Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone and immediately dial Nikki as I head for my car. It instantly goes to voicemail, which is a terrible sign. She and Cheryl definitely had a run-in at the house, and whatever Cheryl said to her was not good. I have to fix this, and fast, before things spiral out of control and ruin everything.
11
Russell
I’m speeding a whole lot faster than I should on my way to the bar where I last saw Eric. I went to Nikki’s apartment, but she wasn’t home, and she still isn’t answering her phone. Every time I call, it goes straight to voicemail, and every text I send is unanswered. The only idea I have now is to try and figure out where that friend of hers, Alyssa, lives, and just drop by unannounced and see if she’s there. And the only way I can even hope to think of doing that is through Eric.
Thankfully, Eric is tending bar when I arrive. His eyes light up when he sees me come over, and he immediately starts preparing me a drink, but I quickly signal him to stop. This seems to puzzle him. I lean over the bar and motion for him to come closer.
“How you doing, man?” he asks. “Missed you the other night. Figured your evening must have gone…well. Did it?”
“You could say that.” I nod. “Ended up taking one of the dancers home with me.”
Eric’s eyes light up. He reaches over and gives me a pat on the shoulder. “Hell yeah! Look at you, buddy! What company are you CEO of?” He laughs.
I can’t help but smirk slightly. “In fact, she and I…we’ve got something going actually.”
“Seriously?”
I nod. “But there’s been a little…misunderstanding. She won’t answer my calls or texts, and she’s not at her apartment. I’m pretty sure she’s staying with a friend of hers – the girl who got her the job at the mansion. You know this girl, a girl named Alyssa?”
“Alyssa, Alyssa…” Eric mutters, as though shuffling a Rolodex of women through his mind. Then, something sparks and he snaps his fingers. “Yeah! Yeah, I think I do. If it’s the girl I’m thinking of, she dates a guy who works here…”
Eric pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through his photos until he finds the one he’s looking for. “Is this her?” He shows me a photo of Alyssa standing next to a tall guy with tattoos and his arm around her, both of them standing by a cliff at one of those touristy spots where people go to take pictures.
“That’s her.” I nod.
“And you need her address?” Eric asks, sounding like my co-conspirator in a secret government plot.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure my girl is over there right now,” I reply. “I’ve got to go see her and straighten this mess out.”
Eric nods knowingly, a smile on his lips. “Give me two minutes.”
Before I can respond, he vanishes through the doors into the kitchen, leaving me standing alone by the bar. It’s early in the evening, so there aren’t many people here yet, and without a drink in my hand, all I have are my thoughts to occupy my mind. And that’s great right now.
What must be running through Nikki’s mind right now? What could Cheryl have possibly said to her while they were alone together? Based on the way she was behaving on her way out, I can’t even imagine.
During our time together, Cheryl and I rarely ever fought, but when we did, they got pretty nasty. Cheryl knew just how to hit me where it hurt – how to get under my skin and poke me where I was vulnerable. To think that I wasn’t there to shield Nikki from her and any of her potential manipulation and games makes me sick.
My heart is aching – absolutely aching. Normally, after an incident with Cheryl like the one I just experienced, I would still be running things over and over in my mind, making myself angrier and angrier. But not today. Today, all I can think about is Nikki. All of my concern is on her, how she’s feeling and what I need to do to straighten things out with her.
And it’s that realization that makes me understand that I’ve completely fallen in love with her. And despite everything I’m feeling right now, I can’t help but smile.
I’m going to fix this.
Just then, the doors to the kitchen open, and Eric emerges with a torn slip of paper in his hand. He passes it to me. “There you go,” he says. “Alyssa’s address. You didn’t get it from me.”
“I didn’t?”
He leans close. “Pilfered it out of the bar’s computer system. The one where we keep addresses on file for recent deliveries. Boss finds out I did that and he’ll plant his foot up my ass.”