“Why did you forget? Because ofher? Are you joking?”
William had had it. He jumped up, hurried to the other end of the huge sofa, and grabbed Felicity by her upper arm and hurried with her into the kitchen.
Joy heard William say with a loud, angry voice, “you will stop disrespecting her this instant,” and then she heard of a lot of garbled yelling with them talking over each other. She couldn’t make out another word after that one sentence.
Then she saw Felicity storm out of the kitchen, make her way to the foyer, grab her coat, and then hurry out of William’s front door.
Joy stood up when William came out of the kitchen behind her. “You don’t have to kick her out. I can leave if that’ll help.”
William looked angrily at her. “Didn’t I tell you about that? Go where, Joynetta? When you leave, where are you going?”
“Away from here,” she said.
“Don’t force my hand,” he warned her, “because I’m not going to put up with your bullshit either. You hear me?”
What bullshit, she wanted to say. “Yes sir,” she said instead.
“Stop writing checks your ass can’t cash. That’s all I’m going to say about it.” Then he made his way back into the kitchen. It was as if he was sick and tired of both her and Felicity.
Joy sat back down. But she was sick and tired too. Less of him. Mostly of herself.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
After eating a homemade soup with William that tasted wonderful to Joy, she put the dress she planned to wear tomorrow over her arm, grabbed her heels, and then grabbed her backpack that contained her undergarments, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash and purse. Then William showed her to the guest room upstairs.
When she saw how big and magnificent it was, and how it had a wood-burning fireplace in it too, she could hardly believe she was going to sleep in a room that grand. She smiled and was about to turn and tell him so, but his phone began ringing.
He looked at the Caller ID. “It’s my CEO,” he said. “Which usually means trouble when he’s phoning this time of night. Which also means I’ll need to take this call. Make yourself at home. I’ll be back in a few,” he said as he left the guest room.
“Is it resolved?” Joy heard him saying as he closed the door behind him. He walked further down the hall, out of earshot, but still on the third-floor landing.
Joy at first sat on the bed and waited for him to return so that he could give her instructions. She didn’t want to ruffle anymore of his feathers that night. Not after the way he dressed her down for trying to give a job to somebody else when she wasn’t in the door herself yet. But when ten minutes turned into twenty, she wondered if he had forgotten about her the way he forgot about Felicity.
So she forgot him and headed to the ensuite bathroom. She loved the look of that deep tub he had. It was like a spa tub. And she couldn’t resist it.
She closed and locked the door, and took her another hot bath, this one even more relaxing than the one at her apartment.
But when she got out of the tub and dried off, she realized she failed to bring one important item: something to sleep in!
But she knew she could sleep in her undergarments if it came to that. Especially since she brought extras of that. No gown to sleep in, but plenty of panties. She smiled and shook her head.
Then she cleaned the tub, put back on her jeans and t-shirt, and made her way back into the bedroom to wait for William to show up.
But when she opened her bedroom door just slightly and could hear that he was still on the telephone in what sounded like a very tense, animated conversation, she closed the door once again and sat back on the bed. She wasn’t very tired – she was used to long days. But she was very emotional. Because she was praying she hadn’t blown the opportunity of a lifetime with all of this side stuff.
He had to be regretting his involvement with her. First the fact that a man of his stature had to go to a jail to get her didn’t help. Then he took her all the way to Bridell and brought her right back. Then her presence caused him to have to get rid of his girlfriend or lady friend or whatever she was to him – which she knew really didn’t help.
And the way she had the nerve to ask about him hiring Contessa too when she wasn’t even in the door yet just like he said, was a mark against her judgment too. And then when she claimed that she could just leave when they both knew she had nowhere to go in that town, didn’t win her any brownie points with him either. He had to be tired of her.
She pulled out her phone and saw that Contessa had texted her twice while she was taking a bath. She phoned her. She picked up seemingly on the first ring.
“Joy, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
“Where are you? I went by your apartment when I got off.”
“I’m back in Chicago.”
