Dirty Laundry

It had been nearly a week since I had seen or heard from Zayn and I was starting to get antsy. I had hoped that he would call because the last time I had run into him I thought we were hitting it off pretty well, but nothing at all had happened.

The night before, I had gone to a few clubs almost out of desperation because I wanted to get this case closed as quickly as possible. I just wanted to get paid.

When I went out and didn’t catch sight of him for the third time that week, I knew it was time to consult with Elle because she was the only person I knew who’d have any idea of what to do next.

“I’m stuck,” I blurted out the second I stepped into her office, causing her to look away from her computer with furrowed eyebrows. Her lips were pursed and her eyes batted softly before she let out a chuckled breath.

“What’s happened?” she asked as she leaned back in her chair, resting her arms on its sides.

“I haven’t heard from him in a week and every time I go out he’s nowhere to be found. I’ve hit all of his favorite places but come up short every time. I don’t know what to do aside from showing up at his house.”

“Have you tried calling his girlfriend?” she asked. “You can do it from our private line so he won’t know it’s you if he picks up.”

“What am I supposed to say to her? ‘Sorry, I was wondering if you could ask your boyfriend to go out to the club. It’s important that I sleep with him as soon as possible because my credit card bill is due at the end of the month.’”

“No,” Elle chuckled, rolling her eyes at me. “Ask her where he’s been. If he’s been doing his usual thing. You never know, he could be away on business.”

I let out a deep breath because I knew that Elle was right. Contacting the girlfriends was my least favorite part of the job, because no matter how nice they acted, you could always hear the unspoken hatred to their voice. It was really quite uncomfortable.

With that, I walked out of Elle’s office, headed straight to my own, and passed Sloane and Liam on the way. Sloane gave me a big smile, but Liam didn’t even look at me. I assumed because he was still angry about before.

I had told him not to wait up for me or be surprised when I was gone, but the day after he and I had gone to the club together, he would hardly even speak to me. I knew that I’d have to try to make it up to him somehow, but that was a problem saved for another day, because at the moment I had to deal with Zayn.

Taking a deep breath, I picked up my phone and dialed Marissa’s number, the phone only ringing twice before she answered.

“Hello?”

“Is this Marissa?” I asked, making sure it was her before I gave too much away.

“It is. Who is this?”

“Mia, from NERIS industries. I’m calling to follow up on Zayn.”

I heard her gasp on the other end almost immediately. She probably assumed I was calling with news that I had used silk scarves to tie him to my bed or unbuttoned his pants in the backseat of the limo, but that was not a discussion I would have over the phone when I finally did have it.

“I was wondering what his habits were like recently,” I continued when she didn’t respond. “Is he still staying out late? That sort of thing.”

She let out a deep breath, clearly relieved by lack of news. “He’s been on business the past week. Gets back in a few days.”

I smiled to myself as she spoke, because that was just the news I had been hoping for. With that, I hung up the phone after wishing Marissa well and marked on my calendar the day he would be arriving back.

I was headed to Elle’s office to tell her what I’d learned when my personal phone began ringing in my pocket. Since Marissa had just told me Zayn was away on business, his voice was one of the last I expected to hear on the other end of the line, but I couldn’t help but smile when I heard it.

“Mia?” he asked, the sound of traffic rushing in the background.

“Yes, who is this?” I replied quickly, even though I knew it was him.

“It’s Zayn.” He paused, waiting for me to answer. “From Dante’s.”

“Yes, of course,” I said sweetly. “How have you been?”

“Great,” he replied, just as the sound of a car door shutting filled the line. “Listen, I just got back in from Tokyo and I was wondering if you were free tonight. I thought maybe we could grab a bite to eat.”

My eyebrows furrowed at his words, because I was positive I had just heard Marissa say he’d be gone for a few more days. I shouldn’t have been surprised that Zayn would lie to his girlfriend about his return date to get some time away from her, but it still threw me off a bit.

“That sounds lovely,” I said as soon as I had composed myself. “I’m not busy at all.”

“Perfect. Meet me at 6 then. At the park outside of Madison Square Gardens.”

“I’ll be there,” I said, smiling as we said our goodbyes and hung up the phone.

Progress like this was the last thing I expected, but it was just what I needed to perk up my mood. I could practically hear the sound of Zayn’s designer jeans falling off his body.