Page 2 of Getting Down to Business

“Get to work. I don’t want to lose another work friend. I’ll only have Freddie left and he can’t sympathize on PMS issues.”

“Fine. I’ll see you soon.”

Alyssa dropped her phone in her bag and headed off toward the gym, only to see the devil striding toward her. Liss might have looked for a place to hide, or an alley into which she could duck, but it was obvious by the glare in Sasha’s eyes that she had already spotted her.

Better to get it over with.

“What the hell, Liss?” Sasha held up her phone. “You send me a text telling me I can’t come home?”

“You’ve sent me texts like that so many times that I’ve started carrying a change of clothes in my bag.” Alyssa held up her bag, grateful to have had it packed for her quick escape this morning.

“It’s my apartment. You can’t tell me not to come home to my own apartment.”

“I pay rent too. So it’s my apartment as much as yours.”

“Well the landlord won’t see it that way since my name is the only one on the lease.”

It was always like this.

In the beginning, Sasha had been her friend. But friends don’t always make the best roommates. Sasha had gotten the apartment in her name because Alyssa’s past had adversely affected her credit score. They’d agreed to take turns, one of them getting the tiny bed and the other sleeping on the loveseat a week at a time. But eventually, Sasha claimed the bed because her name was on the lease and Alyssa’s wasn’t. It just spiraled from there.

“I knew you were working until two, so what were a couple more hours?” Alyssa pointed out. She’d texted her roommate at ten, telling her she had a guest. That should have been plenty of time for Sasha to work her magic and find an alternate plan.

She had a feeling the issue was more a matter of sticking it to Alyssa than of not having a place to sleep the night before.

“I have to go now or I’ll be late for work. We’ll discuss it later, okay? Maybe we can make up a schedule or something.”

Without waiting for an answer, Alyssa hurried away knowing she was screwed and that pushing the discussion off until later probably wouldn’t change the outcome.

* * * *

Gray was shaken awake by an angry woman. For a second, he thought the vixen he’d slept with three times the night before had morphed into this harpy by the light of day—but then it spoke.

“Liss left. You need to get out.”

So this wasn’t the woman he’d slept with. Alyssa had simply run off, not changed into a nightmare.

The woman tossed a crumpled piece of paper toward him.

“Get out of my bed, and no you can’t shower here.”

“You must be Sasha,” he guessed.

“Yes. I’m Sasha. And this is my apartment.”

“Okay, okay. I’m gone. Can you give me a second to get dressed?” He was still naked under the sheet.

“Sure.” She flopped down on the sofa, six feet away, and crossed her arms as if waiting for a show.

Alyssa had warned him that her roommate might make a scene. She’d expected the other woman to show up at some point during the night and demand to be let in, which was why she had double-checked the chain on the lock to ensure their privacy.

Conflict wasn’t Gray’s thing, but he hadn’t been willing to walk away from Alyssa the night before. He was more than intrigued by her suggestion that they enjoy each other’s company and then go their separate ways in the morning without any pressure to continue the relationship.

The alarm on his phone went off, reminding him he had to be at work this morning. With a sigh of determination, he tossed the sheet aside and got up.

After getting dressed to a few impressed sounds from Alyssa’s roommate, he checked for his phone, keys, and wallet before rushing out of the apartment. It had been a great night, but it was over.

He hesitated as he opened the wrinkled note from Alyssa, wondering if she was hoping for more—or worse, that she wasn’t. He was new at this one-night thing. He knew he should want it to fade away in the light of day, but he couldn’t help but feel a little saddened by that thought.