PRESLEY
"Are you eating right?" My mother's voice filled my ear so loudly I had to reach the volume button and turn that shit down. "You know I worry about you, baby."
"Yes, mother." I sighed loudly, making it an habit to show my mother how unhappy and irritated I was currently.
I hated these phone calls because she always wanted to adopt this loving mother act and we both knew her real personality.
She didn't give a fuck about me ever since my father died and if anything, her worry was a form of guilt. How could you abandon a child after the death of her father?
"I'm fine." I told her as I walked through my apartment building, and immediately made a beeline for the elevator. It was a stressful day and even without the bipolar behavior of Desmond Grant, the appearance of Silvio twisted everything.
He always had a habit of showing up at the most inconvenient times and turning my world upside down.
After he openly rejected my handshake for unknown reasons, I had a minute to sit down and think about why the hell I allowed myself to tolerate his bullshit.
The man was a two-faced sword. Tread lightly or not, then you were gifted with a sharp cut.
I was supposed to spend the night with Jax at an expensive restaurant he'd sent me the location of earlier today but I wasn't feeling much for going anywhere.
I'd texted him if it was okay if we rescheduled and after he approved, I was on my way to bed with a pounding migraine and nothing in my stomach but lunch.
Finley texted me earlier if she could come over and run it by Octavius but I hadn't gotten a chance to respond. I wasn't surprised when I found her waiting by my front door with a six-foot four grumpy tattooed man standing beside her like her bodyguard.
My mother kept droning on and on about my recent attitude on the phone and also how I needed to take care of myself but I wasn't listening.
There were dozens of men moving in and out of the next door penthouse, and I wondered if someone was moving in. The space had been empty since I moved in but a part of me feared it was the person who always haunted my safety.
I pushed those thoughts into the back of my mind and explained to my mother I would call her back, and told her to give my regards to my sister Lotus.
I approached the couple with a soft smile, almost laughing when Octavius turned to me with a brooding expression, his dark amber eyes narrowing slightly but I knew this was his way of saying hi.
The man wasn't much for words, and he had a natural ability to scare people off because of his height and tattoos. A natural bad boy look but whenever he was around Finley, the man was like softened butter.
He looked at me in a way that every woman deserved to be gazed at. Like the whole world would crumble if something happened to her.
"Pres!" Her face shone with a look of adoration and happiness but before she could move, Octavius wrapped a tatted hand around her waist. Keeping her locked beside him. She frowned, the dimple in her cheek disappearing and looked at him with a scowl.
The man frowned as well, almost copying her expression. "Not too fast, Topolina. No running remember, hm?"
"Mhm." She nodded and her expression changed into a sweet one, and as I approached, she stretched her arms out and pulled me in for a tight hug.
I hugged her even tighter, aware of her growing belly and my fingers trembled against her back.
There was always something about Finley's hug, it had the ability to make me tear up almost as if someone told me 'you've done enough for today. Rest.'
It seemed she had that effect on everyone.
"Hey, hot-shot." I greeted Octavius, grinning widely after I released Finley. I had called him numerous different names, and it was difficult to stick to one.
Some days, he was bad boy, and another day, he was tall and handsome. I knew secretly he always looked forward to hearing my nickname for him even if he didn't show it.
He greeted me with a nod of his head, long black hair moving slightly with the movement. "Presley. Hello." Yeah, not a very talkative person.
He moved closer to Finley, glancing down at me and kissed her forehead softly. "I'll have Beast pick you up later, hm? Be careful."
"I'm always careful." Finley's face flushed with adoration, and she nodded. "Fine. Okay."
They said their declaration of love, Octavius greeted me with another nod—and I was going to tell him to stop doing that, I wasn't a security officer—and then took his leave.
I ushered Finley into my apartment, taking extra precautions to look the windows and door and then ordered two large pizza's.
I left her with an episode of Grey's anatomy and went to change out of my work clothes. The image of my messy room was like a slap to the face as I walked into the bathroom and I sighed, promising myself I would catch up on laundry over the weekend.
Or sometime soon.
I went braless, changed into a white cami top and my grey pajama shorts which was very well capable of exposing my ass cheeks if I bent the wrong way but I didn't care. It wasn't like I was expecting any other visitors than Finley.
When I walked out, the pizza had already arrived—a plain cheese pizza for Finley who hated toppings—and pepperoni pizza for me. We sat comfortably on the sofa, chatting about our day and reminiscing about the weekend.
Finley complained about the boys especially Octavius who was always so overprotective it made her suffocated at times
I complained about Silvio.
"Why the hell is he showing up at my workplace looking all professional and shit?" I complained, reading for another slice of pepperoni pizza and took a big bite. "And then he refused to shake my hand, Fin. It was so embarrassing like why would you ask for my opinion and not shake my hand? That's so humiliating."
