Which led me to the obvious, if a little uncomfortable, question.
Jokes aside...just how many others were there?
I was by no means a prude. Before dear Nicholas had come around and ruined whatever chance I had at a social life. I had boyfriends here and there, but I wasn’t in the same ballpark as Nick. If I was being honest, we weren’t even in the same league.
I needed work to distract me. But what was work nowadays?
I had been unofficially banned from the office. While Nick might like to present his hard-working girlfriend to the world, the rest of his father’s company wasn’t so proud. I was allowed to keep my title, and the promise to return, as long as I temporarily relinquished all rights for the time being. That wasn’t a problem—given the team that I had set in place—but it did leave me at a bit of a loss as to what to do with myself.
What did Nick’s girlfriends do all day? It wasn’t like they had jobs. Most of them didn’t even live in the same country. They were guests—staying at his penthouse. No responsibilities to take care of, no ties to hold them down. So what exactly did they do?
You know exactly what they do, Abby. You started doing a bit of it yourself last night...
Damn this subconscious of mine! Had she always been so judgmental?
Too nervous for my bagel and suddenly eager to be rid of myself, I quickly paid inside and headed back to my apartment. With every step, the questioned weighed heavier and heavier upon my shoulders, but by the time I got to my building, I was brimming with fresh resolve.
What was I going to do with myself? Something positive—that’s what.
I wasn’t going to just sit on my fake-laurels and wait for boyfriend dearest to get home, I was going to put my fleeting celebrity to good use. Art auctions, fundraisers, charities for schools—I would do the lot. Not only would it be good for the Hunter reputation, but it would give me a sense of purpose throughout this whole crazy debacle. A sense of meaning.
And who knows? Maybe once this is all over—I can keep up some of the commitments I started. It’s not like I want my entire life to be public relations. I can branch out and do other things as well. Consider this relationship as a great launching point for other ventures.
It shouldn’t be too hard. As long as I keep a clear line between what’s real and what’s...
I trailed off as I got to the top of the stairs, and peered down the hall at my door. It was open. Even though I was sure I’d locked it shut.
Venturing cautiously closer, I knocked twice before sticking my head inside.
“Hello?” I called warily. It wasn’t like a burglar to advertise his presence by leaving open the door, and Larry, my landlord, tended to do spot-checks without my permission. “Larry—is that you? Is anyone there?”
No response.
Feeling even more cautious than before, I headed inside—walking on tiptoe as I pushed open the threshold and crossed the door.
That’s when I stopped cold.
That’s when I blinked around in absolute shock.
That’s when I realized I didn’t live there anymore...
* * *
“NICK!”
I started screaming even before I got off the elevator. Even before I realized that it was seven in the morning, and everyone else who lived in his building was almost undoubtedly asleep. At the moment, I couldn’t bring myself to care. At the moment, I was officially homeless.
“NICK—GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!”
There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he’d done it. That he was the one responsible. I’d seen him do it before. Not while moving in girlfriends, but while moving out competitors. Nosy neighbors. Rivals. People with whom he swore he could never get along.
It was one of his favorite things to do to pass the time. Play god.
It was the reason that he had a New York moving company on speed dial. The reason that the city’s police chief was safely in his pocket. Coincidentally, it was also the same reason that I had tried to do the same thing with Ella just a few weeks before.
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I appreciated the irony. Nick did not.