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She hurried from her bed for a shower and change of clothes before she left her room behind. She found Worthington at the bottom of the stairs. “Mrs. Harrington, how are you feeling?”
“Fine. I slept far too long. Is Alex Stone here?”
“Yes. He arrived about fifteen minutes ago. Mr. Harrington did not wish to disturb you, but said to meet him in his office when you were ready.”
“Thanks, I’ll head in now.”
Her heart lifted with hope as she wrapped her fingers around the doorknob. Would they finally make some progress on stopping Lydia’s tour of terror?
She pushed inside, finding Alex slouched in the chair across from Grant. With his shaggy, sandy blond hair and his penchant for outrageous attire, he hadn’t changed a bit since his college days outside of replacing his hoodie with a wild sports coat.
A grin crossed his face as he spotted her, and he leapt from his seat as she entered, wrapping her in a bear hug that lifted her feet off the floor. “Hey, kid, long time no see.”
“Hi, Alex. Thank you so much for coming,” she said as he set her down.
“Of course. I was just telling the old ball and chain here that I’ll have this wrapped up in no time.” He plopped back into the chair and cupped his hands behind his head.
The stern look on Grant’s face told her he didn’t care for Alex’s cocky swagger.
“Good,” Julia said as she eased into the chair next to him. “This can’t be over soon enough.”
“You came to the right man. I am the best.”
“Julia’s right. This needs to be over. What do you need from us?”
“Chill, bro. It’ll be done lickety-split as soon as I have access to the former missus and some of her…tech goodies.”
Julia winced at Alex’s response that she knew would rile Grant.
Grant narrowed his eyes at the man. “Well, bro…” he began.
“We are very grateful for that,” Julia cut in. She knew Alex well enough to know that when he got riled, he got stubborn. The last thing they needed was Grant unwittingly insulting the tech guru before he deleted the pictures of Sierra. She offered Grant a warning glance.
“No worries. Hey, Sunshine–”
A giggle escaped Julia’s lips at the name. “Wow, it’s been so long since anyone has called me that.”
“Sunshine?” Grant asked. She noted a hint of irritation in his voice and wondered if it was left over from this morning or new courtesy of Alex.
“Yeah,” Alex answered easily. “Because this kid always brings a ray of sunshine wherever she goes. Am I right?”
“Oh,” Grant said but before he could add anything else, Alex continued his earlier interrupted comment.
“Anyway, Ava’s at the hotel, but she’d love to see you. Any chance for a gal group meet and greet?”
“Ava’s here? Oh, wow. I have to admit, when I called and you two were together, I was a little surprised. I didn’t think you saw each other that much.”
“Yeah, that’s a recent development.”
Julia glanced down at his hand, cocking her head at the gold band around his finger. “Are you two still married.”
“Still hitched,” he said, waving his hand in the air.
“Really?” Julia said, surprise edging her voice.
Alex shifted in his seat, leaning closer to her. “Look, Sunshine, it’s kind of complicated. Maybe ixnay on the arriagemay talk when you see her, if you get my drift.”
“Oh,” she said, bobbing her head up and down, “right. I won’t say anything.”
