When they first walked into his luxurious apartment, she’d been awed by how big his place was. Then she’d cursed herself because of course he’d have a big place. He was a freaking billionaire. She’d been so scared of touching anything. His sofa was white, like pristine white, and she knew if there was a speck of dirt on her clothing, the sofa would attract it.
He’d told her the decoration and furniture had been done by an interior designer. Whoever they were, they loved white, apart from in the kitchen, which was really dark. She didn’t like the place. There was no love inside the large apartment. The pictures on the walls were artwork, not family or any of his club brothers. The apartment was cold. There was more love and feeling in her small apartment that you could walk several steps to get from one end of the room to another. This had space, and not a lot of warmth. She was starting to see another side to Russ, and she just felt sorry for him.
Sitting on her bed, she stared down at one of the final pictures of Karen. Anna had thought she lost her cell phone forever, but Russ had found it, and made sure she had it back. The picture was taken inside the property they were viewing on the night they were both taken. Karen looked so damn happy. The picture had been taken in a selfie style with them holding the phone out with the camera facing toward them.
“How are you doing?” Russ asked.
She looked up to see him standing in the doorway of her room. “Nothing. Just looking.” Anna turned the picture around for him to see. “What time is it?”
“We’ve got half an hour.”
Nodding¸ she licked her lips and went back to staring at the picture. “I’m hoping it will get easier. It’s what everyone says, right? It’ll get easier.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.”
“You’ve never lost anyone?”
“No. I’ve never gotten close enough to anyone for them to matter to me.”
“It’s not a good thing.”
He smiled. “You’re always blunt with me. I think I should hire you at my firm. You can be my new PA.”
Russ had been making comments like that for some time now, and she didn’t put much stock in what he was actually saying. There was no way she’d make it in the cutthroat world of business. She couldn’t even handle putting her friend to rest.
“I’d like to go now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I want to be there.” She wanted to have some private time with her friend.
They left his apartment, and when they got to the parking lot, Russ helped her into his car. She rested her head against the window. The black dress she wore made her feel sick to her stomach. She hated the color black.
On the way to the graveyard, Russ took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“I’m here for you, Anna.”
“Thank you.” She was truly grateful.
After that, they didn’t talk, and Anna didn’t believe she could make conversation right now.
Franny was going to be there, but no one else was going to be. Karen hadn’t had much of a social life. Neither of them had.
The time passed, and it wasn’t long before they were parking close to where Karen’s resting place would be. Anna froze as she saw several cars already parked there. “Who are they?” she asked.
Russ helped her out of the car, and together they walked toward the spot where Karen would rest.
“It’s the club, Anna. They were there to help bring her home, and they helped bring you home as well.”
She was touched by their presence at her friend’s resting place.
Russ placed his hand on her back and started making the introductions.
Shaking each of their hands, she gave them the best smile that she could. They all looked glum.
“Are they all billionaires?” she asked, whispering the question to him.
“It’s what made us part of the club we are today.”
There was no private time with Karen, which she was thankful for. There was no way she would have kept her wits about her when faced with her deceased best friend. The priest gave a wonderful service, and at the end, Anna placed her hand on the coffin, putting a single white rose on top.
“You went too soon, but we’ll be together one day, Karen.” She didn’t fling herself over the coffin, for which she was thankful.
Taking a step back, she watched as each man placed a white rose on top of hers, and finally, the coffin was lowered into the ground. Anna couldn’t keep it together at that, and she started to cry. Russ wrapped his arms around her, and she fought him. He simply held her tighter and refused to let go.
“You’re not alone, baby. I’m here.” He rubbed her back, kissed her head, and Anna just sobbed as she watched her best friend get laid to rest. She crumbled, and if it wasn’t for Russ holding her, she would have sunk to the ground.