"No?"
"Has he been acting weird?"
Mason laughed. "He's not getting cold feet, if that's what you're worried about."
"Okay."Well, that's good.Isabella probably didn't know where they were.
"I promise I'm taking good care of your fiancé. You don't need to worry. I'm not going to let him fuck up the best thing that's ever happened to him."
That was sweet. It was also apparently untrue. "That's not what I'm worried about."
"Are you okay, Penny? You can talk to me you know."
Talk to James' best friend about this? No, I can't."I need to talk to him, Mason."
"I'll give him a message for you."
"That's okay. I'll just...see him tomorrow night. Right?"
"I'll have him back before midnight. I promise."
"Okay. Bye, Mason"
"Wait. There was a reason I was calling."
I didn't say anything.
"I think Bee's phone died. I haven't heard from her all day. Could you go over there and see if she's okay? And tell her to call me?"
"So you want me to tell Bee to call you, but you won't let me talk to James?"
"Yeah."
"You're a terrible person." I couldn't help but laugh at the irony.
"And that's why you love me."
There was some noise in the background.
"Rob's back," Mason said. "I have to go. Please check on her, Penny." The line went dead.
***
Even though I wasn't allowed to talk to James, at least I knew he was safe. That was the only reason I had walked over to Trump International. And because Bee's phone had gone straight to voicemail when I called her.
I paused in the lobby, remembering the day that James had brought me here when he was still my professor. It had been perfect in every way. I laughed to myself. This was also the first place I had ever met Mason. I remembered how his stare had made me uncomfortable. It was almost like he could see me. Really see me. But he was probably just sizing me up for his side business.
Bee worked hard. She had probably just fallen asleep early in front of the T.V. or something. I got onto the elevator and listened to the fancy elevator music playing. It was strange that Bee and Mason lived in a hotel. But they had made their apartment very homey. I always felt comfortable there. Besides, living like you were in a hotel was kind of fun. Even though their apartment was technically classified as a condo in the hotel, they could still order room service whenever they wanted.
I stepped off the elevator and made my way down the hallway. The sound of music blaring got louder and louder as I got closer to Bee's apartment. I stopped outside her door and knocked. The door flew open.
"Welcome to your bachelorette party!" Bee screamed. "It's about time you got here." She grabbed my arm and pulled me into her apartment. "I was starting to think Mason forgot to call you."
Bee, Kendra, Marie, and Melissa were all decked out in sparkly dresses and looked super excited. And maybe a little intoxicated. Melissa was even smiling at me, which was a good sign.
"You're two shots behind," Kendra said.
"This is really nice of you guys, but I don't really want a bachelorette party," I said and stood in the doorway. "Can't we just stay in and watch a movie or something?"
