Page 10 of Deeper

I rolled my eyes. “I noticed.”

Ding.

We arrived and the door opened. I waited for Zander to step out first before following him past the lavish lounge spread set up just outside the suite.

Zander procured his key to the room and let me in first before coming in behind me and shutting the door.

Once inside, I paused, taking in the expensive layout. The entertainment area greeted me first, a cream-colored sectional complete with a coffee table in front of a wall of nothing but windows. The curtains were open, and since we were on the top floor, the night view of the city was a nice backdrop. Further into the room, in the corner, was a baby grand piano beside another large window.

Zander walked by all this and I followed him into the next room, where a large sofa sat. A flatscreen hung up on the wall in front of the coffee table. Zander made no effort to turn it on as he stepped past me and headed over to the end table by the sofa. The penthouse was like a whole apartment; there was a formal dining room table in the next room, and a kitchen area.

The suite was dripping in opulence. It was all enough to make me feel poor and extra ashamed of my little apartment in Hemingway Park.

“Here.” Zander came and held out a charger. “iPhone, right?”

“Yeah.” I accepted the charger and gathered my phone, ready for this nightmare to be over.

“You can go into the master bathroom and charge it while you clean up.” Zander examined my arm. “I do wish those assholes hadn’t run off.”

I took my arm back, remembering it was him who put me in that awful situation. Him and his mysterious reason for cancelling the show.

Zander stood and reached back, grabbing the neck of his hoodie and beginning to pull it over his head. As he did this, the shirt he had on underneath rose, giving me a nice peek at his taut stomach.

He had a lower stomach tattoo. By the waistband on the right side of his jeans, tattooed were the wordsI Dare You…I couldn’t help but snort at the phrase. I seriously doubted Zander Khalil had to dare anyone to suck his dick.

In fact, against my angst, I couldn’t deny how gorgeous he was in person. From the accent, to his presence, to the smell of his expensive cologne. If I weren’t so angry, perhaps I would’ve been a little bit starstruck, or maybe even fangirling.

Victoria would’ve been.

At the thought of my best friend, I went and slipped into the bathroom.

Oh come on.

It shouldn’t have surprised me how nice the bathroom was, but the room screamed rich-rich.

I hate it here.

It was a full marble bathroom with a separate shower and tub area. There was even a private room for just the toilet. The his and hers sink offered plenty of counter space and even wall outlets. I plugged in Zander’s wall charger and hooked up my phone before grabbing a fluffy, soft white washcloth. On the counter was a complimentary bottle of body wash and I turned the water on and washed my arm, ridding myself of the scalper’s blood.

My only belongings were the clothes on my back, my cell phone, and my apartment key I kept in my phone case whenever I was going out and didn’t want to carry a purse.

My phone buzzed, letting me know it was turning on and charging. The white Apple symbol another testament. Moments later my phone was glowing with alerts, missed text messages from Victoria, a few missed calls, as well as a voicemail message.

I called her back and she answered immediately. “Bia?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” I said.

On her end, Victoria breathed a sigh of relief. “Where the hell are you? What happened? One minute I was outside waiting for you, and the next, folks is fightin’ and this girl maced this other girl. Everyone took off running when one-two pulled up. I tried to stick close to the building, but they were acting a fool and I didn’t want to get run over.”

It was time to play Two Truths and a Lie. Victoria didn’t need to know I’d met Zander, the jerk who’d wasted her and everyone else’s time that evening. “Ugh, I went outside after using the restroom. I thought that fancy car was Zander and I tracked it down, stupid I know, but I just wanted an explanation. Those scalpers cornered me, and thankfully, a nice guy came to the rescue.”

“Bianka Brooke Leslie!” my best friend reprimanded me by calling out my full name. “Have you lost your damn mind? Do you know how many girls get snatched up in this city?”

I shivered to think what would’ve happened hadn’t Zander shown up. I would’ve liked to think I was going to get the better of Skinny at least. “I know, Tori. I’m an idiot. Where are you?”

“At the McDonald’s around the corner,” she said. “I stuck to the plan.”

The plan. It was something my mother had taught me when I was younger, that if we were ever separated, never to panic, that the first thing to do was make it to a busy place of business and call and wait.

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