After Alex and Cindy left, Zoey found herself not entirely sure where she should be. She
Sophia came to the rescue within just a few minutes. It was almost like she could smell Zoey’s unease on the wind. “Will you be staying all day?” She made it a casual question, not a snark, which Zoey appreciated.
“It seems like it,” she said. “Assuming I won’t be in your way.”
Sophia waved a hand. “Not in the least. It will be nice to not be in empty rooms all day long. Can I get you anything? More coffee, tea, juice?”
Zoey’s instinct was to say that if she needed anything, she could certainly get it, but there was something in the way Sophia was watching her. It seemed like the woman wasn’t just asking because it was her job. She didn’t show any signs of irritation or frustration, just a quiet, peaceful patience. It was hard for Zoey to find emotional peace with the idea that this woman might actually value her part in making the household run. She chuckled to herself. Southern white guilt at its finest. “I don’t want to keep you from your work,” she said in compromise. “If you want to show me where things are, I’ll happily keep myself supplied.”
Sophia seemed to recognize Zoey’s emotional imbalance, and she smiled. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll make you another cup of coffee, but I’ll show you where everything is so you don’t have to find me if you want another.”
“That sounds great,” Zoey said. “And if you can give me a hint of a good place to set up my laptop, that would be fantastic.”
Sophia looked her up and down for a moment. “Are you a crash on the couch sort, or would you prefer some sort of desk or table?”
Zoey had to grin. “Couch type, most of the time, but I need to plug in today. My laptop is at about 20% battery.”
Sophia nodded. “Let’s get you coffee, and then I know just where you’ll want to be.”
Sophia gave her a quick tour of the kitchen, loaded her up with another cup of amazing coffee and a tray of biscotti and fresh fruit, and then led her into a quiet corner of the house. Zoey hadn’t seen this room at any point in her movements, and of all the places she’d been, it seemed the most calm and welcoming room in the apartment. The furniture was plush and inviting, there was a large television in one corner of the room, and the tables looked like a person could put their feet up without inviting the wrath of a thousand interior designers. Sophia did hand her a coaster, but it wasn’t the kind of room where Zoey vaguely wondered if she needed a coaster to keep her coaster clean. “Thank you,” she said, and Sophia just smiled.
“It really is my pleasure,” the woman said. “When do you tend to eat lunch?”
Zoey gave a shrug that she was fairly sure the other woman would understand. “Whenever I wander into the kitchen and find leftovers?”
Sophia smiled again. “Excellent. Let’s say noon, and if you get hungry earlier, please find me. Truly, it’s nice to have someone around during the day.”
Sophia left, and Zoey went back to the bedroom to retrieve her laptop. She drank her coffee and continued to research, looking deeper into the names she had now. And then, about an hour after Alex had left, she got a text from him, asking her to look into two names.
Tracking them down was easy; both men were high profile figures within the Asian arms trade. What she started to see, as she dug deeper, gave her chills. There was nothing concrete, nothing as clear as an arrow pointing directly to them. If the rumors she was reading were true, then they would be able to deny a great deal of it, say that these things were happening in their companies without their knowledge, and just hang some people lower in the company structure out to dry. But still...if what she was reading was even half true.
She picked up her phone and dialed Alex’s cell, but the call went to voice mail. She wasn’t sure if she should try the office line. She certainly trusted that he’d answer the phone, but she didn’t know if he’d want that conversation to happen on a company line.
She sent a text. Call me ASAP. And then sat back to drum her fingers on her thighs and wait for his call.
He’d called her ‘princess’ in the text. He’d called her that a lot in bed, and in bed, she loved it. In common use, it felt odd, somehow. She’d spent so much time in her teen years and in college rejecting that idea of a beautiful woman made special by her crown. She’d worked so hard to define herself on her own terms, and not in relation to the people in her life, men or women. Everything about the word ‘princess’ defined the person in relation to their country, their heritage, their lives. There was nothing independent about being a princess. Nothing at all.
However when Alex said it, there was a not small part of her that wanted to put on the sparkly tiara and demand to be treated like royalty. It was incredibly disorienting. She would have sworn that she would never really enjoy that feeling. It came as an utter surprise that she did.
Her phone rang after a few minutes. “You found something,” he said, as soon as she said hello.
“Yes.”
“I don’t want to know yet,” he said, and his tone surprised her. She could imagine him in the office, sitting back in his desk chair. “It’s been a hell of a morning. Is it something I need to know right now?”
“I’d say you need to know by the end of the day.” It was a weird question and she hoped her answer was accurate.
“Have you tried out the bathtub yet?” he asked. There was no change of tone in his voice. It was odd to have his CEO voice asking her that.
“No,” she said. “I’ve been working so far.”
“What were you working on?”
“Mostly the research you asked for,” she said. “And then I have some actual work to do.”
“For the Voice?”
“Some, I have a couple of quick gossip pieces to write. And then I have some other content stuff to write.”
“Take a bath first,” he said. It wasn’t a question. “Go fill the tub. I’ll call you back in about five minutes.”
She shivered, just a little, at the command in his voice. “Should I be in the tub when you call back?”
She could hear him considering. “No,” he said. “But you should have your tablet propped up somewhere where I’ll get a good view.”
Her body tightened around the thought of him. She was still wet and slick from touching herself while she’d blown him earlier. “Okay,” she said.