Page 13 of Snow Bound

Anna blinked. “You talked to his boss?”

“Yeah.”

“Lola, it’s—” She sat up to check the clock on her phone and do the time zone math. “Five-thirty in the morning”

“He was up. Or pretended he was.”

“You called him at home?”

“On his cell. Nobody’s in the office at five-thirty in the morning, Anna. Not even on a Monday.”

Anna sank back into the water with a groan. “You’re out of control.”

“Relax, it’s fine. After the initial shock that I was able to get his personal cell phone number,” Lola said, her voice going smug, “I think Simon ‘Big Dick’ Hastings was entertained by the whole thing.”

“Big Dick?” Anna parroted.

“He has a reputation for swinging his dick around. Metaphorically speaking, of course.”

“I’m dreaming,” Anna decided. “I never woke up, and this is all just a really weird dream I’m having because I drank champagne with cheesy scrambled eggs. Any second now I’m going to wake up, still in bed, because none of this ever happened.”

“According to Big Dick, Grant just got back from a job in Hong Kong and is off work for two weeks, which he planned to spend at his mother’s house. According to property records, that’s your rental. So, he checks out.”

“There. Are you happy now?”

“No, but I’m reasonably satisfied he’s not there to murder you.”

“Paranoid,” Anna accused.

“Vigilant,” Lola corrected. “So when you fuck him again?—”

Anna picked up a washcloth. “I told you, I’m not doing that.”

“—you have my approval.”

Anna squirted some body wash on the cloth and squeezed to suds it up. “Did I ask?”

“No, but as your best friend, I offer it anyway.”

Anna propped her foot on the side of the tub and began to soap her leg. “You don’t think it would be a bad idea?”

Lola snorted. “I think you checked the Bad Idea box when you anger-banged him on the kitchen counter.”

“Ha, ha.”

“And since the horse is already out of the barn, I think you should get more orgasms. Besides, you like him, right?”

“Liked,” Anna corrected. “Past tense. And that was before he ghosted me.”

“He did not ghost you,” Lola reminded her. “He was out of the country for work.”

“Yeah, well, I’m still mad about it.”

“So anger-bang him again. At least this way you get something out of it.”

“A healthy and slutty outlook.”

“Healthy and slutty is my vibe. Look, I have to go. I have a seven o’clock Zoom deposition and I want to finish my workout.”

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