Page 98 of The Don’s Virgin Obsession

You embarrassed me.

He violated you.

If he come to my buildings, I’ma beat him the fuck up.

All that meant more to me than it should, and it was scary. Lately, I thought about him more than usual. Not about work either, his well-being, the way he cared about me, the way he looked at me, and respected me. I never even thought a man like him would look my way because it was no secret that he liked me.

When I got to Crown Heights Monday morning, Vaughn wasn’t there.

That wasn’t unusual at first.

He had meetings, inspections, and business outside the project all the time. I didn’t think too much of it until lunch came and Denise told me she hadn’t heard from him either.

“He probably sleep after a long birthday weekend,” Laila said while eating fries at one of the kitchen islands.

I nodded, but something about that answer ain’t sit right with me.

By Tuesday, he still hadn’t shown up.

The workers noticed too.

His best friend, CK, came through once that morning, handling paperwork and talking to Denise, but he left fast. I tried reading his face while he talked, but he moved regular like nothing was wrong.

Wednesday came and went the same way.

I found myself looking at my phone more than usual, waiting for messages from him that never came. Even the work emails stopped. Everything started coming through Vanessa.

That made me uneasy.

“You gon’ go blind looking at that phone so long,” Laila said while we reviewed samples Thursday morning.

“I’m working.”

“You’re looking at that same email for ten minutes.”

I frowned and locked my phone. “Mind your business.”

She smirked. “Yeah, okay.”

I rolled my eyes.

Day five hit harder than the others.

That was when the building started feeling different.

Nobody checking behind us.

Nobody questioning shit.

Nobody hovering.

Even Denise looked stressed.

Around noon, Vanessa walked in, moving fast with her phone pressed to her ear. I barely paid attention at first until I heard Vaughn’s name.

“I just left the Ritz,” she said, walking past us.

My hand stopped moving over the fabric samples.