Chapter 4: Google.
"Good morning, Miss Stone." Ashton says as I walk into my office. He is sitting on my plush white sofa, a magazine in hand. Naya informed me that Ashton was in here waiting.
"Don't patronize me." I tell him, rolling my eyes.
"You look good." He says, eyeing my custom Versace pantsuit.
"Why are you here?" I ask him, placing my YSL purse on my steel table. I walk around the table and sit in my chair.
"You know why. You've been avoiding my calls." He says, standing up putting his hands in his pockets as he stares at me.
"For a reason. You want to partner up, I don't. Case closed. You can leave now, Ashton." I tell him, placing a strand of my hair behind my ear.
"Oh come on, Vee. This is why our parents wanted us to build that hotel six years ago. They saw what we didn't. They knew that we would make magic and a shit ton of money." He says, taking a cigarette out of his breast pocket and lighting it.
"Don't do that in my office and don't call me Vee. We aren't in Chicago anymore or Langston, so refrain from bringing up the past. Partnering with you isn't wise. McCain Construction plays dirty. I don't want my men mingling with yours." I tell him, bluntly.
"Ouch. Someone's hurt. Who hurt you, Val?" He says, staring at me.
He's so annoying.
"Just leave." I tell him.
"Not until you agree. This building will be the talk of New York for generations to come. It's going to be a head turner. Don't you want to be a part of history?" He asks me and I stare at him.
"Ugh, fine. I'll have Andrew from Architecture meet up with you tomorrow." I tell him, giving in.
"Finally." Ashton says, clapping his hands. "You're not gonna regret this." He says, smiling at me.
"I wasn't planning to. Now, go. I have work to do." I say, shooing him.
"Yes ma'am." He says, before he walks out of my office.
Even though Ashton is a total pest, he is one of the familiar faces I see here in New York. And as annoying as he is, he's like the little brother I never had. Our relationship got stronger sophomore year when I changed my major to his. We spent a lot of time together and became friends.
He's okay.
My office phone rings and I pick it up.
"Ma'am, there's a Mr Henderson on line three. He says it's urgent." Teagan, my receptionist tells me.
Oh, not this.
"Put him on." I tell her, placing the phone down and turning on the speaker.
"What?" I say, leaning in my chair.
"Valarieeeee." He says, excitedly.
"Why are you calling my job, Zach?" I ask him.
"I wanted to say hi to an old friend. Or you don't like that since you're pretending not to know me now." He says.
"I'm not pretending to do anything. I'm leaving the past in the past. Not every guy I'm seeing has to know about you." I tell him.
"Are you sure about that? The guy that took your virginity is a pretty crucial detail for your new boyfriend to know." Zachary says and I groan.
"Goodbye." I say, ending the call.
I can't deal with him.
After having peace and quiet for five years, I'm not about to have a siren of a boy blare through my life.
Picking up my phone I go straight to Google. Putting Zachary's full name in the search bar, I press the search button.
Zachary Henderson is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted right out of his home town "Langston" in the heart of Missouri and was selected first overall by the Jets in the 2020 NFL Draft. Henderson has won three Super Bowls for the team and the Most Valuable Player award three seasons in a row.
Okay, big shot.
I click on the news column and I articles.
"ZACHARY HENDERSON DATING HISTORY. HIS CURRENT GIRLFRIEND AND MORE." The article reads.
I click on it.
Why am I doing this?
"Cause you're a nosy bitch." My subconscious tells me.
The first name that pops up is Sabrina Iran, a Ukrainian model, she's his current girlfriend. According to the news article, they've been dating for a year. He has a girlfriend, why the hell is he bothering me?
I'm not even going to think about him or this.
I place my phone in my purse and start going through paperwork for the day.
***
"Dinah!!!" I call out as I walk into my house.
"Hey, you're back." She says, holding a washcloth.
"Yeah. Do I have any mail?" I ask her, taking my shoes off.
"Yes, a package came in for you." She tells me before she walks away. She comes back with the package in her hand.
It's a white box.
I collect it from her.
"I'm going to finish up dinner." Dinah tells me and I nod.
Walking to my room, I place the box on my bed before I start undressing. I grab a pair of pajamas from my dresser and I change into it.
I sit on my bed and I open the white box. It's a book, with a card on it.
"Finally finished that book. Call me when you get this.
- Adam."
Adam started writing a book sophomore year of college, and now it's in my hand in paperback. I'm so proud of him.
Getting my phone out of my bag, I dial Adam's number. He answers immediately.
"Did you get it?" Is the first thing he says to me.
"I did. I'm so proud of you, Adam." I tell him, running my hand over the hard material of the book.
"Open the book and go to dedication." He tells me and I do as I am told.
"To my best friend and forever muse, Valarie Stone." Is written on the page.
"Adam." I squeal. "That's so sweet." I tell him, almost tearing up.
"You were definitely my motivation to complete this book, so it's only right that I dedicate it to you." He says and I start tearing up.
"Thank you." I say, smiling to myself. I look at the tattoo on my hand before saying "To infinity and beyond."
"To Infinity and beyond." He repeats.
"How's Ash?" I ask him.
"She's doing good. How's New York?" He asks me.
"Busy. But busy's good, it keeps the distractions and blue-eyed men away." I tell him.
"So, you have spoken to Zachary." He says, laughing.
"How did you know?" I question.
"He called me last week asking for your number. I didn't give it to him obviously. What does he want from you?" Adam asks me.
"I don't know." I say shrugging. "But whatever it is, he's not getting it. My life is finally stable, I don't need that tornado of a man to come in and wreck it."
"Right. Well, this was fun, but I gotta go. Talk to you later, Vee." He says.
"Bye." I tell him before he hangs up.
My stomach rumbles and I stand up from my bed and head to the kitchen.
Grabbing a bowl from my plate rack, I place it on the counter and pour Cheerios in it. I open my fridge and grab almond milk. I pour it into the bowl and I grab a spoon.
I walk to my living room and I sit on the sofa, grabbing the remote on the coffee table. I scroll through Netflix before I pick a movie.