Gold (All that Glitters #2)(57)

She got out of bed, threw on a black mini skirt and a flouncy scoop top to fit her mood, and quickly pulled her hair back into a high pony. She retrieved her phone and messaged Hugh.

Is it morning already?

It’s the afternoon actually. Late night?

Yeah. I’m dying. I can’t function.

I wish I were there to make it better.

Me, too.

That was a lie. Bryna was glad no one was around to see her right now. After last night, she couldn’t muster her facade, and she definitely wouldn’t be able to keep it together around Hugh.

Why don’t you have a spa day? I’ll have my assistant call ahead for you.

She smiled. That sounded perfect.

I’d love that!

I’ll take care of everything. I can’t wait to see you again in a week.

On her way to the spa, she called Trihn through Bluetooth. She hadn’t heard from her friend since she’d left with Neal last night, and after the way things had ended, Bryna wanted to make sure Trihn was all right.

“Hello?” Trihn answered groggily.

“Hey. Were you still sleeping?”

“Why are you awake this early?” she asked through a yawn.

“It’s one in the afternoon.”

“Is it?”

“Yes,” Bryna confirmed.

“What’s up?”

“How did things go last night? You never came back to the party.”

“I know,” Trihn said. “I’m sorry. Neal apologized, and then we made up. He was frustrated because he didn’t get into the graphic design internship with Pixar that he had interviewed for last week. It was a huge disappointment, and now, all the other summer intern positions are full.”

“So, he took that out on you? And you’re okay with that?” Bryna was sure she didn’t hide the disdain in her voice.

Trihn sighed heavily. “I don’t know. It was a stressful week, is all.”

“As long as it doesn’t turn into a stressful week all the time.”

“You’re turning into Stacia over here. Stop mothering me.”

Bryna shook her head and laughed. “Hardly. I’m not mothering you. I’m letting you know that I’ll chop his balls off and feed them to a blender if he keeps this shit up.”

Trihn exploded with laughter. “I can’t believe you. Actually, I can. You’d totally do it. Thanks for caring, B.”

“Don’t keep confusing me for Stacia,” Bryna singsonged.

“Oh my God, I love you. I’m going back to bed.”

As she pulled into the valet station, Bryna hung up the phone. She handed over the keys to her car and took the elevator up to the spa. As promised, the afternoon had been cleared for her. And she spent the next couple of hours getting pressed, buffed, waxed, blown out, and all-around pampered. She felt like a new person by the end of it, and even though she knew she would still have to face Eric later, at least she could do it feeling refreshed.

As she was leaving, the woman at the front stopped her. “Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“This package was left for you.” She passed over a small gift-wrapped box.

“Oh?”

“It arrived only a moment ago.”

“Thanks.”

Bryna unwrapped the package and opened the box. She gasped. Inside was a diamond-encrusted Hermès Paris watch in rose-gold and black. She removed it from the case and slid it onto her wrist. It fit perfectly when she slipped it on her wrist. Between this and her B necklace and bracelet, she was dripping in jewels. She shrugged and decided it suited her.

She shot off a shocked and excited text to Hugh about the watch. She couldn’t stop glancing at it. The gifts were extravagant and thoughtful—just the way she liked them.

Once she reached the ground level, she glanced out at the front door and sighed. Her stomach knotted. She wasn’t ready to see Eric yet. Her confidence had been rattled after last night. The anticipation of wondering what he was going to say ate at her, and she couldn’t get it to go away. She knew that going to talk to him would probably fix all of that, and she was stressing for nothing. But she never stressed over stuff like this. She hadn’t since a year ago when Jude had wanted to talk.

Maybe a drink to take the edge off would help. She backtracked to the bar and took an empty seat. Crossing her legs, she smiled at the bartender and ordered a dirty martini, her favorite.

Bryna felt eyes on her from the guy seated two seats down from her. She glanced over at him, and he didn’t look away when she made eye contact. She turned away, took another sip of her drink, and then looked back. He was still watching her rather intently. Weird.

“Anything I can help you with? Or are you just browsing?” she asked sarcastically.

The guy shrugged. “I figured you wanted to be admired.”

“Why is that?”

“Look at you,” he said as if that made perfect sense.

She looked down. Her clothes were nothing special. In fact, she was in sandals. The spa had perfected her hair, but she had gone for subtle makeup because she had no plans. The only thing that was impressive at all right now was her diamonds.

“And?”

“I see you.” He turned back to his beer.

Bryna narrowed her eyes in confusion. That was a strange introduction, but it did make her curious, especially since he was good-looking and only a couple of years older than her, at the most. He was blond with dark eyes, wearing casual jeans, a T-shirt, and flip-flops. He had shades dangling from the neck of his shirt and seemed very…laid-back. Definitely not my type.