BRIELLE
Wednesdays.
That time of the week that stuck right in the middle, giving you hope… telling you that the weekend will be here soon.
I liked Wednesdays. I mean, not as much as I did Fridays, but you get my drift. Dylan was supposed to be returning from his trip today, and honestly speaking, that had been the highlight of my week. True, we spoke on the phone at the least chance we got, but it still wasn’t the same as seeing him in the flesh.
I was excited.
So excited that I had arrived at the office before 6 am. I hadn’t been able to sleep much, truthfully speaking, I haven’t been sleeping well since the whole Madeline fiasco, but I don’t really want to talk about that. Where was I again?
Oh, yes.
I figured coming to the office early and actually being productive, was better than sitting at home, moping, so I had done just that. It was 9:15 now, and everyone else was coming in, the day was beginning in full earnest. Chloe barged into my office, a small smile on her face, a steaming cup of coffee in both hands.
“Good morning, fancy a cup?”
“Yes, please.” I responded, my mood lightening even further at the smell of all that caffeine. “Sit down, please.” I reached out for my cup and leaned back in my chair, almost moaning at the taste of the hot beverage against my tongue.
I took in Chloe’s appearance, she looked… warmer today, in a sunny yellow sundress. Her lovely blonde hair flowed loosely over her shoulders, honestly speaking, she looked nothing like the severe, annoying assistant I had met a few months ago, which was a good thing. The old Chloe was unbearable to say the least, and I was glad we had managed to find a way to get along.
“Have you seen Savannah today? She’s not really the type to come to work late.” Chloe observed as she sipped on her hot drink.
She was right. Savvy was always early, this wasn’t like her. “I’ll call and checkup on her, don’t worry.” I assured her after gulping down the remnants of my drink. She did same and stood up, a look of concern gracing her features. “How are you, Brielle?”
What was with everyone asking me how I was?
I cleared my throat. “Listen, Chloe. I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine. Please, don’t ask me about this again.” She stared at me for a moment, and then nodded tersely, her famous blank look slipping back into place. “Yes, Brielle. Have a good day.”
I watched her walk out of my office, and then leaned against my chair and spun from side to side, a loud groan escaping my lips. When I had recovered, I reached for my phone and dialed Savannah’s number.
No one was answering.
I don’t know why, but I suddenly had this sinking feeling that something was wrong. I tried calling again for about five times, still no answer. I stood up, grabbed my bag and headed for the door.
“Brielle? Where are you going?” Chloe called out as soon as her eyes landed on me, and she saw the distraught look on my face. “Savvy’s not answering her phone, I’m heading to her place to see if everything is okay. Tell Mr. Maloney this should he come looking for me, okay?”
“Got it, Bree. Will do.”
I nodded in appreciation and headed for the elevator.
*****
The door to Savannah’s hotel room was half open when I got there.
The panic blooming in my chest grew with every tentative step I took into the room. “Savannah?” I called out softly. There was no sign of her in the outer room, and nothing seemed out of place as well. Everything looked tidy, the TV was on, a glass of wine, and a half full bottle of what seemed to be non-alcoholic champagne sat on the center table.
I felt myself relax slightly.
It couldn’t be that bad then, could it? Maybe she went out for drinks last night, and had passed out from one too many, or at least something to that effect.
That made sense, right?
“Savannah?” I called out again, louder this time, as I tiptoed into the inner room.
No response.
The inner room was messy, clothes strewn all over the otherwise neatly-made bed, chairs kicked down like there had been some sort of struggle. I reached into my handbag for my phone, and that’s when I saw her.
Savannah lay there on the floor beside the bed, her skin so pale that I instantly feared the worst. My handbag dropped to the floor, and I was by her side even before I knew it. On her forehead was a very large ugly gash, beside her lay pieces of what seemed to be a broken vase. I didn’t even realise I was sobbing, I quickly reached for her wrist and felt for a pulse, slumping in relief when I felt one.
It was quite faint, but she was still alive.
I scooted over to my handbag and reached for my phone, and quickly dialed 911 and reported the case. Knowing I wasn’t supposed to move her, and having doubts as to when the paramedics were actually going to get here, I headed to the outer room and called room service to seek help.
Medical staff trickled into the room in a flash, and before I knew it, Savannah was being lowered onto a stretcher. I willed myself to remain strong for my friend as I recounted what I saw to the hotel security. The room was suddenly filled with hustling and bustling as the paramedics arrived and took charge of the situation. In all of this, I refused to leave my friend’s side, sticking around until I was allowed to join her in the ambulance.
My ringing phone snapped me out of prayer.
It was Dylan.
“Dylan where are you?” I asked shakily after answering the call.
“I’m at the office but you’re not-”
“Listen to me carefully, Dylan. You need to come to the St. Nick’s hospital right now, it’s Savannah.”
****
“Brielle-”
I flew right into his arms. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“What’s wrong with Anna?” He asked as he followed my lead and sat down on one of the seats in the corridor right opposite Savannah’s room.
I recounted the whole ordeal to Dylan. I thought that at the end of my tale, he might perhaps have a fair idea of who could have done this to his sister, but he appeared just as clueless as I was. “You know, I’ve always had my suspicions that Savannah’s return to New Orleans wasn’t only because of our mother’s persistence.” He declared after a moment causing me to look up at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“For a while, I actually believed that she was in danger. She was easily frightened, always seemed to be on the lookout for someone. Hell, I’d even asked her countless times to move into my apartment with me, but being the stubborn person she was, she always refused. She seemed to slowly get more comfortable, so I thought everything was okay, and I relaxed. Fuck, I’m so stupid.”
I wrapped my arm around him. “Don’t blame yourself, Dy. She’s going to get better, and we’re going to find out who did this, alright?”
He nodded tersely. I could tell he was still blaming himself despite my reassurance, but that was understandable. We sat there in silence for a while, awaiting the doctor.
“Brielle, Dylan.”
We both stood up in shock, our faces expressing our evident surprise. “Shawn?”
“Dad, what are you doing here?” We both rushed to his side. He looked so much better now, but he seemed to have aged even more in the past few months. I visited him most of the time, and it was obvious he was bored at home and wanted to come back to the office, but Dylan would have none of it. “What do you mean what am I doing here? I heard about Savannah. Of course I’ll be here, I’m her father.”
“Shawn, calm down.” I gently steered him towards the benches. “I hope you didn’t drive here by yourself.” He gave me a proud grin. “Oh, but I did. I may be dying, Brielle, but I still know how to drive, you know.” He sat down tiredly. “Have you heard anything from the doctors yet?”
“Nothing.” Dylan answered as he joined his father on the bench. I paced, too worked up to sit down for a second time.
Turning his attention to me again, Shawn said, “I heard you were the one who found her. Tell me everything.”
Before I could say a word, a nurse barged out of Savannah’s ward, shifting everyone’s attention to her immediately. “How is she doing?” I asked. “Well, we did find surprisingly high traces of DXM which is usually found in cough syrups in her blood sample. Thankfully, it wasn’t enough to harm her, or the fetus, she’s really lucky to have been brought in that early. Any further lateness would have been fatal.”
Fetus?
“Savannah is pregnant?!” Shawn asked incredulously, his gaze shifting to Dylan. “Don’t look at me. I’m just as surprised as you are.”
I shook my head to clear away the confusion. “When can we see her, nurse?” The older woman glanced at her wrist watch. “The doctor is still in there doing a few more tests. You’ll have to ask him when he comes out. Please, excuse me.” She took her leave of us and I proceeded to the bench to have a seat as Shawn and Dylan still stood there, having a serious conversation.
I couldn’t believe Savannah was pregnant. Why would she hide such an information from her family though? I mean, I got it if she didn’t tell Shawn because they weren’t talking, but why didn’t she tell Dylan?
Perhaps, she didn’t know? That could certainly be it, because I’ve heard stories of women who had gone as far as six months and had no idea that they were carrying a child… maybe she was one of those people.
“Brielle,” I jumped with a start, snapping out of my thoughts in the process as I looked up at Dylan. “Yeah?”
“I’ve been calling you for some time now, you seemed so deep in thought. Anyway, the doctor just left, he said we could go see Anna.” He explained. My gaze shifted to Shawn who suddenly seemed even more frail and nervous. “Uhh… you two can go in, I’ll just wait out here.” He said.
“No, dad. You’re coming too.” Dylan pressed, leaving no room for argument. He approached the door and gently knocked, and then the three of us entered the room.
*****
“Poor Savannah, how is she doing now?” Chloe asked in concern after I had finished explaining what had happened to her in a few words. I was back at RetroCorp, it looked like the Thomas family needed a minute to talk, so I had left them alone. “Savvy’s doing great, Chloe. The doctor said she’ll be discharged by tomorrow.” I answered, glancing at my wrist watch. I couldn’t believe it was noon already.
“Chloe, did Mr. Maloney send you the appraisal list?” I asked, switching back to business.
“Are you talking about the list for the Book Clubs?”
I nodded.
“I’m afraid he wasn’t able to.” She reached for her iPad and made quick work of scrolling through a few documents. “He did send the audit results for RetroCorp though.” She replied, placing the iPad back on her desk. Her gaze lifted up to meet mine as she awaited further questions. I didn’t have any. “Okay, send me the results via mail, I’ll go through them immediately.” She nodded briskly, and I turned to head to my office, but paused. “Oh, and Chloe?”
“Yeah?”
“Let him know I’m back, and that I want to sit in on the meeting with tech, alright?”
“You got it, boss.”
I had barely settled in my seat and turned on my laptop, when Chloe barged into my office, a teasing glint in her eyes. “What is it Chlo?” I asked in what I identified to be resignation. “Ryan Rodriguez is here to see you.”
I ignored the stupid smirk on her face. “Please let him in.”
To be honest, I hadn’t heard from Ryan in a long while, not after I had settled his issues with Savannah, and before that, not after our date… the same date I do not want to talk about.
“Hello Lucia, are you avoiding me?”
I stood up, pasting a fake lovely smile on my face. “Ryan! It’s so good to see you. Come on, don’t say that, why would I be avoiding you?” I waltzed towards him and grabbed his hand for a warm handshake, pulling him towards one of the seats facing my desk. “Sit, sit.” I circled the desk and sat down in my swivel chair, taking in his appearance. “You look good, Ryan.” He really did look good in a dark green suit sans a tie, a few buttons were undone, revealing toned bronzed skin that I couldn’t help but appreciate.
You have a boyfriend, Lucia.
Indeed I did, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate God’s creation, amirite?
“You look lovely yourself, Lucia... but then again, you always do.” I blushed slightly. There was just something about a man you considered one of the most beautiful in the world complimenting you that just had you feeling flattered, you know?
“What are you doing here, Ryan? We honestly weren’t expecting you.” I retorted, suddenly all business. He leaned forward, his attention fully on me, silver eyes gleaming, a smile that didn’t quite seem genuine in place. “Well, seeing as you didn’t want to work with me and assigned me to someone I barely know, I reckon that’s exactly what would happen, Lucia.”
I winced at the barb, trying hard but failing to keep my rising anger at bay. “How do you expect me to go back to the way things were just like that? You tried to kiss me, Ryan! Even after I made it explicitly clear that we could only be friends.”
“In my defense,” He leaned back, running his hands through his full blonde hair. “I failed to realise that we were on completely different pages, Lucia. I may be all things, but trust me when I tell you that I’m not one to force myself on women. I honestly apologise for what happened, and I can assure you that it’ll never happen again,” A small smirk appeared on his face, “At least not without your consent.”
Even though he was his usual annoyingly charming self, I could detect the honesty in his voice. He was being sincere this time, and so I nodded. “Seeing as you have already apologised, and are doing it again, I guess I’m going to let it slide, Ryan. I forgive you, but I can assure you, that no kiss of any sort is ever going to happen.” I teased to lighten the tension in the office, grateful when it worked and the whole atmosphere suddenly became lively and he chuckled. “Oh,” He said, “You wound me, Lucia.” His demeanor turned serious. “But honestly speaking, I find that my feelings towards you have changed to become what I would call… platonic.”
“Boy am I glad to hear that.” I said with a chuckle, causing Ryan to chortle in amusement as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his legs. “Mark my words, Lucia, the next time I put my lips on yours-” The door to my office opened, “-It’s only going to be in the name of CPR… or at least something equally important. It’s definitely not going to be like last time’s kiss.”
“What kiss?” Dylan asked, his tone very calm, his expression murderous as his gaze flitted from me to the handsome billionaire sitting across me. I stood up. Ryan turned in his seat to see who had asked the question, and when he saw that it was none other than Dylan, a satisfied smirk made its way to his face as he stood up. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Dylan Thomas.”