Mr. Big Shot: An Enemies To Lovers Romance (Kinda Cocky Book 1), стр. 43
Then, I slid into my heels.
Granted, they were my work heels. Nude colored with a white bottom. Casual enough for any outfit. But, with the sparkling accents--like my earrings and my bracelet--it offset how plain my shoes looked.
Just pack a nice outfit next time, though. Just in case.
Scooping up my purse, I tossed it over my shoulder. When I peeked at the digital clock and saw it was ten minutes to seven. Right on schedule, and it made me smile. I picked up my phone from the edge of the bed and found my key sitting on the dresser.
However, I decided not to take it with me.
I mean, would I really need it?
I’d spent the past four nights in Zane’s bed. So, there was no reason for me to take a key, either. I simply had to leave the sliding glass door unlocked, and in the morning, I could slip through there. Easy as pie, and precisely what I’d been doing for the majority of that week.
So, with a smile on my face, I set out toward ‘our bar.’
I still smiled at the way he said ‘our bar.’
The sand didn’t like my heels, but I didn’t have to walk far to get to my destination. The bartender waved at me before offering a table in the corner. I took him up on the glass of red wine he served as I sat down. When I turned my chair toward the ocean, I drew in a deep breath. It had been a very long time since I’d been at peace like that. I sipped the decadent wine and watched the crystal clear waves crashing against the shoreline. That was when it dawned on me that I had never seen water so beautiful. And I had never felt so comfortable.
However, the minutes began ticking by, and Zane was nowhere to be found.
“Uh, excuse me?” I asked.
The bartender raised his head. “Yes, miss?”
“What time is it?”
“Seven twenty,” he answered glancing at his watch.
I lifted my glass. “Thank you.”
It wasn’t like Zane to be late. In fact, I would have thought that he would’ve beat me there since he enjoyed being a few minutes in front of his own schedule. I furrowed my brow as I dug my phone out of my purse. I abandoned my half-sipped glass of wine in favor of trying to figure out what happened to my date for the evening. Maybe he had called me, or maybe something had come up last-minute with work.
But my phone had no new notifications.
Not a text. Not a phone call. Not even an email.
Huh.
I reached for my wine and tried to shrug it off, but once seven forty-five rolled around, I grew worried. I set a ten-dollar bill down onto the table and worked my heels off. Then I ventured back to the bungalows and found my way onto his patio. Cupping my hands against the glass, I peered into his room, knocking softly to see if he might come out.
“Zane? You in there?”
But, only the darkness of his room greeted me.
Where the hell is he?
I walked over to my patio and rechecked my phone. I even tried calling him, but it shot me straight to voicemail. Scoffing, I shoved my phone into my purse and turned back out toward the ocean.
He wasn’t in his room.
His phone was off.
And he had clearly forgotten about our date.
“Guess I might as well get some sleep,” I murmured.
But, I flopped down onto the cushioned chair on my own patio instead and stayed there for a while.
I took a moment for myself as I brushed my tears away.
Three Days Later
A soft bang on the glass patio door ripped me from a dead sleep, and I shielded my eyes from the sun. My back hurt. My legs hurt. And when I finally looked around, I saw what had happened.
Shit. I fell asleep outside.AGAIN.
I eased myself out of my chair and turned around only to find Lilo standing at the door. He had my morning coffee and fruit bowl in his hand, along with a note. I cracked my neck and stretched my arms into the sky. He slid the door open and helped me inside before making me sit down and have a cup of coffee.
That cup of coffee was what kicked off the third consecutive day of me not seeing Zane at all. And when I say ‘at all,’ I meant it.
He delivered my laundry list of things I needed to get done for the day via Lilo. That poor man. Every morning, I woke. Alone. With Lilo knocking at my patio door. Every morning, I woke up with a crick in my neck and a pain in my chest. Lilo would have another fucking note from my cowardly boss that had stood me up. It infuriated me. It made me feel worthless. But, more than that, it made me feel used.
Like I was nothing but a sex doll for that man.
After three days of not seeing Zane at all, I broke down in my room. After the sun set, as I lounged on the private patio, I hated more than ever. I pulled out my phone and called Roxy.
The second I sniffled, Kelly got on the phone as well.
“What’s going on?” Kelly asked.
“Tell us everything,” Roxy insisted.
I sniffled again. “It’s so much. It’s so much, a-a-and I--.”
“Is there a punch line?” Kelly asked.
Roxy sighed. “Can you be any less heartless?”
I drew in a shallow breath. “He stood me up.”
Silence fell over the phone before Roxy spoke.
“As in, on a date?”
I whimpered. “Yeah. He-he--we, uh.”
Kelly butted in. “Start from the beginning and tell us everything.”
I wiped at my face. “The first day we got here, we had drinks. He didn’t want to talk about work, he just wanted to spend time with me. You