CHAPTER 19HUGH
CHAPTER 19
HUGH
I’d gotten through most of what I’d needed to in San Diego. June had answers to all the questions that I had, and she was able to give me all the things that I needed ahead of the board meeting. There was more vetting to be done, but it looked good. I’d hoped to stay for a little longer to check in on Zinc, but my plans changed the second I got that text.
My ass was on the first flight back.
I was immensely grateful that Cleo had sent me her escalation plan sketch because it gave me something to focus on. Something more tangible than my frustration. We knew it was a possibility, that their names would get out, and this thing would get bigger. I just didn’t think Curtis was stupid enough to be the one to kick-start it.
Cleo knew the deal and was already sending emails and CC’ing us on anything Foxx-m related, but I wasn’t worried about damage control, I was worried about my girl. From what Lucian had texted me, she received a call at the office that shook her. He didn’t know what the caller had said and getting her to share it was going to be like pulling teeth. And she was still pissed at me. Hell, I was pissed at me.
I’d overstepped.
After being so careful about how I was handling Denise potentially leaving, I went too far. She needed to realize she wanted to stay with me, and instead of suggesting it, I’d demanded. I knew Denny. Telling that woman to do anything was always going to have the opposite effect, and now she was upset. It was supposed to be a conversation when she was ready, but instead, I stomped all over it.
She’d been effectively fixing shit on her own for a long time. She needed a partner, a rock she could rely on. When I told her to stop looking, I became another problem to solve and not a partner to communicate with. All day she ignored me and any attempt at an explanation I had. It wasn’t about furniture. I knew that, and so did she. I wanted to help her. She needed to learn that she could settle in with me; feel comfortable with me; stay with me.
I called her phone again. It was finally ringing, but it was going to voicemail. After the second call, I was getting ready to call Cleo. My phone dinged as soon as I hit the terminal.
Cell phone waiting lot. Maserati.
Lucian volunteered to have his drivergrab me from the airport so we could chat before I saw Denise. Once I got up the escalator, I saw his blacked-out Maserati SUV at the curb, and I walked over. The driver opened the door for me and grabbed the bag from my hand.
“Thanks, man,” I said.
I folded in and saw Lucian typing away on his laptop.
“You good?” Lucian asked without pausing as he typed.
“Fuck no,” I said, gripping the edges of my coat and feeling the softness of the wool beneath my fingers.
“The interns are catching everything they can and monitoring social media. Cleo is on all the email threads. She has them flagging anything that lists their names and numbers and we are emailing contacts directly to get them removed.” Lucian closed his computer and glanced over at me.
“Cleo’s document gave us a starting point. What’s next?” I asked, pulling my cell phone out and checking it, again.
“I figured we could meet up in the morning and talk about it, depending on how they’re doing.”
I nodded. Either way, we’d have to figure something out. From what I’d seen, the blow-up wasn’t huge, but some of the more rabid commenters were saying outrageous shit. I was worried for them.
After a few minutes, my phone vibrated against my palm, and I immediately answered it. Before I could say anything, she spoke.
“Are you still coming?” she asked, her voice quiet and soft. I sat forward and looked over at Lucian.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, my voice eerily calm.
“You can’t freak out. You have to… you have to be cool, because, you know,” she whispered.
Instead of losing my shit, I balled my fist and let her find the words.
“We’re fine. But the police are here. Someone called in a bomb threat at Cleo’s.”
I pulled the phone away from my face and put it on speaker because I wasn’t comprehending what she was saying. Lucian studied me, but I shook my head and nodded at the phone.
“Say that again.”
“Someone called the police, gave them this address, and said there was a bomb,” she repeated.
“They fucking swatted you?!” Lucian shouted.
“Are you safe?” I asked.
Lucian started talking to the driver and the car lurched forward, speeding past a yellow light on the way off the freeway.
“We’ll be there in three,” Lucian said, rolling up his sleeves.
I pulled the phone off speaker and spoke into the receiver.
“Did you hear that, Denny?” I asked.
She cleared her throat. “Mhm.”
“Stay on the phone with me, okay?”
“Okay.”