George called again, but this time with some great news. The higher-ups had personally called him to ask about Rina, and now, they were interested in speaking to her. Rina didn’t know how this had happened, or what caused the sudden shift in their perspective, but the moment she ended the call with George, she jumped out of bed in glee and rushed into the shower.
Rina was done bathing in record time, and she walked briskly into her closet, eyeing her line of exotic dresses. She angled her head when she reached a red dress she had gotten a while ago at a vacation in Hawaii. It was a stunning corporate piece, and at the time, Rina had no idea why she had purchased it.
She had already given up her career for her home, so the endless business meetings had all disappeared. But now, Rina was glad she had gotten it. If she had anything at all to show the higher-ups, this dress was going to do just that.
Taking her time to put it on without getting any creases, Rina opted for minimalistic jewelry since the dress already had so much to give. She donned a tiny pearl earring matching necklace, and bracelet, finishing the look with a small beaded purse. Applying light makeup, Rina gave herself a once over in her full-length mirror and decided this was just going to have to work.
She grabbed a pair of black heels on her way out, stopping in the living room to strap them on. Her phone rang as she was locking the door, a number she didn’t recognize flashing in the caller ID.
Rina was going to ignore it since the higher-ups had given her an appointment which she was planning on making on the dot, not even a second late. But the caller was persistent, the phone ringing and increasing her frustration while locking the doors.
Sighing, she swiped and placed the phone against her ear, hoping this had better be good.
“Hey,” Zayn’s baritone washed through her frustration, killing it almost immediately. It was becoming an automatic response to him, and Rina hated every iota of it. Pushing enough venom into her tone, she muttered, “What is it this time?”
“Feisty much?” Zayn seemed to be having a good time with this. “Did you get it?”
Rina thought Zayn was beginning to lose his mind. It probably was a side effect of being overly broody and cocky. “Receive what?”
Suddenly, Rina heard a car stop behind her. She was about to duck away from view to hide her face when she realized the driver didn’t care about who she was, almost like he had been personally instructed not to look or linger.
He walked around to the other side of the car, grabbed something from the back seat, and placed it on the ground beside her, disappearing away from view so fast that it felt like she had imagined the whole thing. He hadn’t even breathed a word to her.
“It’s there, right?”
Rina had forgotten Zayn was still on the phone. She dropped her purse carefully on the porch and moved to the package. Her eyes widened in pleasant surprise when she realized it was a bouquet of tulips, her favorite flowers. She knew enough not to ask Zayn how he had figured that out.
“Do you like it?”
“Zayn, what is this?” She forced the words out of her mouth when she wanted to say the opposite. This was the nicest thing anyone had to and for her in a long time. Before their marriage broke down, Rina couldn’t remember the last time Finn had gotten her flowers. All he had seemed able to talk about was work and how she wasn’t helping around, even though he was the one who demanded she quit her job.
“They’re flowers, aren’t they? Or did Pedro deliver something else? He uses a wearing aid sometimes so I can’t guarantee that he heard my instructions exactly.”
He was teasing her, but it didn’t make Rina feel lighter. “I know they are flowers, Zayn. But why?”
“If we’re going to get married, I should be courting you,” was Zayn’s response. “Take you to nice places, watch the stars together, go wine tasting, all of course, without the great sex. No emotions attached, remember?”
Rina rolled her eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me. We can’t do all of that stuff because no one must know we’re planning on getting married. You remember that part of the deal, right?”
“It isn’t a deal yet since we haven’t gotten around to signing the papers,” Zayn mumbled. “But then again, we can do without the outdoor dates. We could always shuffle between your place and mine, and I can assure you that my workers are most discreet. They wouldn’t dare say a word.” There was a cold threat attached to the last sentence.
“No, Zayn. Let’s leave things the way they are right now. I want us to be nonexistent as much as we can portray until I’m back in the limelight. Can you please do that for me?”
Zayn was quiet for a while, almost for so long that Rina thought he had ended the call. But she heard him breathe slowly.
“I have given it a long thought,” he said, causing Rina to peer her eyes at nothing in particular. How could a minute on the phone be regarded as giving something a long thought?
“And I have decided that you are right,” he continued. “I’ll play according to your tune. It is a really weird situation for me since I’m damn used to dishing out the orders. But because you’ve been through a lot, I’m going to sit this one out.”
“Thank you!” Zayn didn’t know the relief hearing those words had brought to Rina.
“But you’re going to have to deal with the flowers,” he added, and Rina stopped her mental jubilation immediately. “Flowers are cute and they always need a home. Consider them congratulatory gifts in advance of your second debut in the industry. When that is done, I would have you to myself.”
Rina didn’t know if she liked the sound of that.