Gia (Women of Privilege Book 1)

by Bridget Bundy

  By the time I finally make it home, I can barely keep my eyes open. I throw my purse on the floor and crawl right into bed.

  Chapter Twenty

  Ten in the morning, and I’m awaken by the ringing of my house phone. I pick up and hang up. Hopefully, whoever’s calling will get the message. They don’t. The phone rings again. I look at the display. It’s Adam. What in the world does he want?

  “What!” My voice is rough and slurred.

  “Morning, Sunshine! I’m coming over today. We need to get this agreement nailed down. When are you available?”

  “Not today.”

  “I’ll be there in an hour.”

  “Adam-”

  “Tootles, Sunshine!” And he hangs up.

  I guess he’s coming over.

  After taking a long stretch, I let out a tired sigh and call the gate guard to allow Adam entrance when he arrives. Just as I’m about to lay back down, I noticed my purse on the floor. I get up and rummage through it, looking for my main phone. I’m hoping that Lauren has texted or called me. During my search, I find the last note that Joslyn left on my door. I take a quick glimpse at the notification. I’ve been fined one hundred dollars because I left my garage door open. What is it going to take for that bitch to leave me alone? I might have to approach her, but I’ll have to do it when I’m feeling really civil. Right now, I’m not feeling that way at all.

  I stuff the note back in my purse and grab my main cell. Mac has messaged me, wanting to meet for lunch at the hospital today around one in the afternoon. I reply to her message, letting her know I’ll be there. Nick has called thirty-three times since last night and has left a message each time. I’m sure he’s called me all kinds of names and threatened me. It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to listen to any of his messages, and I’m not returning his call. As for the second phone, I’m not going to check it. I haven’t sent Hannah a text message, and she doesn’t have a need to send me one. Honestly, it’s best I leave her alone.

  I decide to check on Anthony. I’m sure he’s here by now. When I get to the guest bedroom, I noticed the bed is made. His suitcase is in the corner. The room is just as he left it yesterday. He didn’t come back last night. I wonder if he knows that Nick is a person of interest in his mom’s murder and that Lauren has left him. I’m sure he does.

  As I’m standing there, looking at an empty room, I’m getting pissed. That man had my car yesterday and all night long, and he has not tried to contact me at all. My number isn’t that hard to find. I have friends that knows him, who has my number, and I haven’t gotten not a single solitary call.

  This is some bullshit, for real. Anthony spent the night with a bitch. Which bitch? Fuck if I know. I’ll deal with him later, and I’m taking my fuckin’ car keys. If he wants to ride around town all day and night, he can get his own vehicle and spend his own gas money. I’m not footing the bill, especially since whatever he’s doing is not for me. I have to shake this anger off. It’s not doing me any good to be angry when Anthony is not here to deal with it.

  I decide to take a shower and get ready for my appointment. Adam will be here shortly, and I don’t need to be looking like a fright. I put on a tight fitting yellow dress that stops midway on my thighs, subtle make-up, and I’ve put my hair up in a high pony-tail. I make sure to cover the bruises on my neck with foundation. I’m not sure if JD or Nick left those marks, but I have to hide them regardless.

  Adam makes a show as promised, and I’m not surprised by the way he looks. He is a tall, skinny, curly haired white guy. He has big green eyes, soft even features on his face, and he’s dressed in a multi-colored shirt with a denim vest and denim pants. Cowboy boots with silver pointed toes finish off his outfit. A black binder is secured under his arm.

  “Gia Briggs, sunshine in yellow, I knew I named you right,” he says, shaking my hand with two fingers. “You look divine.”

  “Thank you, and it’s nice to meet you, Adam.” I’m tickled by the way he shakes hands.

  I widen the door for him to enter. He goes directly into the living room and stands in the center of the empty space.

  “Are we house poor, my dear?” Unable to filter. I’m not even going to get mad.

  “I haven’t picked out the furniture I want,” I answer.

  “You’re throwing a housewarming party, and you have no furniture for your guests to sit on?”

  “I haven’t had time.”

  “Good thing I have a fix for this tiny problem. That’ll be extra, of course.” Adam slaps his hands together, startling me. “Now, let’s get to the services I will provide. I am bringing in the caterer, the DJ-”

  “No DJ,” I remark quickly.

  “Then what are you going to do for music?”

  “I have a docking station that I can put my MP3 player on.”

  “Tacky,” he comments dryly.

  “No DJ, and that’s it.”

  Adam rolls his eyes and continues, “Fine. Back to what I was saying. I’m bringing in the caterer, the staging company. Hopefully, I can get them in here today or tomorrow, preferably today. What kind of food are you looking to have?”

  “Nothing heavy. Something people can hold on small plates.”

  “Alcohol?”

  “Of course,” I reply.

  “In all, it will be ten,” he says.

  “Adam, do not try to run a game on me because of where I live, and honestly, this is just a housewarming party. I’m not getting married.”

  “Sunshine, the price is fair.”

  “Are you going to make me regret this?”

  “The staging company and the rental of the furniture is going to be the bulk of the price. They’re not cheap.”

  “Perhaps, I should just go buy some furniture, and it’ll be half the price.”

  “Can’t get it here by tomorrow,” Adam replies. “It has to be ordered and made and delivered. That takes, at least, a week.”

  “Alright, fine, I’ll pay you ten.”

  “Fantastic.” He goes over to the counter that separates the living room from the kitchen, pulls out paperwork from a black binder and begins filling it out. “You are going to love what I have planned. You’ll be the doll of the neighborhood.”

  “For ten grand, I better be the damn queen of the neighborhood.”

  “I saw your poster when I drove into the street. That’s real…What are the words I’m looking for? Yard sale-ish. Sunshine, where are the elegant invitations?”

  “The party is Friday, and I don’t know all the neighbors yet. That’s all I could come up with.”

  “Well, at least, you should have used black ink. That color yellow doesn’t show too good.”

  “It’s getting the job done. People can see them when they drive by.”

  Adam fills in the form and points to where I need to sign and initial. The whole time he’s explaining the idea he has for the living room. It all sounds wonderful. I might hire him to decorate all the empty rooms.

  After the formalities are over, I show Adam around the house. He thinks the house is gorgeous and spacious and wonderful and this and that. He’s more excited than I was when I first saw it. We only get halfway through the house when I hear my truck getting parked in the garage.

  It’s after eleven and Anthony has finally made it back. All this time, and he doesn’t have the decency to try and contact me. I feel like my head is about to explode.

  Adam gives me his business card, says something about the caterer, and he departs my house in a hurry. He must have seen and understood my reaction.

  I take a minute to inhale and exhale my anger away. I don’t want to approach Anthony with my temper out of control. Finally, I head down the hallway. My heels hitting the hard wood with purposeful taps. I knock on the guest bedroom door.

  Anthony pulls it open. His shirt is off. His pants are still on, and there’s a towel hanging over his shoulder.

  “Gia,” he says, leaning an arm against the doorframe. It’s like he’s trying
to stop me from going into the guest room. I walk by him. I’ll be damned if he’s going to hide something from me in my own house.

  “What’s going on?” I ask, glancing around the room.

  “Nothing.”

  “Where have you been all night?”

  “Visited some friends,” he says casually.

  “Friends?”

  He nods, a little smirk on his face. Something isn’t right, but I’m not going to say anything. I’ll end up running him off, and that’s the last thing I want to do.

  “Everything okay other than that?” I ask.

  “Yeah, couldn’t be better.”

  “Good. You have my car keys?”

  “Oh, yeah, I do.” He reaches into his pants pockets and hands them over. “I may have to use it later if you don’t mind.”

  I’m not sure if I’m going to allow him to drive my truck again. Stayed out all night and he comes back into my house acting he didn’t do anything wrong.

  “You had a visitor,” Anthony remarks.

  “He’s my event planner. I’m having a housewarming party Friday.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  Something definitely isn’t right.

  “Yeah,” I answer slowly. “I’m pretty sure I’m having a party.”

  “Not talking about the party, Gia.” There’s a weird pause between us. “I need to take a shower. When I get out, we need to talk.”

  “We can talk now.” I cross my arms. It’s my attempt to show I’m ready and not angry, but I believe my demeanor is betraying me.

  “After the shower. It won’t take long. If you don’t mind.” He opens the door wider.

  I walk out slowly. Something has changed between us. What is it he wants to talk about? I’m going to make him wait. I sat around all last night, dinner in the fridge, hoping to have a romantic or even just a nice evening with him, and he doesn’t come home until damn near noon today. Yeah, he can wait.

  I head for my room and grab my purse. Then I make sure I take all of my keys and spare keys from the hook beside the front door, and I leave. I’ll be back when I be back. See how he likes it.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Mac is in the cafeteria on the first floor. She’s already has a tray in front of her, but she hasn’t touched her food. I tap her on the shoulder. She twists around, and a big smile appears on her face. She looks great. She’s added pink highlights into her blonde hair. For a woman who looks like an older teenager as it is, her sassy appearance makes her look even younger. Mac jumps up and gives me a hug. We’ve been away from each other too long. I sure did miss her.

  “You made it,” she remarks as she pulls out a chair for me. “And aren’t you gorgeous today?”

  “Thank you, Mac. You look great, too.”

  “In scrubs,” she giggles. “I don’t think so. Anyway, stranger, what’s going on with you?”

  I place my purse in the chair beside me. “Nothing much.”

  “Not from what I hear.”

  “What have you heard?”

  “I spoke to Anthony yesterday.”

  Immediately, that hits me the wrong way. “He called you?”

  “No, I called him,” she replies. “I gave him my condolences. Then the conversation led to you. He told me that you have your own business.”

  Still, my suspicions are burning me up inside. “Why would he tell you that?”

  “I told him I thought you were looking for a job. That’s what you told me the other day.”

  Shit. Now my lies are catching up with me. I do remember telling them two different stories. And I bet they were comparing notes.

  “He got it wrong,” I reply. “He misunderstood what I was saying.”

  “Anthony was pretty convinced. He said that it was called GRN. I thought the name was kind of cute, actually. Gia Registered Nurse.” She giggles and takes a sip of her drink.

  I don’t think it’s cute at all. Why in the hell are they talking anyway?

  “Did you guys see each other?” I try to ask as casually as I can.

  “Um,” she stammers. “We did. We met up for dinner…with some friends, of course.”

  “And nobody thought to call me?” I’m trying not to show how hurt and highly pissed off I am.

  “Anthony said he called, but you didn’t want to go. He said that you had a headache or something.” Mac avoids eye contact.

  She’s straight up lying to me. She spent the night with Anthony, and worse yet, she knows I’m in love with him. We’ve spoken about my feelings for him many times.

  I want to go off, but she’s at work. I’m not going to be foolish and get tossed out of here.

  “I wonder how he figured I had headache. We didn’t talk last night.”

  “Oh, I thought he did.” She shifts in her seat. “Well, I wish you could have made it, Gia. It would have been nice to have everyone there.”

  “I guess.” I’m about to lose it. “I have to get going.”

  She looks at me. Do I see regret, hope for forgiveness? Whatever’s on her face, it does nothing to put out the fire in my gut. I get up and leave. No hug, no good-byes.

  I hate to say it, but I think that friendship is over.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  In my attempt to clear my mind and to delay going back home, I go shopping. I try on dresses, shoes, jewelry, belts, whatever to my heart’s content. Even in the process, I find no peace of mind or happiness. Anthony has me so crazy and upside down that I don’t even feel human anymore.

  I wish there’s one person I can talk to, someone who’s so neutral that it doesn’t matter what I say. I’d get good advice instead of judgment. My parents will never do. I’d rather tell that damn billy goat about my problems than tell them. Mac can’t be trusted anymore. Lauren is gone, thank the Lord. Even if she was here in Savannah, I wouldn’t dare put my burdens on her shoulders. Perhaps, I can talk to Natasha. No, she’s a stranger. I don’t know her at all, and she may be more judgmental than anyone else. I guess I’ll hold on to my troubles and let them eat me up inside.

  After spending way too much money, I decide to call it quits and go home. I’m avoiding Anthony for no reason, and to be honest, it doesn’t matter if he spent the night with Mac. It was a one night stand. She’s not the one I have to worry about, anyway. It’s that fuckin’ wife in Texas who still has a hold onto his heart.

  I plan on giving him one more shot, at least. If Anthony doesn’t accept me or want me the same way I want him, well, I don’t know what I’m going to do next.

  When I get home, Anthony is sitting by the pool. His legs are stretched out fully. A beer is on the table within arms’ reach. Instead of speaking to him first, I go to my bedroom closet, toss my shopping bags and purse inside, and change into something sexier. I put on a lacy top, no bra, no panties, and loose fitting short shorts. The lace does nothing to hide my breasts, and the shorts will reveal all if I bend over.

  I go to the kitchen, grab a wine cooler and beer, and head for the patio. I set down the fresh beer where he can see it and take the half-filled one and drop it in the garbage beside the door.

  “I’m still working on that,” he says.

  “Brought you a new one. It’s on the house.”

  He laughs and returns his attention to his phone call. “I’ll see you tonight. Okay?” He listens for an answer. “Alright, bye.”

  I smile when he looks up at me. For the first time, Anthony notices what I’m wearing. My breasts are about to jump out of the lace top, and my nipples are practically poking out through the holes.

  “Gia, what are you wearing?”

  “Clothes,” I remark smartly. I sit down, cross my legs, and hold up my wine cooler. “To friendship.”

  He holds up the bottle. “To friendship.” His eyes venture on my cleavage. He’s definitely interested. Good.

  We tap the bottles gently, and both of us drink up at the same time.

  “Are you alright?” he asks.

  “Yeah, why?”


  “Nick called me last night.”

  “Oh,” I reply with disappointment. I really don’t want to hear about him.

  “Told me that you went over to his house, took Lauren and the kids. Do you know that fool thinks I sent you over there to do that? He blames me.”

  I chuckle at the pure nonsense of it all. Nick would think something like that.

  “What did you tell him?” I ask.

  “I hung up on him. Turned off my cell. I didn’t want to hear anything else he had to say. I’m glad you got her out of there. He didn’t deserve her. Honestly, with all that crap with my mom and the cops, I just don’t want to deal with him anymore, anyway.”

  “You think he killed Grace?” I ask curiously.

  “I don’t know what to think. Something in me says he did it, but that same something tells me that he didn’t. So, I really don’t know.” He takes another drink. “You know, you were brave to go into that house last night. He could have killed you.”

  “And if I hadn’t gone in, he would have killed Lauren. I had no choice.”

  He nods and takes another drink. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

  “Thanks.”

  “So, where you did go after I got back this morning?”

  “I went to see Mac.”

  His smile disappears.

  “She told me that you two were together last night.” I’m testing him. Is he going to admit it?

  “We went out to dinner. I called you but you didn’t answer your cell.”

  “How did you get my number? I didn’t give it to you.”

  He clears his throat. “I meant to say Mac called you.”

  I’m not going to get mad. I’ve lied to him, and now, he’s lying to me. Whatever. He’s here now, where I want him.

  Anthony takes another gulp. Half the contents are already gone. “You know, don’t you?”

  “Of course I know.”

  “Mac told you?”

  “No. It was obvious.”

  He makes eye contact and says, “You don’t like that, do you?”

  “Not really, but what can I do about it? What’s done is done.”