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“Yeah. Right. I was calling to give you a heads up. You’re coming to dinner on Sunday, right?”
“I think so.” Mom had called to schedule it, and I’d agreed. It would be a family dinner at Mom and Dad’s, just the four of us, which wasn’t unusual, but also wasn’t a frequent occurrence.
“Dad’s asked me twice now who you’re seeing, and I’ve told him I didn’t know anything. So, expect questions about that.”
“Thanks.” Noah’s warning suddenly made me want to schedule an out-of-town meeting for Sunday to conflict with the dinner. Dad wouldn’t be happy to hear I was dating Alexa, not one bit.
“But that’s not the big thing that’s bothering him,” Noah added.
“And what is that?” I asked, hoping this wouldn’t start him on a long-winded answer.
“He asked me if any of the board members had reached out to me after the last meeting—the phone one about your little fountain episode.”
Noah hadn’t mentioned it, but since the three of us were all on the board, it made sense that he’d been included in the call that resulted in me being demoted. Thinking of that day made my teeth clench all over again. “Why?”
“He thinks a group on the board are preparing to vote him out.”
I nodded along. “He mentioned that.”
“Evan, Dad is tough as nails, but this has him scared. So don’t be surprised if he seems a little off.”
“Thanks.”
“Also, I’ve noticed a lot of you and Alexa in the tabloids, so how—”
I was not going there. “Catch ya later. I’ve got another call coming in.” I hung up.
CHAPTER17
Alexa
I hurrieddown the sidewalk toward my building. It was going to be tight getting home in time for Evan to pick me up. My final appointment had run late.
The high-end dinners with Evan over the past few weeks had been nice. I’d definitely gotten a view behind Evan’s mask, and he seemed more appealing every evening I spent with him. I could even say I now saw him as a nice guy—not that I would admit that to anyone.
Every time he touched me, dangerous sparks of desire flared, bringing emotions I had to tamp down by reminding myself that this was just an acting job. Every time we ran the gauntlet of photographers and shouted questions, I remembered that being with him was work, and I was a prop in this show of his for the press.
But tonight—a night without them, going to a Broadway play on Evan’s arm—sounded much more like a date than a photo op. Maybe that shouldn’t have excited me, but it did.
As I trudged up the stairs to my floor, I considered my wardrobe for tonight. I’d Googled it, and there wasn’t an actual dress code for the theater, but it seemed like it called for more than movie-night attire, so probably the black dress with the spaghetti straps he’d given me would be appropriate.
When I arrived, an envelope with my name scrawled on it was taped to my door. I tucked it under my arm as I dug through my purse for the key.
Once I unlocked the door, I pushed inside. It was dark and smelled odd. Hearing footsteps down the hall, I closed the door behind me, which made the space pitch black.
The light switch by the door did nothing, so I walked toward the switch for the kitchen light.
Something hit me in the face. I fell back, landing on my ass with a thud, and the hand I used to brace my fall landed on something wet and squishy. Almost immediately I felt the wet soaking through my pants.
Fumbling through my purse in the dark, I managed to find my phone and turn on the light. As I scrambled to my feet, I almost puked.
Fucking hell.
Parts of the ceiling had collapsed over half the space, and when I went to my bedroom to check, I discovered this included my bed. Everything was wet, especially the carpet. I’d run into the open closet door in the dark, and the pain around my right eye was blossoming into a major headache.
The bathroom door was also open, and water was visible on the floor there as well. Seething with anger, I let out the scream this scene deserved. How could this be happening to me? Everything I owned was in this disaster zone. I ripped open the envelope.
Frank told me he ran into a problem and needs a part.
