Page 6 of The Woman

It’s already dark outside when my father knocks and enters without waiting for a reply. He was out for most of the day and probably just arrived back at the office. I toss my pen onto my desk and lean back in my chair, stretching out my back and neck.

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you yesterday, but I’m proud of you,” he states, walking over to me.

“Thanks,” I tell him, watching as he takes a seat on the opposite side of my desk. I know he was the one to suggest I be promoted now instead of waiting any longer.

Unbuttoning his cuffs, he gets a little more comfortable now that his workday is over. “I heard you picked a pretty one today.” I shrug in response, and his sharp eyes narrow. “You were given a great privilege to be able to do that at your age. We do not take these things lightly, Phoenix.”

“I know.”

“What are you still doing here, anyway?” he asks. “You should be home already, spending time with, what was her name? Ava?”

“Avery,” I mumble, picking up my pen again to continue what I was doing.

“Right. You should be home with her. It’s your first night, after all.”

Leaning over my desk, I flit my eyes up to him for a second and then back to the work in front of me. “I need to finish this first.”

“It will still be here in the morning. You’ve done well today. Go home.”

I continue flipping through some pages, signing and dating on the appropriate lines. “This will just take another hour or so.”

“Phoenix,” my father responds. I keep working while waiting for him to continue, but when I don’t look up and acknowledge him, he presses a finger on the top of my pen, halting my writing. “Go. Home. Spend time with Avery.”

Finally glancing up again, I’m met with my father’s steely gaze and the firm set of his jaw. His tone left no room for arguing of any sort. He may not be as fearsome as my grandfather, but he is still not someone I like to go against. Dropping my pen, I nod once and slowly get to my feet.

“Yeah. Alright.”

My father also stands, waiting as I slip into my suit jacket and close my laptop. I guess he’s not going to be satisfied unless he sees me actually leave. Switching off the lamp on my desk, I follow after him.

It’s going to be another long fucking night.

Chapter 4

Hesitating outside my apartment, I listen for a minute, trying to see if I can hear any sounds from the other side before finally entering my code and walking through the heavy door. I make a mental note to reset my door code at some point since I had to give it out earlier today.

It’s silent when I step inside, and I wonder if maybe I got lucky somehow and she was delivered to the wrong address. I would just leave her there if that were the case.

I slip my shoes off and kick them to the side. The foyer is almost the size of my guest bedroom, with a high ceiling and multiple teardrop lights hanging down. The large mirror to the left makes it appear even bigger, and I run my fingers through my hair as I glance at myself and slowly make my way through the room and into the main living area. The living room, dining room, and kitchen are open-concept, with high ceilings as well.

At first, I don’t see her as I make a quick scan of the area, but as soon as I look toward the kitchen, all of my hopes come crashing down, and my blood pressure begins to rise. There, Avery sits at my breakfast bar, reading a sheet of paper in front of her.

When she notices me, her eyes widen just the slightest bit before she straightens up and offers me a small smile. “Good evening.” I don’t reply at first and instead decide to continue on past her toward my bedroom to get changed. “I’ve been waiting for you,” she calls after me. “Can I get you something?”

“No,” I mumble and continue on.

As soon as I step into my walk-in closet, the hand that was undoing my tie freezes as I take in the space. All of my things have been moved around and put on one side of the closet, and other feminine clothing has been added. My nostrils flare, and my lips purse. It hasn’t even been a day, and now this.

Storming back out again, I clench and unclench my fists a couple of times before speaking. “Did you go through my closet?”

Avery scrambles to her feet, possibly hearing the lethal tone of my voice through clenched teeth.

“Um–”

I scoff and cut her off. “Never mind.”

She would never think to do those things unless she was told. It was probably the people who brought her here, although I have no idea why they felt the need to set her up in my room and touch my things.

I glance around the area, sucking in a breath through my nose and then releasing it slowly, trying to rein in my annoyance. But as my gaze sweeps over my apartment, I notice other things have been moved around as well, things that I hadn’t noticed when I first arrived.

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