***
When she woke up, the apartment was dark. She could still easily see, however, as muted city light poured through her large windows.
Glancing at the clock, she saw it was close to midnight. She hadn’t slept for nearly long enough to recover, but after several attempts to go back to sleep, Nicole huffed resignedly and lifted herself from her bed, turning on a light. She found a microwave dinner in the freezer and cooked herself a halfhearted meal, eating in silence at her lonely little table.
Sometimes Nicole realized why she didn’t mind working as much as she did for Bahir. She couldn’t stand the silence that existed outside of his presence.
Her eyes darted to her briefcase as she tried to ignore the urge to just get a few more projects done before going back to bed. Finally, the silence won out, and she slid into a pair of comfortable flats before grabbing her bag and heading back to the office in the hope of getting some work done and tiring herself back out.
In spite of the lateness of the hour, the streets were still full of people heading to clubs and parties, or working late like she was. The night air had turned chilly, as it did in the desert, and she found herself wishing she’d brought something to cover up with.
With a shiver, she entered the office building, which was even colder than it was outside. Nicole rubbed her hands along her arms in an attempt to warm up, increasing her pace to get her blood flowing again.
She entered her office and turned on her computer, checking her email before getting to work. There was a message there from her brother, Ryan, and she clicked on it.