Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Just then, one of Dante’s men approached me. He held out a fat envelope. Stuffed with cash, no doubt.
“If you need any more,” he said, “please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Um … okay,” I said, taking it, and he started to walk away.
But I had completely lost any interest in sightseeing or whatever the hell I was doing. I got to my feet and called him back before he could go too far out of sight.
“I’d like to go back to the hotel,” I called out.
He nodded and waited for me.
Chapter 29
Dante
Ihad back-to-back meetings all day and by the time the last one was concluded, it was nearly eight. I knew Zola was safe in the hotel, but she had not answered my calls so I decided to pay her a visit before I returned to my suite. I knocked and she opened the door a crack.
“I’m about to go to bed,” she said.
“I have something important to talk to you about.”
She pulled the door open fully and stepped aside to let me enter.
She looked unhappy. Her eyes were red and swollen and her hair messy.
“What is it?” she asked. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
I looked around the room. The bed linen was creased. She must have been lying on top of it. I also couldn’t help but notice just how quiet the room was. The television hadn’t even been turned on.
I turned to face her. “I tried to reach you several times but you didn't pick up my calls.”
“Sorry, I was asleep. My phone was set to silent.”
“You can't do that. There could be an emergency and I need to be able to reach you immediately at all times.”
She sighed and nodded.
“Alright.”
“Have you had dinner?”
She seemed surprised. “Dinner? Is that what you wanted to ask me about?”
“No, but have you eaten?”
“I don’t have an appetite.”
Her tone was firm and definite and a very clear message for me to take my leave, but I couldn’t leave. Not while she was in this state. I turned away from her and headed straight to her bathroom.
“What are you doing?” she asked following me. “Where are you going?”
I pulled my jacket off and draped it across one of the chairs by the side. Then I rolled my sleeves up.
“I think a bath will be good for you,” I said.
She stopped by the door. I turned on the faucet. I don’t know the first thing about running a bath for a woman, but I figured it just had to be full, fragrant, and soapy. I looked around at a basket of supplies. There was mineral salt, gel, perfumed oil, and bath bombs. Not knowing which to use I dumped them all into the water. Almost immediately the water began to rise and foam. I considered my attempt successful. I turned around and saw her watching me, amusement in her eyes.
“To start with, I didn't say I wanted to have a bath,” she said. “Also, you’d better shut the water off, you kind of overdid it with the bubble bath.”
I shut the taps off. She was right. "Regardless it would be nice to have one, wouldn’t it? It smells great, it’s warm, and it will help you relax.”
She met my gaze and for the next few seconds, neither of us said a word. I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
“What do you want to eat?” I asked. “Is there anything in particular you want from a restaurant in the city?”
Her expression showed me how disengaged she was before she turned around and walked towards the bed. I called the hotel service as I went over to the sofa chair. I heard their selection, made a variety of choices, and ended the call.
“I need to rest,” she said. “I won’t be able to do so if you’re still here.”
My defense was simple. “I ordered enough food for the both of us. I’ll leave after we’re done eating.”
“You’re forcing me to have dinner with you?”
“I ordered for two,” I pointed out.
She sat up and leaned against the headboard and closed her eyes. A defeated gesture.
“Zola,” I called softly. Maybe it was because of the unusual tone of my voice but she immediately looked up and met my gaze.
“Why did you come back to the hotel early?”
She shrugged. “Why not? I gave your men a chance to rest.”
“You came here to find some sort of escape and relief, and to rest. My men are paid very handsomely to protect you.”
A long stretch of silence followed, and then she said, “My father died on your watch.”
Her words cut deep like a knife and it must have shown on my face because immediately I could see the remorse in her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I don’t know why I’m being such a bitch. I know he asked you to divert your men to look for the informant.”