sofia
I get out of my car and try not to pay attention to the butterflies in my stomach. But I’m a lost cause. The last four days I’ve been on edge, to say the very least. Not only that, now when I go out, I look around for him, which is the stupidest fucking thing I could ever do. Like he’s going to be randomly at the grocery store or at the bakery.
I barely slept last night, knowing I would be seeing him today. I’m going to pretend that it’s because I’m nervous and not because my ex is coming in with his fiancée for me to plan their wedding. As soon as I saw the clock hit 5:00 a.m., I got out of bed, putting gold under-eye patches on. My great-grandmother would have probably given me tea bags if I was still at home.
I took extra care with my outfit today. Choosing one that looks elegant and sexy in an eat-your-heart-out kind of way. The champagne-and-black checkered skirt hits mid calf, which molds my hips and makes my ass look perfect. The long-sleeved, champagne-colored silk, V-neck, button-down shirt molds my breasts. The sleeves tie tightly around my wrists, making it sleek and elegant. I couldn’t not wear the sky-high black shoes because I knew he loved them, and I also knew it drove him crazy when I wore them. This time, I wear my hair loose with thick curls, knowing again that he loved how long and lush my hair was. So I guess you could say I dressed for Matthew today but not because I wanted to. It was more of a go fuck yourself and I hope you suffer from erectile dysfunction.
Pulling open the door, the cold air hits me right away. “Morning!” I shout out so whoever is here hears me.
“My, my, my,” Shelby says, coming out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in her hand, “I believe someone is coming to slay.”
I can’t help but chuckle. “I don’t know what you mean,” I deflect, turning to walk to my office, my feet already informing me that these shoes will not last long. Walking into my office, I take off said shoes and slip my feet into my Ugg slippers. Dumping my bag on the chair, I make my way back out and to the kitchen to grab myself a cup of coffee.
“That didn’t last long.” Shelby notices when I walk past her in the hallway. “Those shoes are sexy as hell but only good to sit in or have sex in.”
“I know,” I concur, turning and trying not to think of the time I wore them for our date, and he refused to let me take them off when we got home. “He’s engaged,” I remind myself as I grab a mug and place it underneath the spout before grabbing a coffee pod and putting it in. I press the button before walking to the fridge to grab the milk.
I’m pouring some into my cup of coffee when I hear my phone ringing from my office. Rushing back to my office to answer the phone, I pray it’s Helena deciding that she has changed her mind, but instead, I look down and see it’s my father.
“Hello,” I huff as I walk back to the kitchen.
“You sound out of breath,” he says. “Are you working out?”
“I’m at the office, Dad, and don’t even pretend you don’t know that.” I grab my cup of coffee from the kitchen and walk back. “You don’t think I know you put my location on the last time we were together?”
“What?” He tries to act like he’s surprised. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Dad.” I chuckle. “You know it says I’m sharing my location, right?”
“I thought I deleted it,” he says, not even trying to pretend anymore. I walk around my desk, placing the cup down on the coaster before grabbing my laptop.
“You did, but I have my iPad and my computer all logged into my Apple ID so…” I sit down in my chair. “You got caught.”
“Duly noted,” he says. “Now, what is this I hear that you are on a dating app?”
I put my head back and groan. “I am never telling Mom anything again.”
“Your mother knew?” he shouts, and I roll my lips. “Hazel!” he yells her name. “Why didn’t you tell me Sofia was on a dating app?”
“Who told you?” I hear my mother ask, and then I sit up.
“Is my phone tapped?” I ask, shocked that I never even thought about it.
“You tapped her phone?” my mother yells.
“Goodbye,” I say, disconnecting the call and then calling the one person I know made it happen.
“If it isn’t my favorite first grandchild,” he greets, and I can even picture him smiling. I press the camera button, and his face fills the screen a couple of seconds later.
“Hey there, gorgeous.” He smiles at the phone. I know he’s in the war room when I see all the screens behind him.
“Oh, don’t you gorgeous me.” I glare at the phone, and he leans back in his chair. “I’m going to ask you something, Pops.” I say the nickname I gave him when I was seven. “Did you or did you not put a tracker on my phone?”
I stare into his eyes, and I don’t know why I’m surprised that he gives away nothing. This is the same guy who trained with the Navy SEALs for fun. “I think I’m going to need a little bit more context than that.”
“Don’t you even try to lie about it. Dad just got caught,” I inform him, my eyebrows rising.
“I’m not confirming nor denying anything,” he deflects, picking up his cup of coffee. “The question is, why the hell do you think you need to be on a dating app?”
“Pops!” I shout and smack my desk. “This is the biggest invasion of privacy.” He rolls his eyes. “What if I was sending nudes to a man, and you had one of your men going through my stuff?”
It’s his turn to glare at me. “Once those pictures are in the universe, it’s forever.”
“Take it off my phone now,” I threaten between clenched teeth, “or I’m telling Grandma Olivia.”
He stares at me, wondering if I’m bluffing. “Good, then that means you are going to come home for a visit because she will force you.”
“And Grandma Charlotte.” I play my last card, and he just glares at me. “I’m not kidding. I swear this feels like I’m in college all over again when you put all those trackers in my purse without me knowing.”
“Sofia,” he murmurs my name softly, “how was I supposed to know that you wouldn’t be sex trafficked or kidnapped?”
“Three hundred and forty-seven trackers!” I shout. “I’m surprised I wasn’t followed by the FBI.”
He laughs. “Please, my guys are way better than the FBI.”
“Okay, I’m going to go now and get myself a new phone and not give you the number,” I tell him. “Then I’m going to go on ten blind dates, and you’ll never know.”
“Okay, okay, fine,” he concedes, holding up his hand and then turning to click two things on his keyboard. “There, done.” He looks at me. “Now, when are you coming home?”
“Never.” I side-eye him, trying to ignore him.
“Your horse misses you,” he says softly. He knows that I’ll do anything for Peaches.
“I’ll come home sometime next week, but it’ll probably be just a day trip,” I inform him. “Now, I have to go. I love you even though you are you.”
He laughs. “I love you more, Sunshine.” He uses my nickname, and I suddenly miss home.
“Bye.” I reach out to press the red button, not waiting for him to say goodbye.
I turn my computer on, checking the emails. I reply to the ones I can respond to and then send the ones that need to be looked at to Shelby.
“Are you ready for today?” Clarabella walks into my office a couple of hours later. She is wearing slacks and a sleeveless shirt with sneakers. She sits in one of the chairs.
I look up from the notes I made yesterday with another couple. “No,” I immediately tell her, leaning back in my chair.
“What are you two discussing?” Presley asks, walking into the room with the baby in her baby Bjorn strapped to her chest.
“If she is ready for today,” Clarabella replies and Presley just raises her eyebrows.
“What are you wearing?” Presley asks, and I stand and walk around the desk.
“Damn, girl, look at that ass,” Clarabella declares. “That is the best revenge outfit I ever saw.”
“It’s not a revenge outfit,” I try to tell them. “It’s more of an I am doing fine without you.”
“Well, whatever it is, it’s working,” Clarabella says.
“And,” I tell them, walking back around my desk, “I have a date.”
They gasp at me, the baby jumps in front of Presley, so she moves side to side to not wake her. “What do you mean?” she asks in a whisper.
“It means that I connected with someone on the app,” I tell them of the date that I made while I was three glasses into my white wine the other day.
“Let’s see his picture,” Presley says. I grab my phone, pulling up the app, and turning to show her the picture.
“He looks cute,” Clarabella states and I look at the phone when she gives it back to me. I look at the man who is dressed in a polo shirt. He has curly black hair and wears glasses—not someone I would typically go out with, but this is about changing things up.
“He likes walks in the forest,” I tell them as I look at them and Clarabella grimaces. “What?” I ask.
“That sounds like, sketchy to me,” she warns. “Walks in the forest. You better bring mace with you.”
“And a Taser for sure,” Presley adds, still moving from side to side. “You are going to have to share your location with us.”
I’m about to tell them something when the bell rings, alerting us someone has come in. “Shit, is that them?” I look at my watch to see they are five minutes early.
“Oh my God.” Clarabella jumps out of her chair and rushes out of the door. “Dibs.”
“Wait until I call you,” Presley says in a whisper as I see Shelby rush down the hall also.
“Is this show-and-tell?” I whisper-hiss.
“If it’s show-and-tell,” Presley teases, “how big is the eggplant?”
“Go away.” I walk over to my heels and slip my feet inside them. I can secretly hear them weep as I walk over to the desk and grab my phone and the manila folder that is the couple’s. I sit down in the chair trying to steady the way my heart is speeding up, knowing he’s out there.
“You can do this,” I say to myself, “it’s going to be fine. You are going to go out there and you are going to give them the best service you can.”
I hear the speaker turn on. “Sofia.” Clarabella’s voice now fills my office. “Your…” I close my eyes hoping to hell she doesn’t say your ex-love is here. “…appointment is here.”
“Showtime,” I say, getting up and stopping by the mirror before I go out. I smooth down the skirt a bit before walking out.
The hallway seems to be shorter than it’s ever been, and right before I walk into the open area, I put on my game face. I smile as soon as I walk into the room.
My eyes find his staring at me, making me hate that the first thing I looked at was him. His blue eyes look straight at me, and I can see the vein in his jaw pulse as he bites down hard. My eyes quickly look away, going to Helena. “Helena,” I greet her first, “so nice to see you again.” I hold out my hand to shake hers.
“Sofia,” she says my name and I look to see she is wearing pants and a button-down shirt with heels. Her hand is holding her black Chanel while the other hand holds on to Matthew. “You remember my fiancé, Matthew Petrov.”
“I do.” I turn my focus to Matthew and see that he’s dressed up today, minus the jacket. “Matty, nice to meet you again.” I use the nickname everyone calls him, everyone but me that is. I regret reaching for his hand the minute it slips into mine. I swear to God a tingle runs right through me like an electric shock. Pushing it away quickly, I pull my hand out of his. “Shall we get started?”