Chapter 54: Two Days?

Chapter 54: Two Days? The suite was quiet thanks to the soundproof system the hotel had in place to ward off the noise from the busy city beyond the hotel windows. Stefan lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, his arms folded behind his head. Sleep was proving elusive, his thoughts tangled in the mess Jamal had roped him into. He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "This is ridiculous," he muttered under his breath. Just as he turned to his side, willing his mind to quiet down, his phone vibrated against the nightstand. His brows furrowed as he reached for it lazily, but the moment his eyes landed on the screen, his heart skipped a beat. Genevieve. His stomach twisted in knots. Sitting up abruptly, he ran a hand down his face. "Shit," he muttered. He should have expected this. That was the proper thing to do after reconnecting with a friend. He unlocked his phone and tapped on the message to see the content. [Jamal and I were so caught up in our conversation earlier and we forgot to exchange numbers. Can you text me his number or ask him to text me?] Stefan’s pulse quickened. Of course, she didn’t have Jamal’s number. How could she when he was Jamal and Jamal’s assistant to her at the same time? He let out a long, frustrated sigh and threw a glare at the empty space beside him as if Jamal were there to receive it. "This is your fault, man," he grumbled, rubbing his temple. "I should never have gone through with this ruse." Not knowing what to do, he scrolled through his contacts and tapped on Jamal’s number. He pressed the phone to his ear, waiting. One ring. Two. Three. Voicemail. Stefan clenched his jaw. He tried again. No answer. "Are you kidding me?" he hissed, raking his fingers through his hair. He tried a third time, but when the call went to voicemail again, realization dawned. Jamal was probably jet-lagged and sleeping like a baby since he had not slept on the plane as he usually did because he was too busy flirting. Stefan let out a string of curses under his breath. He had half a mind to wake the bastard up, but it would be pointless. He had to figure this out himself. ’Ignore it,’ he told himself. ’You can deal with this tomorrow after you’ve spoken to Jamal.’ With that decision made, he tossed his phone onto the bed and lay back down. But before he could even close his eyes, the phone rang. He groaned. He didn’t need to check the caller ID to know who it was. His eyed the phone, debating whether or not to ignore it. But just as the call was about to end, he swiped to answer, bringing the phone to his ear. "Hello, Ms Harris." "Hey," Genevieve’s voice was light, almost friendly. "I sent you a text." Stefan shut his eyes briefly. "Yeah, I just saw it." "Uhm, you sound exhausted. Did I disturb your sleep?" She asked, and Stefan sighed inwardly. "I wasn’t sleeping but I was about to," he admitted. "Oops. I’m sorry about that. I was just wondering if you could give me Jamal’s number or help me reach him. I didn’t get his number earlier," she explained. His fingers curled into a fist, "This is my number. I am Jamal," he said, realizing it was easier to do this since she already had Jamal’s line as her driver’s number. A pause. Then, "Jamal? Wait... isn’t this your assistant’s number?" He didn’t hesitate before responding, already finding his way around the lie. "No," he said smoothly. "This is my number. I just don’t always let people know that. It helps me gauge their intentions before giving them access to me. I can’t always trust my assistants." There was another pause before she laughed softly. "That’s actually brilliant. It makes sense." Stefan smirked slightly. "Of course it does. So, now that you know you’re talking to me, what did you want to say?" There was a beat of silence, then she said, "I was having dinner earlier, and I wondered if you had eaten and what you ate. Then it hit me that I didn’t have your number." His lips twitched at the casual way she said it. "I ordered something from the hotel." "Did you enjoy it?" He chuckled. "Yeah, I did." "That’s good." "I guess so." A comfortable silence stretched between them before she spoke again. "So... have you found out when you’re leaving?" Stefan leaned back against the headboard, his smirk widening. "Sunday," he answered, wondering where this was going. "Good," Genevieve said, thinking about enjoying his friendship and company for the next couple of days. "Good?" he repeated, raising a brow. "Yes," she said, her voice warm with amusement. "That means you can spend the next two days until then with me." Stefan laughed lightly, shaking his head. "Two days? That’s a bit ambitious, don’t you think?" "Not really," she said breezily. "You came here for me, didn’t you? And don’t worry, I’ll make it worth your while." Stefan arched a brow. "Is that so? And what about work? We are only having dinner tomorrow and maybe we can spend the whole of Saturday together." "Mhm," she hummed. "About that, I’ll push everything I have on my schedule tomorrow to Monday just so I can spend the whole day with you." He exhaled a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "You really don’t have to do that. I can spend the day on my own and I won’t be bored. All you have to do is send Pete over to drive me around." "Nah. I want to see Westend through your eyes," she insisted. "I’ll show you around the city and take you to all the best spots. I promise you won’t regret it." Something about the way she said it made Stefan’s chest tighten, but he ignored the feeling. Instead, he leaned his head back against the headboard and sighed. "Alright," he said. "I’ll be looking forward to it." Genevieve smiled, "Me too. Make sure you text me your hotel details. I’ll come over in the morning," she promised. "Alright, I will," Stefan said, and after a moment they hung up the call. Stefan sighed deeply as he set down his phone. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like it for himself, and he definitely didn’t like it for Genevieve. He really hoped for Jamal’s sake, that he knew what he was doing.