First message
Sunday, 10:48 AM. Malik’s Tribeca penthouse.
“You two are unbelievable.”
Simone Almeida stood in the doorway, immaculate in cream trousers & a tailored blazer, her enormous engagement ring flashing as she held up her phone.
Onscreen was a photo of you leaving Malik’s building at 5:12 AM, heels in hand.
Darius was practically crying with laughter on the couch.
“Simone, please tell me you saw the comments. They calling this man a one-night free trial!”
Malik grinned. “Man, both of y’all need hobbies.”
Simone laughed despite herself before setting her handbag down.
“Malik, sweetheart, I don’t care who you sleep with. I care that half of New York is trying to identify a woman who probably just wanted to go home.”
She glanced at the photo.
“Do either of you even know her last name?”
Silence.
Simone closed her eyes.
“Of course not.”
She slipped her phone into her bag.
“Alright. Nobody posts anything, nobody contacts gossip accounts, & Darius?”
“Yes, Boss Lady?”
“Stop sending me memes of your best friend.”
Meanwhile, across Manhattan, your phone kept buzzing with notifications.