Page 70 of Strictly Business
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
So do I.
Chapter Thirty-Six
MICHAELA
WHAT IS THAT SOUND? It’s so loud. Like a constant buzz against wood— Oh, shit. I blindly reach for my phone on the nightstand. A glance at the screen tells me I’m not getting back to sleep if I answer, but if I don’t answer, I run the risk of him continuing to call until I do. “What do you want?” I yawn.
“Good morning, Sunshine,” my cousin’s voice comes through the phone. Why the hell is he calling me? “Stopped by your place, but the doorman said you didn’t come home last night. Or most nights, for that matter.”
Shit. Looks like it’s time for the conversation. We haven’t even fully recovered from Josh, now I have to face Nick?
“You’re in town?” I stifle my yawn.
“Dee and I were visiting Romy and Enzo. They’re in town to see his daughter. I figured I’d stop and see my favorite cousin before heading out to Haven.”
Glancing at the clock, I groan and cover my eyes from the sunlight peaking through the blinds. “Nick, it’s eight in the morning.”
“Good thing I brought coffee then.” Before I can ask what that means, there’s a knock at the door and he hangs up.
I groan and force myself out of bed, throwing a sweater on over my pajamas before running to the door. On the other side is none other than Nicholas Davis.
One cup is not enough for this conversation. I finished the coffee he brought in the time it took me to let him inside, brush my teeth, and wake up enough to try and have this conversation. I pour a cup from the fresh pot and offer him one, but he declines from across the island. He’s probably already on his second or third. That’s the only reasonable explanation for him to be this awake so early. I know why he’s here, it’s been six days since Josh knocked on our door. I haven’t spoken to him since he left my condo that day, but Finn left this morning to go down to Charlotte, and I have a feeling he will be making a trip to Josh’s office while he’s there. “Josh told you?” I blow on the steaming liquid before taking a sip.
“Not sure what you’re talking about.”
“C’mon Nick, don’t play stupid.” I roll my eyes. “I know you’re the second person he called after Elizabeth.”
“Actually, he called me first, and then Elizabeth, but semantics.”
“You’re so annoying.”
He laughs. “Why didn’t you just tell us, Mic?”
“Which part?”
“All of it, really, but at least the part about David. I guess I understand not telling us about Finn this early, but—”
“Finn and I aren’t—”
“Michaela, you’re staying in his condo when he’s not even in town. You open the door wearing his sweatshirt. And, according to your own doorman, you’ve barely been home. So, let’s skip the part where we pretend you’re only fooling around and not dating, okay?”
“What do you want me to say?” I sigh. “My life has been a shit show for the past six months. My marriage failed before we’d even been married a full year. We barely saw each other, which made it —”
“That’s not an excuse, Michaela.”
“Not everyone is you and Nina, okay? Not everyone is okay with being away from their partner for extended periods of time. Some of us like to be with them.”
“You think we’re okay with it?” Nick scoffs. “Being away from my wife is not easy. Do you think I like being gone weeks at a time, not knowing if she’ll be there when I get home? Do you think I like only seeing her maybe once a week or once every couple of weeks? And when we do see each other, it’s usually for some fucking event. Do you think I liked not knowing she’s been going to the fucking doctor? No, Michaela. I don’t like any of it, but like David, our careers take us away sometimes. And you have to make the conscious effort to make your marriage work regardless.”
I take a large gulp of my coffee avoiding eye contact with him.
“I’m not saying you have to work things out with David. That’s your decision and you have made the choice to move on, but you could’ve at least told us. Fuck, you could’ve at least told Dee.”
“I was scared! I didn’t think anyone would understand, especially not my parents.”
“I don’t think you give them enough credit. They want you to be happy, Mic. We all do. And if Finn makes you happy then—”