Chapter 12

Shea~

N ormally, I wasn't a coffee person, though you'd never guess it when you factored in my career choice, but being up for over twenty hours was no joke, even if I was going to be able to sleep all of Saturday to restart my clock.

Towards the end of the dinner with my parents, I'd gotten a call from one of the nightshift supervisors, asking me if I'd like some last-minute overtime. While overtime was something that I did often, never on my wedding day. However, once it dawned on me that I had no idea where Noah was, it occurred to me that the day might as well have been just like any other.

So, after a dinner where my parents and I had pretended that we weren't sleeping in the jaws of a dangerous shark, I had agreed to the overtime, then had asked my parents to drive me back to my place, so that I could get ready for work. When Declan had notified them of when and where Noah and I would be getting married, we had agreed to arrive together, so I'd left my car at home.

Now, as for letting Noah know that I was working an extra shift tonight, I didn't have his phone number, and if he had mine, he hadn't used it yet. In fact, after the meeting in the parking lot, the only interaction that I'd had with the man had been when he'd decided to send someone to my house to retrieve a couple of packed bags. Clueless to what had been going on, when I had phoned my parents, they had informed me that Noah had been satisfied with a couple of overnight bags until he could get me fully moved into his home after the wedding.

Luckily for me, I hadn't packed everything. Planning on only a few days of living out of a duffle bag, I had packed enough clothes and scrubs to get me through Sunday and Monday. By then, I imagined that I'd be completely moved into Noah's house, and since it made sense that his place would already be furnished, I'd been debating selling my stuff or renting out my condo as a furnished apartment. I wasn't sure yet what I was going to do, but I knew that I didn't want to sell it. I didn't feel like losing my final safety net in this marriage, and I could always sell it later if I had to.

At any rate, even though I'd been able to sleep in this morning because it'd been my day off, I'd gotten up at eight, so by the time that I got back home in the morning, I was going to hit the twenty-two-hour mark of my day, and coffee was needed to manage that kind of activity.

I could also admit that I was looking forward to sleeping Saturday away. After hearing the truth from Declan and overhearing how I was the exact opposite of what turned my husband on, I wasn't ready to sleep beside him. Hell, I didn't even know where he lived. I was expected to walk into a house that I'd never been in before, then sleep peacefully next to a man that didn't want me, and if that wasn't stupid, then I didn't know what was. My hope was that I could go home to sleep since I didn't have his phone number or address. Yeah, I could always have my parents get it for me, but it wasn't worth the effort for me. In fact, now that I knew how Noah preferred blondes with better figures than mine, I was hoping that I could talk him into living separately, doing what needed to be done once he was ready for kids. Honestly, it sounded like a win/win for both of us.

"You are a godsend, Shea." I turned to see the nightshift supervisor, Lily Nickleson, grinning at me. "When Lisbeth got here, she looked horrible, but she swore she could make it through her shift, and I wanted to believe her. However, I draw the line at vomiting."

"As you should," I teased.

She let out a stressed-out sigh. "It's always so hard to get someone in during the weekend."

"I'm glad I could help," I said, meaning it. "I mean, every penny that I can get to go towards my mansion in the Hamptons is worth it."

"I'm more of a mansion in the woods kind of person," she replied wistfully.

"Serious talk, I'd love a small cabin in wilderness so thick that even Amazon shipping could not find me," I said. "Or an island that I could call my own."

Lily grinned. "Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but Amazon will find you anywhere. It says so on their site, I think."

"That sounds a lot like stalking," I quipped.

"It is," she remarked. "But because it's a billion-dollar corporation that's taken over the world, it's legal. You can ask the Supreme Court."

Just then, my phone started ringing, but when I pulled it out of my pocket, I didn't recognize the number, so I declined the call, knowing that there'd never be getting rid of scam calls completely.

"Scam Likely?"

I rolled my eyes. "Always. In fact, with as much as they call me, they should be paying half my phone bill."

Lily laughed. "No shit."

"Honestly, if it weren't for my parents, I'd just leave my phone in my locker," I told her. "It's a miracle and a curse all at the same time."

When my phone rang again, I pulled it out to see the same number, which gave me pause this time. Usually, scammers abused different numbers, and I also remembered that I didn't have Noah's phone number. Still, it was just a little after midnight, so why would he be calling me so late?

Glancing at Lily, I said, "It's the same number, so I'm going to take this."

"Oh, okay," she rushed out. "Thanks again for coming in, Shea."

"No problem," I replied as I stepped away, answering my phone.

Before I could get one word out, Noah Murphy's voice came through the device. "Where in the fuck are you?"

"At work," I answered, really not needing this shit.

"Don't fucking lie to me," he snapped. "You work the dayshift at Donza."

"I also work a lot of overtime on my days off when they need someone," I semi-lied. While I did work overtime regularly, I wouldn't say that I worked it a lot.

"And you didn't think to say something?"

"My parents knew," I shot back. "Plus, who else was I going to tell? I don't have your number, Mr. Murphy. Or did you conveniently forget that fact."

"Call me Mr. Murphy one more time and see what happens, lass," he threatened.

"Look, I don't have time for this," I told him. "My lunch is over, and I need to get back to work."

"Unless you want me going to Donza to drag you out of there by your fucking hair, then you better make time for this," he practically snarled, and we both knew that he wouldn't have to drag me out of here. With everyone knowing who he was, no one would stand in his way.

"What's your problem?" I hissed into the phone, stepping closer towards one of the side exits.

"Are you fucking serious?" he hissed back. "I came home to find my wife not in our fucking bed like she was supposed to be, and no one knew where the fuck she was."

"Well, it's kind of hard for your wife to be in your bed when she doesn't even know where you live, don't you think?" I shot back. "And the only reason that you didn't know where she could be was because you never bothered giving her your phone number. So, I fail to see how this is my fault, Mr. Murphy."

"I'm on my way," he bit out, and my heart dropped to my feet.

"Don't," I ordered, heated anger making my hands begin to shake. "This is my job."

"A job that you don't need," he pointed out.

"I'll never forgive you if you cost me my job," I said, even knowing that he didn't care about my career, quickly proving me right.

"Do you think your lack of forgiveness will keep me up at night?" he taunted. "Baby, if you think that I have a conscience, then you're living in a world of rainbows and unicorns."

Choosing to quit my job with some dignity, rather than get fired for a violent scene that would no doubt end up going viral, I said, "I'm leaving now, Mr. Murphy."

Noah didn't say anything for a few seconds before finally saying, "Call me Noah, and then I'll allow you to finish your shift."

My stomach turned, and the anger that shot down my spine had my entire body shaking. I felt like a kidnapped victim that was forced to earn scraps of food by being good. Noah wasn't even trying to hide what a manipulative sonofabitch he was, and I'd just given him the perfect ammunition to use against me. I'd shown him how important my job was to me, and now he had another ace to play, despite already having all the ones in the deck.

I had a decision to make, and I had no idea which was the right choice. Did I call him Noah and keep my safe haven from having to be married to him, or did I leave because men like Noah Murphy viewed compromise as another form of weakness? If I stayed, then I could keep my job, but for how long? How long before Noah threatened me with it again? If I left, then I'd be showing Noah that he couldn't manipulate me, but that'd just be cutting my nose off to spite my face.

Finally, making up my mind, I said, "I'm leaving now. Though I'll be going to my place since I still don't know where you live."

I hung up before he could say anything.