Moments later, our feet have been dried and are now in rather excessively fluffy slippers.
We’re in the middle of staring at Kaye’s phone, looking at the menu of their favorite Chinese takeout whenBig Dsends more multiple texts in rapid succession.
Kaye snatches her phone, snarling at it. “Oh my god. I swear he’s doing this on purpose.”
Elle tilts her head at her friend. “Damon again?”
“Yes,” Kaye hisses. “My control freak, clingy husband. Who is currently juggling the media while asking me to send him something he can jerk off to for some tension release of his own.”
Elle coughs, sounding startled.
“I’m serious,” Kaye adds. “He says it’ll help him focus? Ugh.”
The phone buzzes again. She pushes herself up from her chair and points down the hall.
“I need to take this before Dae fucks up everything and flies here for a fuck.” Her frown flips into a smile pointed at me and Elle. “Walk me to his study?”
Elle gets up. I follow. Kaye talks while we move down the hall, mostly complaining about Damon in ways I can’t quite grasp. Probably because Kaye talks as fast as her swift feet move, and she mentions something that sounds akin to “cyber” and “sex”, which I’m having trouble comprehending. How can one have sex through a computer or phone?
More questions come to mind, and I’d like to ask them, but we’re led into the home office Nil and I were in earlier. Kaye reaches thedoor and opens it without slowing.
“I’ll be in here,” she says, closing the door on us. “If you hear anything, youdidn’t.”
The door clicks shut behind her.
Elle laughs softly. “Damon’s very devoted to her.”
I’m about to nod when I notice movement at the far end of the hall. A shadow slips back around the corner, quick and careful.
Elle follows my line of sight as she lowers her voice. “You didn’t imagine that, Em, but don’t worry,” she whispers, her brown eyes fond. “It’s Sterling. He thinks he’s being subtle.”
Then she turns to me, hands clasped loosely as she beams wide.
“Would you like to walk with me, Em? I’m heading to the nursery room.”
I gesture for her to lead the way. She does, and I step alongside her. We move down the corridor together. Light pours in through more tall windows, warming the off-white walls.
Rather curious, I face Elle and study how her eyes have recently returned to brown when I had read in her files that Clo had put her through surgery to change it to blue years ago.
She catches me staring, and with a smile, she points up to her left eye. “Colored contact lenses,” she mentions. “Makes me feel more like myself.”
“Mm,” I hum in thought, filing that as a note to update later into the Adels’ database.
We walk quietly for a while, until Elle asks, “So tell me about yourself, Em. I heard you’re a doctor?”
Nodding, I clarify, “A neuroscientist, to be precise. Though, I don’t prefer being called a doctor. I prefer simply being called Em.”
“And is that short for something?”
“Emira,” I answer. “It’s a play on words based on my mother’s name.”
Elle smiles, looking down. “Yes, I know about her. She was one of my father’s dearest friends. He used to speak pretty fondly of her. If my memory’s correct, they became quite close.”
My steps slow, only marginally and briefly, before I catch up to her.
She must have noticed, since she slows to a stop and lifts her gaze to mine. “I’m sorry, did I mention something I shouldn’t have?” she asks, frowning.
“No,” I quickly say. “I know about my mother’s past.”
