Page 39 of Shattered Sinner
I gave her a tight smile and said, “Okay, thank you.”
We took our time removing the garment from my body and once I was free, the tailor took the dress out of the dressing room, and I sat down in a chair with a huff. I grabbed my purse, which was resting on another chair, and pulled out my phone. Was it worth calling my mother to tell her once again that I wouldn't be going through with this? She'd probably berate me for inconveniencing her and tell me that this engagement was still on track.
Then an idea popped into my head, but the biggest question I had was could I make all of this work?
Instead of calling her, I typed up a text message and sent it to her.
Me: Didn't find a dress I like, but I'm going to text Tristan to see if we can meet up.
It took less than a minute for her to text me back. It was as if she was waiting by her phone, expecting me to give her an update on today.
Mom: Excellent! We still have time to find something. I hope you enjoy your time with Tristan!
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her enthusiasm. She thought I was finally warming up to the idea of this fake relationship when I was doing the opposite. I moved to the thread that contained my text messages with Tristan and quickly typed out another text.
Me: Would you like to meet today? I'm in New York City for a few hours. Sorry for the late notice.
I put my phone down to put my clothes back on, and when I was walking out the front door of the shop, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and found a text message from Tristan.
Tristan: Sure. Come by my apartment. I'm working from home today.
Fuck. I'd been half expecting him to say that he was too busy to meet on such short notice. I also didn't expect him to say that he wanted to meet at his apartment.
It seemed like a bad idea, but I couldn't exactly think that it was a setup because, after all, I was the one who texted him. On the other hand, I had no plans of staying long, and what I needed to talk to him about couldn't be done in public.
Me: Okay, send me the address and I'll call a car now.
He sent me the address and it turned out that his apartment was only about ten minutes away from where I was. It would take me no time at all to get there.
The ride to Tristan's was smooth, but even though I had nothing to worry about, the thoughts swirling in my mind had me on edge. When the driver pulled to a stop, I told him thank you before stepping out of the car. I walked up to the front desk, told them my name, and was escorted up to Tristan's suite on the top floor. I rang the small doorbell and waited for someone to answer.
As the door opened, I was surprised to find a woman standing on the other side.
“Ms. Henson?”
I slowly nodded my head, confused slightly by the scene that was unfolding in front of me.
“I'm Gabrielle, Mr. Whitmore's assistant. Come on in.”
I was surprised that his assistant would be working out of his suite too, but what did I know?
“Mr. Whitmore had to take a quick phone call, but he asked me to make you feel at home until he could join us. Can I get you something to snack on or a drink?”
“I'll take a glass of water, if you don't mind.”
“Certainly. Please follow me.”
Gabrielle led me to a big, open space that reminded me of my apartment, but on a much larger scale. It was bigger and more up-to-date than the place my parents kept in the city as well. Based on where we were and how big the space was, I know that he spent a lot of money on it if he owned it.
I walked through the living room toward a door that seemed to lead out into a spacious seating area. I wanted to see it, but it was too cold to go out there, at least in my opinion.
“Here's your water, Ms. Henson.”
“Please, call me Bianca.”
“Bianca it is. Mr. Whitmore should be out right about…” She checked her watch on her wrist. “Now.”
As if on cue, I heard a door open and saw Tristan walk out into the living room area. His stare landed on Gabrielle and remained there for a little longer than necessary, before turning to me to give me a small grin as he walked up to both of us.
