Page 18 of One Night Billionaire

She had intended to drink away her emotions, the biggest one being the loneliness of missing him. It hadn’t worked. All she was doing was wallowing in self-pity for the mistakes she was making.

Would it be so bad to see where things went with him? She wasn’t so sure that her decision was the best one now that she had time to think it through.

Before she could change her mind, she picked up her phone and sent him a text.

Anna: I’m sorry.

Bubbles popped up immediately as Brian read her message and started to reply. Embarrassed, panicked, and guilty, she dropped her phone on the sofa as if it had bitten her. She was both dying to know his response and terrified of it.

Brian: For what?

The jerk. Of course, he wanted her to spell it out for him. Anna sighed and picked her phone up once more. Might as well finish what she started.

Anna: For leaving. I panicked, and I didn’t know what to do. I regret it, and I don’t want you mad at me.

She set the bottle down, about a fourth of it left, and waited for him to reply.

Brian: Panicked about what?

Anna: You’re my boss. That’s the biggest rule in any book. You don’t sleep with your boss.

Brian: You left before I was your boss.

He had her there. They probably should have discussed this before immediately sleeping together, again. She hadn’t been thinking then, well, not about that.

Anna: I thought that’s what was supposed to happen. We sleep together and I’m gone in the morning. That’s how one-night stands work, right?

Brian: Did you stop to think that if I wanted you to go, I would have made that clear?

Anna: I didn’t stop to think about much of anything that night. I’d never before slept with someone I’d only just met. I didn’t know how it was supposed to go.

She waited for Brian to reply, and wondered if he would. The bubbles would appear and then disappear as she waited. He was either stopping and starting or deleting and starting over, either way, it didn’t look good for her.

When he didn’t send a message after a few minutes passed, she got up and emptied the wine bottle in the sink before setting it aside to be thrown out tomorrow. Then, like a responsible adult, and avid wine drinker, she filled up her water bottle and proceeded to drink it all.

She was never fully sure if that helped the headache or not, but on the off chance that it could be even worse if she didn’t drink the water, she was willing to accept it as a potential placebo effect. All that mattered was she gave some effort to stop the hangover as the wine ones were the worst.

Her phone chimed from the living room and she ran to grab it.

Brian: How are you such a good communicator at work and not at all outside of it?

Anna laughed. That was her in a nutshell.

Anna: I use it all up during the day?

Brian: Doesn’t seem like it. You’re talking to me now.

Anna: I didn’t work today, though.

Brian: Good point.

Anna: I really am sorry for any hurt I caused. It wasn’t my intention. I’ll chalk it up to being nervous and confused.

Brian: Which time?

Anna: Both.

Brian: Okay. Apologies accepted. What does that mean for us now?

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