More Than Business

Chapter 121

NICKI POV

It took minimal effort for us to make one of the guest rooms look semi-suitable for Zoe. Borrowing a teddy bear from the nursery, a furry pillow from my bedroom, and a spare pair of Aaliyah's pink sheets coupled with the many toys she had chosen to bring from home, it was near perfect.

After dinner, I read stories to OJ and Zoe in his room while Aubrey and Aaliyah put the triplets to bed. I tucked OJ in and gave him a kiss before walking Zoe to 'her room'.

"Can I keep this?" She revealed a phone that she had in her bag.

"Is that your mommy's phone?"

"Yes."

"You can have it for now. But when your Auntie comes back, you'll have to ask her." I shrugged. "You should get some rest though okay? And in the morning, you can tell me what your favorite breakfast food is, and we'll have a super special breakfast." I pulled the blankets back so she can get into bed.

She climbed into bed and as I tucked her in, she asked me, "What if I have a bad dream?"

I knelt beside her, "You wanna know what keeps me from having a bad dream?"

She nodded.

I pointed to my necklace that I was wearing, "My mommy gave me this necklace when I was little. And its really really good and stopping bad dreams from coming into your head."

Her eyes widened, "Really?"

"Yeah." I nodded, "But you know what? Since you're my friend, and I care about you soooo much.. you could borrow it if you want."

"What about if you have a bad dream?" she furrowed her brows.

"Well, I have another thing that helps stop bad dreams too." I shrugged as I removed my necklace.

I put the necklace around her, "This will keep all the bad dreams away from your head."

Once I had her settled, I retreated to my own room where Aubrey had just begun removing his shirt. He and I hadn't had a chance to actually talk since I left for Annie's earlier.

"Zoe seems nice." he spoke first.

"Yeah, she's a charmer." I walked towards him.

"How long is she staying?"

"Anita will take her once they come back from their trip. I told her not to cut her trip short." I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Why would she-?"

I looked up at him, realizing I hadn't told him about Annie yet.

"What?"

"Babe.. when Annie told Zoe she was too tired to watch her. She meant permanently." I spoke slowly and softly, "She was dead when I got there. Not sleeping."

"Sh- you- Are you okay?"

I nodded, "Can you just.. hold me in your arms?" I requested.

"Yeah." he agreed, "Whatever you need."

We undressed each-other before getting into bed. He wrapped his arms around me comfortably.

"Do you want to talk.. or?" he questioned.

"Its been a long day.." I sighed.

"I know." he rubbed my back.

"I'm sorry the interview turned out to be so shitty." I massaged his chest gently with my hand, "I really expected our first interview together to be fun."