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Bianca’s understanding tone only made the guilt swell further in my chest. “Yeah of course! I am so sorry. I’ll be there as soon as I can flag down a taxi.”
“You got it. Keep me updated.”
“I will. Love you!”
Ending the call, I threw my arm up toward the traffic and tried to wave down the passing taxi, but the car sped past me without even a glance. I groaned and slumped back down.
These past two weeks had been so insane that I barely had time to breathe. Sawyer and Kane had finally sorted their patent problem, and with everything starting to get moving, they had also publicly announced their partnership. Naturally, the media had gone wild with stories about why Crane Enterprises would partner with Golden Dove, whether there was an underlying reason or something more sinister going on.
It almost amazed me how deeply people searched for something that wasn’t there. Multiple articles painted Sawyer as a tyrant incapable of leading a project like this because there was no money to be made. Sawyer’s own words were used against him, and when the papers started getting quotes from his father, there was nothing more we could do.
All Sawyer could control was the information within his own company and the shareholder meeting had been a roaring success when I’d presented the real numbers to them. It was inevitable that Crane Enterprises would make money from this but all profits would be turned back into operating costs under Kane’s advisement.
He just hadn’t revealed that part yet.
Internally, people were more concerned about Kane, Liam, and Sawyer working together. Apparently, they had a history, and everyone was waiting for the friction to show itself once again—not that I’d seen anything of the sort. If anything, they reminded me of old friends reuniting after a few years.
We’d thrown everything into this project, and the downside for me was barely having time for anything outside of work. I had no time for life or my best friend, which was why this dinner was so important to me. I needed to see her, hear about her life, and remind myself what existed outside of board meetings, press calls, and lawyers.
“Taxi!” I yelled myself hoarse, and finally, one took pity. The driver parked nearby and as I hurried over, my phone rang once more. Shoving it against my ear, I slid into the taxi and reeled off the address of the restaurant.
“Miss Everheart?”
“Yes?”
“Hi there. I’m calling from the hospice, and we were just wondering when you would be arriving?”
My stomach dropped.
Was I supposed to visit today? No, I wasn’t expected. Had I forgotten?
“I’m sorry?”
“Your mother is moving today?” The carer sounded exasperated. “You’re supposed to be here.”
“Moving?!” I had never agreed to such a thing. My heart began to pound, and sweat broke out along my hairline. Was this because I tried to cancel Eli’s payments without the funds in my account? The manager I spoke to had assured me that was okay, and I was scraping my savings together to pay the fee.
Was I too late?”
“Don’t do anything,” I barked down the line. “Not until I get there!”
____
I arrived at the hospice and fled from the taxi in a flurry, throwing more dollars than I could count at the driver. Across the street, I glimpsed my mother in a wheelchair being loaded into a white van by three men. The van was parked at such an angle that I couldn’t get a good look at the logo on the side.
“Wait!” I yelled, sprinting toward them. “What are you doing?!”
Before I could get close enough, one of the men turned and I skidded to a stop.
“Eli?”
What the hell was going on?
I approached slower this time and watched as Eli gave the nearest nurse a sickeningly charming smile. Whatever he had done, whatever he had said, had clearly worked on them because the moment I got within earshot, the nurse gave me a withering look and then stalked away toward the building.
“Eli?” I snapped breathlessly as the van doors slammed closed. “What the hell do you think you are doing with my mother?”
“What does it look like?” Eli’s expression was bored, and he sounded irritated as if he had any right to be. “I’ve been paying your bills, and since you’ve been taking my money, I decided to do something about the care she receives.”
