Page 58 of Better Watch Out
“To a man you hadn’t seen in a year.”
“I’maware.” Frannie began pacing, careful of her sore ankle. “I don’t need to be reminded of that to which I was clearly so blind to have missed,sister.”
“You’re right. Sorry.”
Frannie blew out a breath. “It’s fine. It’s not your fault. It’s mine.” She paused by the window overlooking the city lights below. “I should’ve seen it coming. The signs were all there.”
“Why do you think you missed it?”
She released another sigh. “Because I was scared.” Once the words were out, she felt some of the pressure lift from her shoulders. “Calvin was my first serious boyfriend and our relationship felt like a security blanket. He was smart, successful, came from a strong family, and was everything others didn’t think I’d end up with.” Memories of her time with Calvin played through her mind like a movie reel and they ended in the same embarrassing conclusion. “I thought I had proved everyone wrong and all I needed to do was keep him from walking out on me like my dad did to my mom.”
A few seconds ticked by. It was out. She couldn’t take it back no matter how pathetic it made her sound and look.
“Frannie, you are not your mom except in all of the ways that make her brave, capable, and one of the kindest, generous humans I know. Yourdadmade a selfish decision and yourmommade the selfless decision to work hard and raise you and Ryan up to be the amazing adults you are today.”
Tears burned the backs of Frannie’s eyes. Everything Vivian was saying, she already knew. She’d been so desperate not to end up like her mom, she overlooked the in-her-face fact that the relationship with Calvin had been over for more than a year. That her feelings for him had waned even before he left for London but she’d stubbornly refused to accept it was okay for the wrong man to walk out because then it opened the door for the right one to walk in.Just like her mom.
Her brave, independent, sweet mom had to face Walton and all of the rumors for years but it didn’t stop her from letting her heart love again. To trust that she wasn’t locked into the rumors but could rewrite her love story.
Frannie heard the muffled sounds of a little voice on the other end of the call before Vivian said, “Looks like my little elf needs some extra cuddles.”
“I’m sorry I interrupted your evening.” Her voice sounded raspy over the emotion balled in her throat. “I promise I’ll make it up to you with free babysitting.”
“Don’t be sorry. That’s what sisters are for.”
Vivian let Jisoo say good night before ending the call. In the stillness of her room, Frannie sat on the edge of the bed. She looked down at the phone in her hand and considered everything that had happened over the last few days and then tonight. Vivian was right, Ryan would’ve convinced her to stay in her hotel room the whole weekend, but Andrew had taken a different approach. One that had her believing him and eager to answer his earlier question.
“And now?”
Andrew wanted to know how she saw her life and had she answered him right away she may have missed the significance of how this weekend truly transformed her perspective.
How did she see her life now? Without Calvin? Without the fear of being compared to her mom? Biting her lip, Frannie scrolled through her contacts until she got to Andrew’s number. She quickly sent him her answer and hoped she wasn’t too late.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Unknown Number: First, thank you for being honest with me. I’ll be chatting with my brother about boundaries on his next break from fighting terrorists.
Second, thank you for a wonderful day.
Last, I have an answer to your question. And now … I’m experiencing the kind of life that gives me hope for something more.
This is Frannie by the way.
The last line still made him smile—even after the seventh time rereading the text messages. It wasn’t like he typically received random text messages and the swirling in his gut when he read the first line told him exactly who it was.
Frannie wasn’t upset with him. Based on previous experiences with women, Andrew had experienced the wrath of held grudges and withheld forgiveness but once again, Frannie was proving she was different.And now …
Hope for something more. Andrew’s heart pounded at the unspoken message he was reading between the lines.Or… maybe that pounding was due to the unexpected meeting Doug had called a few minutes after Andrew had sent him the news about the incident at the intersection.
Had it been a simple inattentive driver? An innocent bump on an overcrowded sidewalk? Andrew wanted to believe it was both but it all felt entirely too coincidental. And that was driving his blood pressure up because if it had been done on purpose, then it meant someone had followed them, or found them, and he had missed it.
And now he was waiting for the elevator at the Waldorf and not back at The Peninsula where he could keep an eye on Frannie. He would’ve argued with Mac, who was already waiting in the security office to take over for the night watch, but Doug’s text made it clear they needed to discuss the potential threat since tomorrow was the ransomware deadline.
Andrew waited as a middle-aged couple stepped onto the elevator with him. He used the key he was given from Mac and swiped it to press the button for the twelfth floor. The couple was going to seven.
What would happen if Simon Malone followed through with the investment in the charity? Clearly the ransomware threat was serious because of the FBI’s involvement, but how was it connected to Strazza and the Adonis family? Something didn’t feel right. The attempts on Frannie, if that’s what they were, while frightening, didn’t come off as truly life-threatening. They almost seemed … amateur. And that’s the last word he’d use to classify the Adonis family.
The couple exited the elevator and Andrew rode it the rest of the way up, ready to discuss his concerns with Doug. When he got to the Malones’ suite, he knocked once and a minute later Joey opened the door.
