Hollow

Eight | Pressure

We all turn to look at the owner of the voice and there, leaning against the door of my office is Dr. Yuna Fields. She straightens up and walks over to us.

"Dr. Fields! What a pleasant surprise." I smile sweetly.

"You're not exempt from this you know." She replies, a hint of humor in her voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She looks as if she's going to say something but chooses not to. She settles on the couch and motions for me to sit on the one opposite to her. I comply, politely asking the guys to clear the room.

They all walk out as she takes a notepad and a pen from her bag before averting her gaze back to me. "Do you have something you want to share with me?"

"Lunch in about..." I trail off, checking my watch before looking back at her. "Fifteen minutes. Are you free to come w—"

"Let's try this again." She smirks.

"Look, I know you're trying to help but with all due respect, I'm fine."

"I understand that you recently your cousin. Do you want to talk about that?"

"No." I reply in a bored tone.

She nods and scribbles something in her notes. "Are you in touch with his family?"

I shift uncomfortably in my sit and turn in my chair to face the window. "Every once in a while. We're very close."

"And how do you feel about his death?"

"Am I supposed to feel a certain way?"

"That's not an answer, Zahra."

"Time's up." I say, standing up and walking to the other couch where I plop down.

"Zahra, the fact that you refuse to talk about it proves that it's exactly what we need to discuss." She says before walking out.

<<·>> <<·>> <<·>>

I groan, rubbing my eyes from my nap and sit up to find Nova seated in my chair, typing away on her laptop. She pauses and opens the drawer where I keep my personal stuff and takes a brush, tossing it at me. I bring my fingers up to my hair, bringing it down only to find more knots. I run the brush through my wild hair a few times before tying it up.

"You need to stop skipping lunch to nap." She chuckles, pointing to the bags next to me.

"Thanks Nova, you're the best."

"Tomorrow's meeting is at 9. Don't be late." She stands up before walking toward the door, closing the door behind her.

I stand to grab my phone from my desk and hop in my chair. I find 2 missed calls from Luca, a text from Sage and a voicemail from River. I debate on whether to respond to Sage's text but decide against it, digging into my food as I listen to River's voicemail.

'Hey. I called earlier but your assistant told me you were busy. I figured we should talk so I'll be at Azur tonight if you want to talk.'

<<·>> <<·>> <<·>>

Sage slips his arms around my waist and my traitorous heart jumps in my chest —the hurt in my heart intensifying. He leans in to kiss me but I place my hand on his chest, gesturing to the table next to us.

"What's wrong?" He asks as we sit.

"This is not working, is it?"

"Babe, I haven't seen you in days and this is what you want to do?"

"And whose fault is that?" I snort, crossing my arms. "What are you so busy with anyway?"

"I know I haven't made time for us but this is me trying to make up for it, can you at least let me do that?"

"Are you going to grace me with an answer or do I need to run a background check? Either way, I'll find out."

The surprise is evident in his eyes but he quickly blinks it away and pulls his seat closer to mine. "Her father owns a prestigious chain of hotels in Europe. I've been trying to get in business with him for a while now. It's just a business deal."

I wince at his words.

"I only care about you, you know that right?" He leans in to kiss me and I let him.

I smile, pecking his lips and smiling as I pull back. "I know you do."

He opens his mouth to say something but is cut off by a ringtone. He takes out his phone, letting out a sigh before meeting my gaze. I nod, and he stands up, walking away.

As I watch him head outside, I pull out my phone and dial Bryce's number. He picks up almost immediately.

"What's up?" He answers.

"I need you to get me everything you can on every relevant person that owns a prestigious chain of hotels in Europe."

"On it."

I hang up and head to the table where Jas and Paris, my other best friend who also happens to be Miguel's sister, are seated. As I reach them, Paris hands me a shot glass and I chug it down quickly.

"What did he want?" Jas asks in a bored tone. She's never been big fan of Sage.

"To talk."

"Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, everything's okay." I chuckle dryly.

We jump into an other conversation as Paris tells us about her upcoming campaign with Versace and as the night goes on, we end up drinking our asses off.

I stand to walk toward the bar to get another drink. As I wait for the bartender to hand me my drink, I see River making his way to the bar and he comes to sit next to me.

"We need to stop meeting like this." I joke.

"I agree." He chuckles, shaking his head.

My phone vibrates on the counter, signaling a text from Marcus informing me that the girls are ready to leave. I reply with a quick 'ok' before shifting my gaze to River.

"You're not driving home in that state, right?"

"You talk too much." I pull him into a kiss. It lasts for about a minute before I pull back with and walk back to my friends.