag on his shoulder.
“What if I want to leave?” I swallow the bile that rises in my throat, then lift my shaking hand to smooth my hair off my face.
“You won’t leave, but I’ll be right here, okay? I have emails to catch up on anyway.”
I nod. He has told me this already. I lean in to take Ellis. “Thank you, Vin.”
“You’re going to be just fine, my girl.” He places a kiss on my hair before I turn towards the elevators.
“Shall we go see Daddy?” I smile down at Ellis.
“Da, Da, Da, Da.”
The temperature has dropped, so I move quickly to the elevators to get Ellis out of the cold. With nerves fighting their way up my throat, I take my time to key in the code that Vinny gave me. Before I step inside, I turn and call over to him, “You go home, Vinny. Don’t wait out here.”
