Be a Doll(61)

I sat up and the sheet covering me pooled in my lap. I looked around the bedroom as if I saw it for the first time. Everything was exactly as it was before, but the atmosphere seemed different. Was it because we had sex last night in here?

My stomach grumbled loudly, reminding me I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch the previous day. I gingerly left the bed and cringed when I realized I was a lot more sore than I expected. I straightened and put on the first yoga pants I could find paired with the cashmere sweater I had on yesterday. I ran my fingers through my messy hair and left the bedroom to find some food and strong coffee in the kitchen.

I went down the staircase slowly as my heart squeezed in my chest at the physical reminders of what happened last night. I looked around the living room and the kitchen and didn’t find any sign of the housekeeper, until I saw a note left on the counter. From where I stood I couldn’t make out the handwriting so I made my way to it and quickly snatched it.



Lila,



Mrs. McCarthy won’t be in today.



M.G.



And that was all there was to the note. Just stupid information regarding the housekeeper and nothing else. I didn’t know what I expected to find really. Mathis’ handwriting was neat and precise, very much in control like the man himself wanted to be. That note drilled that he cared for his distance, his walls surrounding him and keeping him away from the people in his life.

I balled the note up and walked briskly to the dustbin to throw it away. My bare feet padding on the cold tiled floor. It helped chase away the last traces of sleep still lingering.

“What an ass,’’ I mumbled to myself and quickly made my way to the coffee machine and put in a dose without checking which one it was and then I grabbed an apple and bit into it with gusto. At that very moment, I would have quite enjoyed biting like this into a certain man’s appendage. That thought made me smile around my bite of apple as I chewed.

The time it took me to eagerly eat the apple my coffee was ready. I threw away the apple core and grabbed my mug, taking the first sip in a contented sigh when the hot liquid warmed me on the inside where Mathis’ coldness seeped through me from his note.

The silence around the apartment started to weigh on me as sounds and images from last night came back to me, more vivid than I was comfortable with. It only made it harder for me to swallow my coffee when I realized the chasm having sex with Mathis seemed to have created. After he went to the bathroom to throw away the condom he became very quiet, very subdued. He also didn’t make a move to touch me or tease me in any way. He simply discarded me, done with me.

I set down the mug and emptied the couple of sips of coffee left in the sink. I lost the taste for it. And then, the intercom rang, startling me so much that I dropped the empty mug in the sink. I cursed when I saw the chipped edge.

Frowning, I glanced quickly at the clock on the oven and saw it wasn’t even ten in the morning yet. Was it a delivery?

I padded to the intercom and answered before it sounded a second time.

“Yes?’’

“Mrs. Grimes, I apologize, but a Oscar Grimes is here to see you.’’

Oscar Grimes? Mathis’ father?

My back straightened automatically and my free hand went to my hair hoping to discipline it enough to pass as half decent. I silently cursed. “Hm… let him up. Thank you.’’

“Yes, ma’am.’’

I disconnected and this time I let out a loud curse, finding some pleasure in being able to curse as loud as I wanted without anybody reprimanding me or sending daggers my way. In that situation I believed I was entitled to some cursing. From the way my last encounter with Mr. Grimes Sr. went, I knew his visit wouldn’t be a pleasant one. On top of it, it was almost ten in the morning and I wasn’t ready, had a bad case of bed hair and I had no doubt that my makeup had run down my face after shedding tears during sex with Mathis.

It was too late to run to the bedroom anyway.

So, I did the only thing I could and stopped fussing with my hair and opened the door right when the elevator dinged open and Oscar Grimes stepped out clad in a pristine suit and a dark coat without a single piece of lint marring the fabric. Even his gray hair was perfectly combed. The man was put together so perfectly that it made me even more aware of my appearance.

In the past four years, not once had I had to face someone without being presentable and without wearing the best outfit money could buy. Only Mathis had seen me in pjs and even then the negligees and pjs were from the best designers and made with silk.

He walked to me, his dark eyes taking in all of my flaws in one sweep before he stopped in front of me on the threshold of the apartment.

“Mr. Grimes. Please, I apologize for my appearance, but I’m afraid your visit came at the wrong time.’’

“I see.’’ He then looked over my shoulder as if he expected to see someone appear. “Am I expected to exchange words with you in the hall?’’

I startled and took a step back, opening the door wider. “Come in.’’ My voice settled then. There was nothing like someone who acted condescending to set my nerves and make me find my footing again, even when only clad in a yoga pants and a wrinkled cashmere sweater.

He walked in and didn’t give me the chance to close the door after him. He did it, once again asserting his importance and belittling me with a simple move. I brushed the front of my wrinkled sweater and stared straight at the older man as if I was wearing a stunning outfit instead of looking like I either went on a bender or got laid by his son.