‘Yes! Well, one of my friends, Katy, went out and she hasn’t surfaced yet. She was probably eating dollar pizza slices and telling you all about her man problems at two in the morning last night.’ I giggled, picturing how much Katy would love a chatty doorman to vent to.
‘No, ma’am, she didn’t pass through here last night. I know every person who comes in and out of this building,’ Otis replied.
I paused, my hand hovering over my Apple watch.
‘You must have missed her. Maybe you were on a break?’ I offered.
‘No, ma’am. I don’t take no break,’ he said, tilting his head.
I was just about to ask how he went for a piss when the implication of his words hit me:What if Katy hadn’t come back?
‘I’m sorry, Otis, I have to go back up and check something,’ I said, a bolt of panic drumming through me.
‘Sure thing, Miss Ella,’ he said, still holding the door open as I ran towards the elevator.
It counted upwards slowly while my mind raced.Where was she? What about the pitch? Was she OK? Had she got drunk and passed out? Got lost? Or worse. Why the hell had I let her go out with a complete stranger?
The lift pinged open and I bolted towards Katy’s bedroom, flinging the door wide open. Her bed was untouched, her suitcase still lying on top of it.
‘ZOLA!’ I screamed at the top of my lungs. I pulled out my phone and called Katy – no answer. ‘Zola!’ I screamed again.
Zola staggered out of her bedroom moments later, wearing a black T-shirt and her pink silk bonnet. ‘What’s up? It’s still the middle of the fucking night, El,’ she said, her voice cracking with sleep.
‘Katy isn’t home yet. It’s quarter to six, Zo. She’s not answering her phone. Have you heard from her?’ I texted frantically as I spoke.
‘For fuck’s sake.’ Zola shook her head. ‘Why does she do this? She’ll be fine. She probably hooked up with some loser and lost track of time.’
My hands shook. ‘What about the meeting? She knows how important this is! She wouldn’t miss this, Zo. We don’t know where she is or who she’s with. We don’t have his name or anything. What will we do?’ Every possible scenario flooded my mind in quick, relentless succession.
‘OK, whoa. Calm down.’ Zola wrapped her arms around my shoulders. ‘We’ll pitch just as planned. We know it inside out. Katy will be back by then, and we can tell her to smile and nod, OK? Let’s get ready as planned, yeah?’
I nodded, trying Katy again, but the phone just rang out.
‘Come on, let’s grab a coffee. We’ve got this,’ Zola said with a smile, ushering me through to the living room.
Chapter Seven
Katy
Katy woke to the feel of luxurious cotton sheets against her skin. She sat up, a weight moving in her head.
‘Ow,’ she moaned, turning to see a naked Mason sound asleep beside her.
She ran her hand up his muscular back, admiring every inch of his skin. They’d been up most of the night, bent into positions she hadn’t thought possible. Her mind flashed back to him pounding on top of her, as she scraped her nails into his skin. She traced the pinkish claw marks with her fingers, a small smile crossing her face.
Mason stirred and opened his eyes.
‘Mmmm .?.?.’ he murmured, turning his handsome face around to face her. ‘Hey, beautiful, you good?’
Katy nodded, suddenly aware of how stark bollock naked she was. ‘I am good,’ she said, smiling shyly. ‘A bit sore, though,’ she admitted.
‘Sore? Oh no. Down below?’ Mason asked, his brows raised with curiosity as he propped himself up on an elbow.
Katy blushed, nodding slightly. She felt as if her fanny had just birthed a hedgehog.
‘Yeah, sore head and sore .?.?.’ She wondered what the American translation of fud was.
Mason’s eyes widened cheekily as he edged closer. ‘Would you like me to kiss it better?’
