Hushed talking wakes me up a few hours later. I blink sleepily and sit up when I notice the other side of the bed is empty. A look out of the window tells me it must be around noon already.

Then I hear Zach's hushed voice again. I swing my legs out of the bed and walk towards the walk-in closet where his voice is coming from.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! No way I let this happen!"

I freeze when I hear Zach's cursing. So, it's not a simple happy birthday call. I hate to eavesdrop, but I can't help it. He won't tell me anything as always, and I need to know what's going on.

"No, I fucking can't help you this time.....She isn't even working there anymore.....Not a fucking chance!.....I have to go, Franco!"

A second later, Zach enters the room again. When he sees me, he flinches hard and stops in his tracks.

"Olivia!" He stares at me for a moment and then asks warily, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Uh... about a minute...," I mutter and look down. I feel embarrassed by him catching me eavesdropping.

"What did you hear?" Zach asks quietly and steps closer. I look up and shy away when I see the coldness in his eyes.

"It was Franco, right?" I ignore his last question as anger washes over me. Why the hell should I explain myself? He's the one who's keeping secrets from me since we arrived in Vancouver.

"You already know that don't you?" Zach snarls and rushes past me. He plops down on the chaise longue and starts frantically typing on his phone.

"Zach! You obviously spoke about me. Don't you think I deserve to know?"

I get no reaction from Zach which increases my anger even more.

"Are you seriously ignoring me right now?" I follow him with my hands on my hips and stop right in front of him. "That's real mature, Zach!"

He looks up and laughs coldly. "Well, but eavesdropping on your boyfriend is, huh? Don't you think you're being a bit hypocritical here?" he counters with narrowed eyes.

I huff and shake my head. Is he fucking kidding me?

"I'm so done with this. Since we arrived in this city, you keep throwing worried glances at your phone all the time, and even after I heard you talking to Franco, you won't tell me what this whole shit is about," I raise my voice and take another step towards him. "Either you tell me now what's going on, or I will leave and won't come back until the evening!"

When Zach doesn't return anything, and just looks at me with an unreadable face, I laugh bitterly and shake my head.

"You know what?! Fuck you!"

I quickly slip into my clothes, grab my phone and my jacket, and head for the door.

I can't believe this. It feels like I've told him a hundred times before that I want to know what's happening in his life. That I need to know, and what's more, that I deserve to know as I'm part of this fucked up shit too in the meantime. His whole thinking that he has to protect me from his world starts to annoy me a lot. I mean, I get why he does it, but he must see as well that I would be better off if I knew what's going on.

Just as I reach the elevator, I feel a grip around my wrist.

"Liv..." I turn around and look into Zach's desperate face.

My gaze falls on his bare chest and I nervously look around.

"Could you please put on some clothes?" I whisper forcefully.

Zach looks down at his body and then shrugs his shoulders. "What? I'm wearing sweatpants, and as far as I remember I don't have tits, so it's fine."

"Yea, whatever. What do you want?" I roll my eyes.

"Please, come back!" Zach says with a pleading look.

Crossing my arms, I tilt my head and raise my eyebrows. "Why? Just so you can keep ignoring me and holding back the truth?"

Zach sighs and runs his hands through his hair. "Fuck, no. I'm sorry, okay?!...I'm just so fucking pissed right now!"

Exhaustion is written all over his face, and I see how hard he tries to keep his voice low.

"Then fucking talk to me!" I retort and lightly push him away. "I am so tired of you not telling me anything. How often did we have a fight over this bullshit already in the short time we know each other?"

Zach eyes me with wary eyes. It's very rare that I get loud, but right now I can't control myself as I'm too desperate and angry about this situation.

"Fuck, Liv. I know!" he then retorts, slightly raising his voice as well. "I know that it's wrong, but I fucking don't want to see you end up in the same world as I am trapped. This just doesn't feel right, and I can't..." He takes a deep breath. "I can't watch you getting pulled down by all those fuckers. At least not more than it already happened!"

A middle-aged couple steps behind us, obviously waiting for the elevator. The woman shakes her head and shoots me an accusing look before rolling her eyes at her husband.

"Let's take this back to our room, come on," I mumble, and grab Zach's arm to drag him back into our hotel room.

After closing the door behind us, Zach walks over to the window front where he stops with his back to me.

"Are you going to talk to me now?" I ask and step behind him.

Zach remains silent for a whole while and just stares out of the window.

"I don't know what to do," he sighs deeply. "This is so fucked up, and I don't know how to get out of it."

"Zach, tell me! What is it what's bothering you that much?"

"I'm used to Franco's fucking requests and his shady businesses, and usually, I just make fast work of these jobs, so that he stops pestering me, but this time... fuck!" Zach drops his head and rakes his fingers through his hair.

"What about this time?" I cautiously ask and place my hand on his back. I haven't seen him this tense and desperate since the day Terrence surprised us at my apartment.

"This time I can't give him what he wants!" Zach still doesn't face me. His hands are still on the back of his head, and I feel his heavy breathing under my palm.

"What is it? And what has it to do with me?" I press, slowly getting impatient.

"He want's you to work for him," Zach breathes barely audible after another minute of silence.

I drop my hand and take a step back.

"What?"

Finally, Zach turns around and faces me.

"Well, he told me he distrusts that asshole Jack, and apparently he found out that you worked there." He huffs and clenches his teeth. "Should've known this fucker won't keep his mouth shut!"

With his thumb and forefinger, he rubs his eyes before speaking on, "Anyway, to make amends for lying to him, Franco demands that you do him a favor and start working for Jack again to see if he's loyal."

I give a bitter laugh and shake my head. "And how am I supposed to do that? As if Jack would give away any information. He fucking hates me as much as I despise him!"

This man must be joking, right? I'm sure Franco has plenty of men who could find out if Jack's being loyal. Which, as a side note, I doubt as well, to be honest. Generally, I thought that these wicked men have other ways to deal with possible traitors, what makes this situation even more suspicious for me.

"Fuck, I know that. And there's no fucking way I let you do this anyway, but I also have no idea how to get out of this. Fucking Franco always gets what he wants!"

Zach starts restlessly pacing the room while rubbing his palms together.

With a deep sigh, I sink onto the chaise longue and bury my face in my hands. This day is supposed to be a great one. It's Zach's birthday. I know it's also the death-day of his mom, therefore I haven't planned anything like partying since Zach made it quite clear he doesn't want to celebrate, but I planned on bringing him breakfast in bed. Well, it would probably turn into lunch in bed as it's nearly noon already. After that I booked a couple massage in the spa area of the hotel. They even have a heated infinity pool on the rooftop in which I wanted to have a little evening swim with Zach. Just a relaxed couple's day. That's all I wanted. Now look at this fucked up situation. I think for a moment and watch Zach walking up and down. There must be a way to change the mood as I'm not willing to watch Zach spending his birthday being pissed and tensed.

"You know, I need to get a new job anyway, so..." I start, but Zach cuts me off and rushes towards me.

"Don't you fucking dare to even think about it! I won't let you work for that bastard again, and certainly not for Franco!" He has grabbed my shoulders and pierces me with his eyes now.

"Alright, do you have a better idea?" I shrug and raise my eyebrows. "I know this is shit, but I think it's better that way as if Franco comes up with any other way of forcing me into it. You said it yourself that he always gets what he wants."

"Olivia..." Zach pleads and drops his hands. "What if this is just a fucked-up plan of revenge? I know Franco and his massive ego. He hates being lied to, and that's what I did. What we did."

"I'll be careful, and I still have Abbey as a co-worker," I reason and give him a reassuring smile.

As so often lately, I wonder if I've completely lost my mind. I just suggested to do an obviously ruthless and criminal casino owner a favor which sounds more than suspicious. On the other hand, I have absolutely no idea how to escape this situation.

"I've got a fucking bad feeling about this, Liv!" Zach mutters and cups my face into his hands. "I don't trust Franco, and I don't get why he would want you to do that."

"I know and I don't like it either." I place my hands on top of his and smile warmly. "Let's just hear what exactly he wants from me when we're back in Calgary, okay?"

Zach closes his eyes, sighing heavily, and then nods.

"Good," I retort and softly peck his lips. "Happy birthday, by the way."

Zach opens his eyes again and chuckles. "You already said that last night."

I shrug and grin broadly, "Now let's call the room-service and order some food. I'm starving."

I'm not convinced at all that this is a good idea, but I'm determined to make this day a good one. This used to be a tough day for Zach ever since his mom died, and I want today to be different than his past birthdays. We'll deal with the rest when we're back in Calgary.

Half an hour later, Zach and I are sitting on top of the cozy bed with two giant sandwiches in front of us.

"Oh my god, that's exactly what I needed right now," I remark after taking the first bite.

"It's fucking tasty," Zach agrees with his mouth full, and chuckles.

We finish eating while talking about last night's party, and I suddenly remember that I need to look after Sadie.

I quickly grab my phone and dial Abbey's number.

"Hey, sleepyhead! You know what time it is, right?" Abbey's voice rings out through my speaker. "We missed you two lovebirds during breakfast!"

"Yea, I know. We went to bed quite late I guess," I chuckle as Zach gives me a wink.

"Yea. Hailey already told us how long you two have been up!"

I nearly choke and feel my face blushing.

"Uh. What?"

Abbey giggles. "Yea. She said the two of you were not to be overheard!"

Great! So, Hailey and Ben have heard me moaning Zach's name. What else could you wish for?

"How's Sadie?" I ask, ignoring her little remark.

"She's okay, I guess. Her grandma had a heart attack and is at the hospital now. But as she made it through the night the doctors are confident, she will be fine again."

"Oh my god! That's horrible!" I gasp. I immediately feel bad for not looking after my friend last night. "And I was so selfish and didn't even check in on her!"

"Hey, relax, sweety. She wanted to be alone anyway. We killed two bottles of champagne and then we fell asleep. In my bed. My back is killing me today. A single bed for two drunk girls doesn't work that well, that's for sure!"

I laugh at her whining tone. "Did you at least watch the firework?"

"Oh, babe. At this time, we were already in dream land."

"Too bad. It was breathtaking!"

"Can't be helped, I guess."

"So, I was planning to spend the day with Zach since it's his birthday, and as Sadie is okay now, I would love to stick to my plans. You okay with that?" I ask.

"Sure, honey," Abbey retorts and then adds teasingly. "And tell your sex god happy birthday from all of us!"

"I will. Thanks, love." I laugh and hang up.

"I should tell you happy birthday from the others, sex god!" I face Zach again.

"She didn't call me that, did she?" Zach asks and laughs loudly when I nod. "I mean, she's not wrong."

I pat his chest and chuckle at his cockiness. "You smug jerk."

"What? You wanna say you didn't cry out my name several times when I fucked you good last night?" he asks with a wink, and I can't help but laugh. I love this chilled and funny side of Zach.

Zach tilts his head and gives me a tender smile which makes my heart melt. These adorable dimples are going to be my end one day.

"You said you've got something planned for today, baby?"

I lean forward and give him a long and gentle kiss before I tell him my plans for today.

*****

Finally, Liv knows what Zach was worried about the whole time. What do you think about the favor Franco demands from Olivia? 😶

Please don't forget to leave me some comments and vote. ✨

Katie❤️