Page 298 of Tormented Billionaire Romance Series

“Sleepy,” I tell him.

“Ah. Listen,” he says, “I know we talked about going out to the island this afternoon, but it looks like I’m going to be in meetings all day.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I tell him. “Do you know when you’ll be done?”

“I’m not quite sure,” he says. “There’s a lot to work out while I’m here. While I’m at the office, though, I thought you might like to take a closer look at the city. We haven’t had a chance to do much sight-seeing while you’ve been here, so I sent my driver to you. He should already be waiting in the lot for you.”

“He’s already there?” I ask, looking at the clock. It’s almost noon. “Yeah, all right,” I tell him. “Let him know I’m going to be a few minutes, though.”

“I’ll send you his number,” he says. “I’m sorry about today, but I’ll see you tonight, okay? I’ve got to let you go.”

“Okay,” I answer. “I’ll see you then.”

I hang up the phone and sigh. It’s thoughtful of him to have his driver take me around, but I really could have done with a bit more sleep.

Regardless, I drag myself out of bed and stagger to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Things have been moving fast with Zach. That night in my apartment, he convinced me that I wasn’t just a potential notch on his bedpost, but I’m not naïve. I know this isn’t going to last forever.

What changed my mind was the realization the relationship doesn’t have to last forever to be worthwhile. Eventually, some supermodel or famous actress is going to come along, and he’s going to lose interest in the small-town girl experiment, but until then, there’s no reason we can’t have some fun.

As long as I know what this is going into it, the pain of our relationship’s inevitable end isn’t quite so daunting.

I shower and dry myself, returning to the room to pick out a suitable outfit for my trek through Manhattan. Zach was kind enough to have some clothes brought over for me, but looking at my options, I’m pretty terrified of wearing anything in the closet. It’s all so expensive.

It takes a minute, but I find something reasonably understated: a black, sleeveless top with a mid-length khaki-colored skirt. I get dressed and ready for the day.

I forgot to send the driver a message telling him I’d be a few minutes, so I get the number from Zach’s text and place the call.

“Miss Michaels,” the man answers. “Would you like me to bring the car around?”

“Sure,” I tell him. “Where do I meet you?”

“For your discretion, I’m parked in the sub-basement of the parking structure,” he says. “Just take the elevator all the way down and I’ll be there to pick you up.”

“Sounds great,” I tell him. “Thanks.”

I take one last look in the mirror, making sure my hair and makeup are passable, and I grab my room key before I’m out the door. Getting off the elevator, I find a man in a cliché driver’s uniform standing next to a town car.

“Miss Michaels,” the driver says, opening the back door.

“Hi,” I answer, not knowing what else to say. “What’s your name?”

“Trevor, ma’am,” he answers. “Your party is already waiting in the car.”

“My party?” I ask.

Trevor nods. “Mr. Scipio sent a couple of gentlemen to escort you today,” he says. “Don’t worry, though. They do an excellent job of staying out of the way. You’ll hardly notice them.

I climb into the back of the town car and there, sitting across from me in a rear-facing seat are two refrigerators with suits and sunglasses.

“Good morning, ma’am,” the one on the left says. “I’m Marc. This is Tony. We’ll be your escort today.”

“Marc,” I say, leaning forward to shake the first man’s hand. “Tony, which I assume is short for Anthony?” I say, to the other. “Do they put you together because of your names, or is that just a coincidence?”

“Ma’am?” Anthony responds.

“Nevermind,” I say, waving it off. “Where are we going?”

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