“Alicia, I’m busy right now,” Oliver stated, answering the call.
“Oliver, I know, I’m sorry, I wouldn’t have called—”
“Honey, whatever this is, I’m sure it can wait.”
A woman laughed in the background, and I frowned. Damn, Oliver was in a meeting.
“Oliver, I was invited to the club again to meet with those women,” I blurted. There was a pause.
“What?”
“Winona and the others want me to meet them.”
“Go, make friends, and remember my instructions. Alicia, we need the funding,” Oliver stated and cut the call. Instantly, I felt guilty; Lord knows what his employees thought of me ringing.
I looked down at my clothes before heading upstairs. No doubt Winona and the others would hate them. Worried, I scoured my wardrobe before picking a sundress. Hopefully, this would be acceptable. I paired it with a cardigan and walked downstairs to call an Uber. I could drive, but was uncomfortable doing so. Oliver used to tense up when I was behind the wheel—for a sweet reason, too. He said he hated the fact that he couldn’t protect me from other drivers if they made a mistake.
As I waited for the Uber, I grabbed the rest of the sketchbooks. After last night, I surmised they wished to see the others. The number I owned shocked me. Several boxes worth. How many designs had I sketched?
The Uber driver was sweet and helped me load the car before driving to Chambers. Today I noticed the gold writing over the sign; it was elegant and scrolling. Even the lettering spoke of wealth. To hold a membership here was a businessperson’s dream, and I’d been here twice.
The doorman frowned disapprovingly as I got out and the boxes were unloaded.
“Supplies around the back!” he growled.
“Oh, no. Sorry, I’m a guest of Winona Sinclair. Alicia Kensington. Winona requested me to bring these,” I said.
“Wait here.” The doorman headed inside. Unsure, I chewed my bottom lip. Had I made a mistake? Nervously, I took my phone out and checked Winona’s message.
“Hey. Why are you waiting outside?” Rebel demanded as she approached. Rebel wore jeans and a tee that made me smile. It stated, ‘If you can read this, I was forced to put my controller down and enter society. God save the Matrix.’
“Winona asked me to come, but I don’t think I’m on the guest list this time.”
Rebel looked around and spotted the boxes.
“Those yours?”
“Yes, the rest of the sketchbooks. I guessed you wanted them. Crap, you didn’t, did you? Damn, I overstepped—”
“Shut up, Alicia. I’m glad you did; Winona probably forgot to tell you. Hey Thomas, get some waitstaff to bring these to the penthouse,” Rebel said as the doorman appeared.
“She’s not on the list,” Thomas replied.
Rebel’s eyes narrowed. “I beg your pardon? Alicia’s my guest unless you wish to make an issue of that?”
“No, ma’am,” Thomas muttered resentfully.
Rebel smirked and linked her arm through mine. “Nice to see you removed that stick from your ass today. The dress is better. Not thoroughly modern, but a definite improvement. Let’s go in.”
“Rebel, I don’t want to leave the boxes. They’re precious,” I argued, and Rebel shrugged.
“No probs, we’ll wait for the staff,” she replied.
“Dibs!” Winona said an hour later, holding up a design.
Slowly, I ambled back over and sat down. Today, I’d wandered about while the women looked through sketches. This really was a penthouse. Kitchen, four bathrooms, three large offices, four huge bedrooms, dining room, library, entertainment/games room, and the lounge, which was the centre of it all.
“That’s the one you first saw.” Oceane rolled her eyes.
