Page 40 of The Model

With bright eyes, she nodded with her hands clasped in front of her chest. Damn, I hoped it was still available because I didn’t want to take away that happiness from her.

Pulling up my contacts, I dialed Henry, who answered on the first ring. “Lexie,” he answered, with happiness brimming from his voice. Hearing him, I instantly missed Henry. He was one of the nicest people I’d ever met.

“Henry, how are you?”

“I’m better now that I’ve heard your voice. It’s been too long. I miss seeing your smiling face every day.” And that was why I loved him.

“I miss you too. I know you’re probably busy, but I wanted to see if anyone had rented my apartment.”

“Are you wanting to move back?” The hopefulness in his voice nearly killed me. He was like a grandfather to me, and I’d abandoned him after I moved out. I should ask him out to lunch or dinner to catch up. It was the least I could do.

“Not quite. My assistant, Raine, do you remember her?” I didn’t wait for his answer. “She’s looking for an apartment, and I know it’s a long shot, but I thought I’d see if mine was still available.”

“Oh.” In that one word, he sounded so sad. I didn’t blame him because I missed seeing him daily too. “I’m sorry to inform you that it has been rented.” Damn it. I knew it was a long shot, but I was hopeful that I could help Raine out. “But…there is another unit that’s opened up. It’s not a two-bedroom like the one you had. Would she be okay with a one-bedroom on the corner?”

“I’m pretty sure she’d be over the moon. She’s sitting right here, so let me ask her.”

“Take your time, honey,” Henry answered.

Putting my phone to my chest, I turned to see Raine about ready to jump out of her skin with excitement. I bit back my smile. “He doesn’t have my old apartment anymore, but he does have a one-bedroom corner apartment.”

“I’ll take anything.” She jumped out of her seat and started forward, but stopped abruptly with a frown on her face. “Wait, how much does it cost? Because I might not be able to afford it.”

Putting the phone back up to my ear, I prayed Henry had the correct answer. “Henry, what’s the price of the apartment?”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that. I’m not sure, but if she can afford yours, she’ll be fine. I know it’s less, but not by how much. Do you think she could stop by today to fill out an application? Even though she’s your friend, it’s required for all tenants.”

“I already gave her the rest of the day off, so she’ll be over shortly.”

“Very good, Ms. Lexie. I do hope that if your friend moves in, I’ll be seeing more of you.”

“You can bet on it, Henry. Thank you so much for your help.”

“Anytime, I look forward to meeting her. I hope you have a good rest of your afternoon.”

“I will, and I’ll see you soon.” I hung up and put my phone in my back pocket. “He said you have to come by and fill out an application, but it sounds like it’s only a formality. I do believe you’ve got yourself a new apartment.”

“Can I just say you are the best boss ever?” Raine shrieked as she ran at me with her arms wide before giving me a big hug.

“I’m glad you think so now because you might not be thinking that tomorrow when I’m making you work late,” I said from the top of her head. Even though I was short at five foot four, Raine was four-foot-something, and she hated it, but it was one of the things that made her so damn cute.

“Perfectly acceptable.” She stepped back with a blinding smile on her face. “Are you sure you want me to leave?” Her words were a reminder of why I had given her the day off in the first place. Never had I been so sure I wanted to be alone. I wanted to cry and be moody and maybe scream a little or a lot, depending on how it made me feel.

“Of course, I’m sure. Go get yourself an awesome apartment, and I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning.”

“Again, thank you, Lexie. You don’t know how much this means to me.” She was still bouncing on her heels as she collected her stuff. Her face was lit with pure joy. “I’ll be here tomorrow, ready to work. I promise.”

Waving her off, I gave her a weak smile before I closed the door and set my alarm. I couldn’t be too careful with Ben out there with a vengeance against me.

With each step I took toward the stairs, tears welled until I could no longer see. Everything was blurry as I let myself finally break down over Ryder. I knew he was too good to be true, and yet I had let myself fall for him. Trudging up the stairs, I let each tear burn whatever kindness I held for him in my heart. Never would I let another man deep inside of me again. They were all the same good for nothing liars, and I wanted nothing to do with the lot of them.

Stepping into my apartment, I was glad he’d never set foot in this space. I didn’t want to see him everywhere I turned. I had moved here for a new start, and it would continue to be one. I spotted the t-shirt Ryder gave me so I could continue to breathe in his piney scent. The urge to burn it was overpowering, but I couldn’t do it. No matter how hard I wanted to hate him, there was still a part of me that was a little in love with him.

Picking up his shirt from the end of my bed, I lifted it to my nose and took in a deep breath. Just like yesterday, his scent had faded so much so that I could barely get the smallest of piney whiffs. While I’d been sad yesterday when I couldn’t get his scent, now I was devastated. I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that I could no longer smell him. Throwing his shirt into the back of my closet, I closed the door, not wanting to see the garment ever again.

Bile rose in my throat out of nowhere and forced me to run to the bathroom to let loose the yogurt and coffee I’d had that morning, heave after heave until there was nothing left in my aching stomach. I hated nothing more than throwing up, and I did everything within my power not to throw up, so it was a surprise this had hit me so hard. Flushing the vile contents, I folded my arms over the seat and rested my head against them. My head was pounding, and the hair around my face was sweaty and stuck to me as I took deep breaths to try and calm down. I felt like a revolting mess as I let tears stream down my face, run off my arm, and splash into the toilet.

I was happy I’d told Raine to take the rest of the day off. She would probably be hovering over me all day and trying to baby me while I wanted to wallow in my misery alone. As another wave of nausea hit me, I cursed Ryder Williams for fooling me. His good looks, charm, amazing cock, and good boy attitude were to blame for all of this.

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