“Would you like me to bring it up with Mr. Murphy tomorrow?” I teased. “You would enjoy some benefits if you were a member of Murphy Corporation.”
Nora rolled her eyes at me. “What would I do with those benefits?” she retorted. “I would prefer to have the title of Mrs. Murphy. Plus, I don’t need to be paid as I have plenty of money.”
I shrugged without saying anything. “Armond would be done with work by this time, wouldn’t he?” Nora asked after some thought.
“I suppose so,” I replied.
She brought her clothes in with her to the bathroom. “Don’t wait up for me,” she said with a wink. “I won’t be home tonight!”
We were all adults after all.
Ashton called me a little later. I realized with some horror that I had forgotten to inform him that morning that I would be heading out to Lavelian Village.
“Honey, are you home?” I crooned sweetly when I picked up.
Ashton’s mesmerizing laughter was rather pleasing to my ears. “I am almost home. Have you had your dinner?”
I told him that I did. “How about you?” I asked while thinking hard of a way to tell him that I was at Lavelian Village.
“Yes, I have!” he replied.
“It’s good to know that you are taking care of yourself,” I said. “Oh, by the way, I came to Lavelian Village this morning. It’s been really busy, and I’m afraid that I would have to spend the night here.”
He grunted, the joy in his voice diminishing considerably. “I have to spend the night alone, don’t I?” he asked sorrowfully.
This man…
“I had to spend the day alone, too.” I laughed. “Where did you go, by the way? Who were you with?”
I have to admit that this was not the most subtle way of changing the topic of a conversation.
“I was with Joe,” he replied frankly. “Can you come back by tomorrow? We can have dinner together.”
I gave it a thought but decided against it. There was simply too much to do.
“I don’t think I can,” I said apologetically. “Why? Do you have anything going on?”
“I have to return to K City,” he said. “There is something that I have to deal with in the company.”
Ashton was at A City for almost two months. I dreaded to think about what his desk in K City would look like by now. The losses would undoubtedly be heavy.
“When you would be departing?” I asked. It’s a hectic period for both of us; we would have to fend for ourselves for the time being.
“Tomorrow!” he said glumly. “Joseph will remain here. You can ask him for help whenever you need to.”
I nodded.
We spent a little more time flirting over the phone. At this moment, Nora emerged from the bathroom clad in a bathrobe. “Babe,” she said to me. “Have you taken my feelings into consideration before dirty talking your man while I’m still in the room?”
I laughed and ended the call with Ashton. “Do you plan on going out dressed like that?”
It was September and Nora wore a black dress that went halfway up her thighs. She looked sexy and gorgeous, but it was probably too cold to be out in that.
She smiled broadly and did a twirl so I could admire her dress. “Don’t worry about how cold I’ll be. Tell me how hot I look!”
I nodded as she blew dry her hair into curls, applied a little light makeup, and procured a fur coat from her closet. It looked stylish and ravishing, with a hint of goth.
Nora carefully picked out a matching pair of heels to go with the rest of her outfit. “How do I look?” she asked as she watched my expression carefully.
I knew why she took the time into looking all dolled up. “Take care and play safe!” I said.
She giggled. “Don’t you worry about me,” she said. “At his age, Armond would want a child. If I get knocked up, I will have a legitimate reason to marry him!”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Love should be the primary reason for everything, especially for girls. You should be moving from dating to marriage to having a child one step at a time. You shouldn’t rush into having a child under such uncertain circumstances. Actually, we don’t even know much about the Murphys, don’t we?”
She was taken aback by my seriousness. “I know now, Scarlett.” she nodded slowly. “No matter what it is, I will always prioritize my own safety.”
With Nora prepared to have a fun night out, I was prepared to put away my things and tuck in for the night.
The following day, Ashton was in a rush back to K City. He only managed to send me a message before boarding.
Nora returned earlier than expected. I opened the door to the sight of her standing unsteadily in front of me. “What’s up? You’re back early?”
She leaned against me and mumbled, “Armond went to the base, and I can’t sleep alone. So I’m back here to sleep with you.”
I buried my forehead in my hands exasperatedly. “I’m leaving soon. You should take the day off and rest here if you’re tired. Just stay in the whole day, will you?”
I helped her over to the bed, grabbed my purse, and left.
At the AI base, the cops searched the premises for a couple of days and found nothing useful. Armond sent them away in disappointment.
Ashton had plans in place for the continuation of the Lavelian Village project. The available AI technology in K City that we required was transported over for our perusal.
