contracts and I looked them over,” Shontell said. She began to flip through the paperwork. She made sure her tone was professional so that Ebony would know this was strictly about their business projects.
“Yes, I looked them over too. I see that everything is in order. Are we still having a staff roundup tomorrow? I can sign these tonight and then bring them with me.” Ebony grabbed her pen and made a note on the document she had in front of her.
“Yes, I think we need to cover the upcoming schedule of events and parties,” she told her. She was just about to say something else when she heard a man’s voice. It sounded familiar, she thought, but how could that be? She didn’t even know Ebony was seeing anyone…guess that would explain her lack of appearance at the office and store. She crossed her legs and set her tablet on the stand, hitting the volume button so that she could hear her background more. “Oh, I didn’t know you had company. We can finish this tomorrow,” she told her.
Ebony’s eyes got big at her comment, and Shontell wondered why. Suddenly the screen went black, but she could hear muffled voices. A few seconds went by, and then Ebony’s face came back onto the screen. She looked upset.
“Everything okay?”
“Oh, yes. Okay, I will see you tomorrow,” she told her hurriedly and ended the call before Shontell could say anything else. Closing the conference call app, Shontell hit the side button to turn the tablet screen off. She thought about how odd that was. She dismissed it as she checked her watch and saw she had some time to kill. She decided to listen to some music to gather her thoughts. She thought about Nico’s visit and smiled. She hoped she was making the right choice because she knew her last relationship ended badly. She had been single for close to two and a half years now. She told herself that the next time it would be with a normal guy. She caught herself from laughing out loud. Voicing her thought to the empty room, “Hell who determines what a normal guy is these days.” Industry men, as she called them, were normal too; she just happened to fall for one back then that wasn’t.
She took her iPod out of her purse and then set it in the radio. She let the music take over her. She was asleep before she knew it. She dreamt of her and Nico as they were on the cruise, watching the sunset together. They were just holding one another. Then she heard ringing in the distance, and she slowly opened her eyes. She realized her cell phone was ringing. She reached over and accidentally knocked the phone off the nightstand. She picked it up and spoke softly, “Hello.”
“Girl, that video was something else. What were you doing? I know you aren’t sleeping when you have all those fine men around you…especially the one that kissed your behind,” Sandy rattled off non-stop.
Shontell took the phone from her ear, still listening to Sandy ramble on. She was a bit confused and looked around, halfway thinking Nico would be lying next to her. The dream had seemed so real. “What time is it?” she asked her friend, hoping she would just answer and stop what she was saying.
“It’s 4:45,” Sandy told her.
Shontell jumped up, looking around for her shoes. She dropped the phone again. Yelling, she told Sandy to hold on. She picked her phone up and put her on speaker. Shontell went around the room, getting her clothes while she continued their conversation. “Damn, I didn’t realize I fell asleep and especially not for this long. I was only trying to power nap...Dinner is supposed to be served in fifteen minutes, and I am not even ready. I’ll call you back when I come back to the room. They have a free night so, depending on what they want to do, it may be late.” They said goodbyes and ended the call.
Shontell quickly took a shower and then put on a flowing dress and heels. She did her makeup and glanced at the clock. She was fifteen minutes late as she headed out the
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley