He gasped at his thoughts. Good God. He'd lost his marbles. He must stop thinking at once! Well, actually, that wasn't right. He must stop feeling at once!
He heard a click and a light streamed in from the doorway, silhouetting Adam.
"Trey?"
"I'm here."
"Why are the lights turned off?"
"Oh. Well, you can turn them on if you like," he answered.
He squinted as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness of the room.
"Are you okay?" Adam asked concernedly as he walked toward him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. What's up?"
Adam sat on the chair next to him. "Rebecca rang me. She said you might want some company."
He snorted. He should have known.
"Hey," Adam said softly. "She told me what happened. I think you're overreacting."
He arched his eyebrows. "Overreacting?"
"Yeah. So you saw Kris have dinner with her new boss. Who knows, maybe it's to celebrate her appointment. You can't go around thinking she's dating him all of a sudden."
"Why not?" he countered. "We're not together. We were just having a fling. She's free to date other men without letting me know about it."
"But why jump to conclusions, Trey? There's something between you and Kris even if you won't admit to it."
"Why are you guys so keen about this? So what if Kris and I don't end up together?" he asked, more than a little peeved.
"Because we've never seen you this way before, bro," Adam said quietly.
"I appreciate your support," he said sincerely. "But why don't you give Kris the space and don't push me onto her. Let her make her decision without undue pressure from her friends."
"What will you do? Just sit there and do nothing?"
He rubbed his face in frustration and pain. "Adam, Blake said he was taking Kris to a party. Who takes a mere employee you've just hired to a party? First they have dinner then they go to a party? It reeks of a date to me. And you know what? Kris looked absolutely excited about it. If I was more important to her, she would not have gone with him especially since I asked her to join me at my mother's party. My expression would have told her I wasn't happy with the whole thing. And she still went."
He let out a harsh exhale. "To be honest, Adam. Looking at her two choices—him or me—I can understand why she'll go for him. It sucks, but he could give her what I can't."
"You don't know for sure that she's chosen him."
"Well, right now she's with him and not with me. What does that tell you?"
Adam took a slow, loud sigh. "Okay. I see what you mean. Wanna hit the clubs?"
He contemplated for a moment. He almost walked into one on his way home, but he didn't feel up to being approached by single women looking for some fun, which almost always happened.
"Oh, what the hell," he said out loud. "Yes, let's go."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Kris walked out of the building where the client's function was still going strong, relieved that she was finally able to leave. It was already the early hours of the next morning, and she was dog tired.
She hadn't thought they'd finish this late. Blake hadn't either. He would have been happy for her to leave much earlier, but just as she was about to go the Hollywood director had asked her and Blake to give an impromptu performance for the guests' entertainment, just as Blake had predicted.
After that, she had lost count of the people who'd wanted to have a chat with her, with some even asking for a quick, short lesson right there and then. Blake had pulled her aside and asked if she didn't mind staying a bit longer to humour the guests. She couldn't blame him for asking. Some of them were just as famous as their hosts.
Despite the fact that she had her professional hat on, conscious that she was there to represent Blake's studio, there was much joviality at the party, and she was made to feel like she was one of the guests. She did try to enjoy herself, but she couldn't fully let her hair down. Trey was in her mind all night.
She stepped into the taxi that the valet attendant had called for her, grateful that she could now switch off. After she'd given the address to the driver, she pulled out her phone and stared at it. Was it too late to call Trey?
She was really itching to talk to him, just to make sure everything was well between them. But he was probably in bed already so she decided to send him a text instead.
*Hi, Trey. I wanted to call, but you're probably in bed by now. Can I see you tomorrow? Please call me when you wake up.*
*******
Awareness that the sun was well and truly up came to Kris when she opened her eyes. It must be close to mid-day.
She stretched on her bed, feeling refreshed. It was good to catch up on some sleep. Since she'd been staying with Trey most nights lately, she hadn't had much of it. Then there was last night's surreal party to top it off.