FOOL

Sophie's POV

Sophie managed to pick up her broken pieces after almost having a mental breakdown. She grabbed her laptop and delved herself into work, refusing to think of anything other than work. 

When she eventually cleared her table, she walked out and went around the company for an impromptu tour. Most of the workers who encountered her noticed how harsh she sounded and they immediately steered off her path. The ones who weren't smart enough got the brutal brunt of her harsh words.

When she was satisfied with the tour, she returned to her office to grab her bag and other things. She was in the car driving home when a call came in from Joyce.

“Babe,” Joyce's excited voice did nothing to aid the way Sophie was feeling and because she took too long to reply, Joyce picked up on the mood.

“What's wrong? What happened?” Joyce asked in a rush, her voice expressing deep worry and concern.

“He stopped by my office to see me,” Sophie divulged in a small voice. At that point, she didn't even have it in her to yell and scream or shout like she did the day before.

Joyce didn't tell anyone who Sophie was talking about. She got the memo and went completely still and quietly like Sophie had gone when she was first informed that her father was around.

“Wh-How did it go?” Joyce stuttered in fear.

“He wants me to go on another date tonight and it has to go well even if I hate the sight of the man. It has to go well otherwise I'd be losing my job.” She went ahead to give Joyce the details of the meeting in a quiet voice.

A brief silence ensued after she was done, Joyce unable to find her voice.

“Fuck!” 

Joyce finally found her voice and she sounded so distressed. “I'm so sorry, babe. I'm so sorry. I wish I could come with you right now.” Joyce grumbled.

“Are you not at home?” Sophie asked as she took a left turn, her brows furrowing at Joyce's words.

“That's kinda why I called you.  Nick's parents flew in from New Jersey a few hours ago. They are not staying for too long and they want to meet me.” She explained. “I'm so sorry, babe. If I'd known that this would happen, I would have declined and—” she continued to ramble which made Sophie roll her eyes.

“That's alright, Joy. Nick needs you to be gone. I will call you tomorrow.” Sophie didn't wait to hear any more of it before she ended the call. 

She exhaled and drove on further until she arrived at the parking lot of her house. As she unbuckled her seatbelt, the events of the day before filtered into her mind and it made her shudder.

Could it be her father?

Shrugging the thoughts off, she came down from the car and dialed it locked. She was just going to change into appropriate clothes for dinner before setting out.

What was the worst thing that could happen within that timeline?

                     ★★★ 

Tyler turned around at the sound of the footsteps approaching. His fingers hovered over the screen of his laptop while he took in the sight of the brown-haired woman standing before him fully clothed in shorts and a T-shirt.

That had not been the case a few hours ago.

It had been him on the bed, running his hands everywhere on her skin and leaving his prints everywhere he touched while she moaned his name. He didn't repeat women as he loved to tell himself but this was the third time she was here and he wanted to put an end to it.

“I left some money for you in the drawer. Did you check it?” He asked as he met her gaze. He wondered for the life of him why she had purple contact lenses on.

It didn't suit her.

But he wasn't going to tell her that. It wasn't his business.

“Yes, I saw it.” She slurred in that sexy way that had managed to turn him on earlier. Closing the gap between them, the skinny woman wrapped her hands around his neck while she pressed her body to his. Tyler stilled and stopped typing on his laptop.

“Thanks for the cash, honey.” She trailed kisses from the back of his head down to his right ear. “When should I come again?” she whispered, biting onto his ear. 

Tyler sighed, unmoved by her sensual actions. Instead, he pried her hands off his body and spurned her to come toward him. The brunette gasped at the quick action but a smile was on her face.

“You are not coming again, Jenna.” He told her in a very firm voice to show that he wasn't fooling around or joking.

“What?” her smile faded a little, in shock.

“You are not coming again,” Tyler repeated slowly so she would get him since it seemed like she didn't get him the first time.

“What? Why?” she frowned. “Did you not enjoy me? Did I not moan your name enough? I promise I will do better next—”

“—That's not it,” Tyler cut in before she could go on further. “It's not like that. I don't repeat women and you are starting to become a frequent occurrence. I don't like that which was why I paid you off. Do you get that?” He asked her, holding her hand tightly.

Despite his cold nature, he still managed to treat women gently. It was probably the reason why Jenna didn't want to leave.

Jenna sniffed and nodded but she said nothing. Tyler let go of her and he watched as she pulled herself together.

“I will walk you to the door,” he told her. She smiled gently at him, her chubby cheeks heightening with a smile. He unlocked the door to his apartment and she walked out with him behind her.

“Thanks a lot for the cash.” She mumbled as they neared the elevator. Tyler's eyes widened when she pulled him in for a quick embrace before letting him go. As she turned around, the elevator door opened, and out came Tyler's next-door neighbor dressed elegantly in a red pantsuit.

Tyler stopped to gawk at her, seeing as she had stopped to cast disdainful looks at him and Jenna before she walked into the elevator. The elevator doors went shut and Tyler turned to catch his neighbor's attention before she walked into her elevator.

“Sophie,” he called. He had no idea why he was calling her. It was probably because she looked so elegant in the red pantsuit she was donning or because his mood was a lot better today than usual because he just struck a very large deal.

But he was eager to make amends between himself and his next-door neighbor.

“Sophie,” he tried to reach for her but she turned around, hitting him off with one of her glares.

“I don't have the time to sit around with whores like you. I have better things to do with my time. Fool.” She eyed him with a loud hiss, turned around, and walked right into her apartment.

Fool?

Tyler stood there staring into thin air seconds after she was gone. Blinking, he let out a cuss.

He should never have tried to talk to her. 

He decided as he made his way into his apartment to get ready for the celebratory dinner his partners had insisted on.