Page 34 of My Only

The sudden ring of his phone cut him off.

We both turned toward it as it vibrated on the table near his plate.

I glanced at the stove clock. 6:15 a.m.

My brows pulled together. “Who could that be?”

“No idea.” Hassani picked up his phone, flipping it over to check the screen. His brows furrowed even deeper. “I don’t know this number.”

It was a little early for the phone to be ringing.

I thought it but didn’t say it, too curious to find out what it was about.

By the third ring, Hassani answered, putting the call on speaker.

“Hello?”

“Good morning.”

The voice was bright and chipper, as if it were six in the evening, not six in the morning.

“I’m Chelsea Foster, the assistant to Bryant Greene. Am I speaking with Mr. Hassani Franklin?”

Hassani immediately straightened in his seat—so did I.

“Yes.”

Our eyes met, my hand flying to my chest.

“Is now a good time to speak, Mr. Franklin?”

“Yeah,” Hassani replied quickly, clearing his throat. “I mean, yes. Now is good.”

“Perfect.” She giggled. “I apologize for calling so early, but Mr. Greene requested I make contact to confirm if you’re available to meet with him today.”

Hassani blinked hard at that.

“He was able to review your proposal and go over your community sketch. He’d like to discuss your plans further with you in person.”

“Oh! Okay… umm…yeah, cool.” Hassani shook his head. “I mean… good. Great.”

I slapped a hand to my mouth, my eyes wide in shock. I removed my hand long enough to mouth, Oh my God.

Earlier that summer, Hassani had told me about a major project he had written a proposal for.

One of his former clients from 2018 to 2019, Arielle St. James—owner of several luxury hotels, including the largest one in Tribeca—had recommended Hassani to an acquaintance. Hassani thanked her and left it at that, not thinking much of it

That acquaintance turned out to be Bryant Greene—something Hassani only discovered when the multi-billionaire personally reached out, inviting him to create a proposal and sketch based on his vision.

Hassani had jumped on it, completing everything in just a week.

We hadn’t heard anything back. Not a word.

So Hassani moved on, focusing on life and work, believing he wouldn’t get a second meeting.

Until now.

“Mr. Greene only has a small window of three hours before he flies out of the country,” Chelsea continued. “He needs to meet with you this morning. Would you be able to make it to his office in Manhattan within the next hour and a half?”

---