Billionaire Beast

She’s kind enough to give me a crash course in the back of the cab, though.

I get to the door, and Boris holds it open for me.

“How did the scan go?” he asks.

“We’ll find out just as soon as the doctor who was supposed to get me in turns up,” I tell him.

Boris mumbles through an empathetic response to my bad luck when my phone starts to ring. I’m not entirely surprised to see that it’s Yuri’s boss and my doctor/late night friend calling.

“Sorry, I should probably take this,” I tell him. “Hello?”

“Hey, I’m sorry I missed our appointment today,” Jace says. “I was wondering if there was any way I could swing by for a little bit.”

“Why?” I ask, pretty irritated that he left me high and dry and has the nerve to ask a favor.

“It’s Melissa,” he says. “I don’t know if you were joking with what you said about her, but I need some advice.”

“I don’t suppose this is something we could discuss through an intercom, is it?” I ask.

“It’s really something I’d prefer discussing face-to-face.”

“All right,” I tell him. “You know where I live.”

“Great, I’ll be right there.”

I hang up, and Boris asks who called. I just tell him it’s an old friend that’s going to be stopping by for some advice.

Truth be told, I’m actually glad that Jace is coming over. I don’t know that I could really handle walking into my apartment alone. Since my diagnosis, I’ve started to realize just how alone I am.

I’ve put so much time and effort into being a success in my professional life that I’ve neglected cultivating relationships with anyone outside of a business context.

Sure, there’s Mags, but she’s not really the kind of person that’s going to be able to handle this sort of thing. So, for now, I guess I’m just stealing moments with the people that I can.

Chapter Six

Choking on the Sinker

Jace

I get to Grace’s building and the doorman recognizes me, waving me through.

Right now, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. Things were going so well yesterday, but this morning, Melissa was already gone when I woke up.

I press the button on the elevator, trying to get the image of that video out of my head.

When it was happening, I was far enough away from the screen that I couldn’t make out what Melissa was saying to the camera. I don’t know, maybe it’s nothing to worry about.

Maybe my lip-reading isn’t nearly as good as I think it is and maybe I’m just blowing this whole thing out of proportion, but Melissa’s not answering her phone, and I happen to know for a fact that she’s not at work.

I’m not proud to say it, but I checked.

I get off the elevator and walk down the hall to Grace’s door and just stand there for a minute.

What I’m doing right now isn’t fair.

What I?

??m doing right now is bullshit.