AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I avoid that wall. My parents' picture is framed there.
“Hi Yolanda, I have a um…a gentleman here with Poppy Moore. They said they need to speak with Mr. Moore.” Her voice lowers,“I don’t have them on the calendar.”
You wouldn't.
“Yes,” she says,“Oh, oh, I didn’t know. Ok, what should I tell them?" She taps her finger against the back of the phone.
“Ok. Bye.” She hangs up but keeps her hand on the phone as if it could save her.
Julian shifts closer to the desk, intimidating as ever.
“Yolanda is on her way down to speak to you,” The receptionist says. Her lips press in a worried grin.
“Thank you, but we need to speak to Henry,” Julian insists.
The receptionist clears her throat,“Mr. Moore isn’t here, but his receptionist is, and she will be down shortly.”
I tug Julian's hand. There's no need to scare this poor girl into wetting herself, especially since she's rocking a silk skirt, and everyone knows you can't get piss stains out of silk.“Thank you,” I reply, giving her a reassuring smile as I lead us a few feet away from the reception desk.
“Bullshit,” Julian grunts as he pulls out his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Texting Theo. He knows where Henry is,” he types away.
The elevator dings, and Yolanda steps out. I always liked her. She’s older and should have retired years ago, but I don’t think this place could function without her. She worked for my parents, was here the first day the lights turned on, and has been loyally here since.
Not having seen her in the past few months makes her age more apparent. Her skin is smooth but filled with lines, and her brown hair is now a dark grey. When she smiles at me now, it feels more like a grandma grinning down at her grandchild.
“Poppy, dear!” She beams as she opens her arms. Her embrace makes my eyes water.
“Hi, Yolanda.”
“I missed you, dear,” she whispers in my ear. She pulls away, still grasping my shoulders, and looks me up and down.“You look…happy,” she exhales with relief.“Texas has been treating you well. I’m so very happy, dear.” True relief covers her aged face.“I miss you greatly, but this place suffocated you,” she whispers more to herself.“Your parents would be so proud of you, honey. You know that, right?”
Don’t cry again.
Does crying so much induce more wrinkles? At this rate, I’m going to need to bathe in the Crème de La Mer cream.I wonder if I can start taking testosterone if only to combat my overflow of emotions.
Yolanda’s eyes shift to Julian.“And who’s this handsome man?”
Julian’s hard lips tug up. He extends his hand.“I’m Julian Sterling, Poppy’s boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” Yolanda’s brows inch up, making her forehead look like a roadmap of wrinkles.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, dear,” she looks back at me,“I’d love to hear everything.”
Julian clears his throat,“Actually, we really need to speak to Henry. That’s why we came.”
Her glowing gleam drops.“He, um, he isn’t here, dear. Called in for the day,” she glances down,“He got a call early this morning that his house was burnt down.” Her eyes flicker to me; they look like arms reaching out, waiting to catch me as I fall.
“Burnt down!” I choke.“Is he ok?”
Please tell me he's ok!
All the threats Andrew promised came rushing back to me.
