Page 66 of Stolen Hearts
The women share a glance and then Chloe speaks up.
“And we’re sure Alexander’s ready for this? That there’ll be no more scandals breaking out?”
I can’t blame her for asking. It’s the same question I asked Paul two hours ago. Brewed is spending a shit ton of money on this campaign, and understandably, they want to make sure they see a good return on their investment. Paul’s response placed all the responsibility on my shoulders.You focus on not doing anything to upset him and we won’t have an issue.
Great.
It’s not like I don’t already have enough to deal with.
“Connie and Paul have assured me that Alexander is in a good head space. That they’ll be keeping an eye on everything he does in the foreseeable future to ensure no more scandals break out.”
The words are enough to get reassuring nods from them both and for my pulsing hand on the stress ball to slow. I have no doubt that when it comes to Connie and Paul, they’ll be keeping a tight rein on him. But if I’ve learned anything over the past five months, knowing Alexander, a scandal is never that far away.
By the end of the day, I’ve managed to cross the final thing off my to-do list at work. Well, I delegated several things on there to Olly. After two months of having to pick up all the slack from Tony being fired and Sara quitting, it’s nice to have someone to help. And that help couldn’t have come quickly enough, given the week ahead.
Olly’s head is buried in his yellow notepad. He takes down the final point, adding to a long list of tasks I’ve given to him, before looking back up at me as I grab my bag.
“How long are you away for?” His inquisitive dark-blue eyes are locked on me.
“Sunday through next weekend.”
It’s not ideal timing to be going away for a week just when he’s starting.
“And everything’s sorted with your travel arrangements?”
“Yes.” My jaw tenses.
I already regret agreeing to meet Alexander in Albuquerque rather than New York. Not because it means we will hopefully have time to clear the air, but because I forgot all about Andrew’s birthday party and I’ll have to miss the celebrations this year as a result.
Olly’s eyes narrow, a flash of confusion appears on his face.
The less he knows about that the better.
“You don’t need to be worrying yourself with my travel plans, you’ve already got a lot to be getting your head around and learn.” I nod at his pad as I get up from the desk and slide my jacket on.
“Will you still be able to catch the Raiders versus Patriots match Sunday?” Ollie asks with a wide grin.
I shake my head. Straight guys and their sports talk.
I guess there’s still so much for us to learn about one another.
Once I’ve chucked my bag in the passenger seat and gotten inside my car, I pull out my phone and see three missed video calls from Stephen.
I ponder driving home before calling him back, but it must be nearly 3 a.m. there and I’ve got an hour before my gym class starts, so I quickly hit the video call button.
“Please don’t be mad at me,” Stephen slurs drunkenly as he answers.
His face stares back at me from a bus stop I vaguely recognize along Charing Cross Road. His teeth are chattering from the cold, and though I can’t make out what he’s wearing, he’s no doubt got some skimpy outfit on despite winter fast approaching.
“I’m not mad. I’m just disappointed,” I say—a lie if he had seen me a few hours ago, but the stress balls helped. Though they didn’t eliminate my anger, especially after his return text where he confirmed my suspicion that they’ve been seeing each other since Kelly’s wedding.
“I didn’t mean to fall in love with him. It just happened.” A snot boogie forms underneath his right nostril.
Love? What the hell? I thought they’d just become boyfriends, and now he’s talking about love.
I take a deep breath, locking my phone into the holder, and start the engine.
“Whatjust happened? Becoming boyfriends or falling in love?” My curt tone doesn’t hide my frustration.
