AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She wasn’t alone anymore.
“You okay?” Harlow asked, tucking a strand of bright bluehair behind her ear.
Nicole took a long breath and opened the door. “Yeah.”
“Hey, long time no see.” Claudine walked out of the office,a stack of fresh towels in her hand. She was dressed in what she liked to callafternoon chic. A flowy housedress, her long hair in a braid. She wore nomakeup, so the working girl was obviously taking a day off. “I heard you madethe move to the big time. Whew. You really living with the devil?”
“He’s not the devil,” Nicole said with a frown.
Harlow looked at the other woman. “Are we talking about Jackor Josh?”
Claudine shook her head. “Those men are the same. I swear.And I don’t say devil in a mean way, Nicole. Everyone knows Jackson Barnes isthe kindest, most generous man around. But the man can also take a mean bit ofrevenge. I heard about Nicole’s confrontation last night with that hateful oldman.”
“What are people saying about it?” Harlow asked. “Jackseemed to think it would get a lot of women to finally push back.”
“Oh, they’re pushing back. I had a date with a member of thecity council, and he was complaining he’s already getting calls to make lawsand stuff against yelling at women,” Claudine said with a wave of herbeautifully manicured hands. “But don’t talk about that. A woman in myprofession must practice discretion. Now I know the answer to this questionalready.”
Nicole could guess. “I’m not coming back. I’m going to marryJosh and Grim and be happy.”
Claudine smiled. “Then I’m happy for you.” She started towalk toward her room. “But the asshole who took your room when you left is apervert creepo.” As she walked by the door Nicoleused to call her own, she held up her middle finger. “Yeah, I’m talking aboutyou. Creep who never leaves his room but is always watching. You’re gross.Steer clear of this guy, Nic. And invite me to the wedding. I never get to goto weddings. Only bachelor parties.”
Harlow’s eyes had gone wide. “Is she a sex worker?”
Nicole nodded and entered the room. “Yup. And a nice ladywith good instincts. Let’s get out of here before the creep next door decidesto stop by and say hello.”
“How did you ever think this woman was some housewife fromrural Colorado?” Harlow stood by the vanity in the bathroom. “Her makeup bag isFendi. And she has not one but two pairs of Louboutin flip-flops.”
Nicole shrugged. “I mean I’ve been wealthy adjacent, butit’s not like they were interested in buying me stuff. And I didn’t payattention. I noticed her Chanel bag but she convinced me it was a knock-off.”
Harlow hauled out the plain black suitcase and flopped it onthe bed. “I can spot a knock-off from a mile away, and I can tell you thoseshoes are real and her clothes are excellent quality. This is a woman withmoney.”
“I wonder why she does what she does.” Nicole gathered upher books. They were all she wanted, though she would take her sad two pairs ofjeans, three Christa’s Café shirts, five pairs of underwear, one extra bra, andthose crappy Crocs Alyssa had taken offense to.
“Because believe it or not, there are problems with beingrich, too.” Harlow started carefully folding the clothes Kim Kent had leftbehind. “Sometimes it can feel like the money is the only thing that mattersabout you. You have to find your purpose. And I know it’s way easier to findyour purpose when you’re not worried about where your next meal comes from, butit wasn’t my experience in life. I knew I always had food and a roof over myhead and parents who love me, and I still had this kind of hole inside me.”
She’d talked a lot to Harlow over the last week, but theyhadn’t touched on anything so personal as this. “Is that why you decided tobecome a PI? I thought it was because you were following in your dads’footsteps. By the way, you should know I forgive them. They were trying toprotect you, and they didn’t know me at all. I can understand why they did whatthey did.”
Harlow’s jaw tightened. “Well, I’m glad you do. Maybe I didstart out because it felt familiar to me, but I’m good at my job. I don’t need my dads rushing in constantly to save me. I started outworking with them, and two weeks was all I could take. Of course they freakedout when I opened my own office. They thought they could indulge me for alittle while and then I would end up being their notetaker or something. Theydon’t think I can do this.”
“Or they’re worried.” Nicole zipped up her backpack. Thismission of theirs hadn’t taken long at all. She already had more clothes aftertwo shopping trips with her future mother-in-law than she’d had in years.
Of course she did have a big old closet to fill up. Therewas a Josh side and a Grim side, and a huge spot in the middle they’d saved forthe woman they would marry.
They’d saved it for her.
“Well, their worry is making me crazy.” Harlow placed theaforementioned expensive-as-hell flip-flops in the suitcase and moved to grabthe makeup bag. “And when I get back I have to hire a new receptionist of myown because apparently taking phone calls from clients helps grow a business.”
“Yes, I would suspect having someone to answer the phoneswould be helpful.” It was kind of fun to see her mentor so flustered. Sometimesit was like nothing could shake the woman.
“Yeah, neither Ruby nor I are good at the office runningthing. But we can crack a case,” Harlow said. “Despite mydads constantly interfering. My sister had the right instincts. Greerstayed out of the investigation business. She took after our mom. She’s alwaysknown she wanted to be an artist. I envied that about her.”
“It’s hard to not know what you want to do with your life,”Nicole agreed. “I’m afraid I’m the one who did have to spend all my timesurviving. But I want to run the shelter. I think it might be my calling.”
Harlow softened. “Your calling is to take care of the peopleyou love and to live this wonderful, painful, awesome, sometimes awful,magnificent life with us. I know Josh joked about me being in love with him,but you know I do love him, right?”
Like a sister. “He’s your family.”
“And now so are you,” Harlow said. “Don’t ever forget it.You’re going to meet a lot of seemingly intimidating people in the next fewweeks, but know every single one of them is going to love you. You walk intoevery room with your head held high because you should be so proud of who youare. I know I admire you.”
