I knew for a fact that she did because I watched her Insta stories, and I’d seen her downing midnight cheeseburgers.
“They’re serving fruit as well. Something for everyone,” he replied. “In any case, we really appreciate you agreeing to this. I’m looking forward to making this right between us.”
If I were grading Harrison’s performance, he’d already have an A. He seemed affable, relaxed, and genuine.
His phone rang. “Excuse me for a moment.”
He stepped away to take the call, leaving me alone with Willow.
“I want you to know that what happened last night wasn’t part of our plan,” she said, watching Harrison like a police profiler. “I’m still pissed off about the way he acted, but Scarlet had agreed to follow the script and accept the flowers.”
“Yeah, it was a shock, given our peace talks.” I gave her a tight smile. “I had a feeling something went off the rails…”
“We’ve had some personnel shifts, and one of our newer team members thinks he knows better than the rest of us. He came up with some story about how Ashford is an investor in that dog-cloning start-up. Can you evenimagine? Cloning is an animal welfare nightmare! I have no idea if Ian had bad intel about it or if he’s got a grudge against your boss. It only took us four minutes to fact-check it, which he should’ve done before he opened his mouth, but Scarlet believed him. She’s such a softie when it comes to animal stuff, and she’s stretched to the max with the tour right now, so she’s extra vulnerable.”
And there it was. Ian’s handiwork. Asshole.
“Oh my gosh, Harrison wouldneverdo that! He loves animals, so much that he volunteers at a shelter. The man donated an entire wing to the place!”
She paused a beat, staring at me. “Seriously?”
Willow was the kind of woman who made a career out of acting like nothing could shock her, but I’d somehow managed to surprise her.
Then again, it wasn’t like Harrison promoted the fact that he was involved with the shelter. He probably had everyone there sign ironclad nondisclosure agreements about his involvement so he could keep the fact that he was an undercover softie a secret.
I was about to open up to Willow about why Ian had sabotaged the apology when the vibration in the air shifted. I glanced down the hallway, but I already knew in my bones what was happening.
Scarlet was walking toward us, surrounded by three doting team members.
I’d met plenty of famous people through my job, including heartthrobs whose posters I’d once plastered on my bedroom walls, but seeing Scarlet just a few feet away had me helium-filled. She wasn’t even doing anything special—the woman was justwalking—but she had a presence that seemed to make the walls shake as she strutted toward us.
I clocked her outfit quickly because her clothing always signaled her mood. Black baseball cap pulled low, with her trademark red hair flowing around her shoulders, so even if the hat was meant to disguise her, it didn’t. Her black sweatshirt was cropped and boxy, worn over a white button down and paired with a short Burberry plaid skirt and knee-high black boots.
Perfection, of course. But what did it mean?
Willow stepped between us as Scarlet got closer in a well-practiced protective move.
“Scarlet, this is Gwen Ackland, she’s from the Ashford team. Harrison is currently on a call.”
They exchanged a glance that telegraphed annoyance, but thankfully Harrison was already striding toward us.
Scarlet focused her blue eyes on me, and I had to swallow my squeal of excitement.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Scarlet.”
I deflated a little as I shook her hand. Her tone was chilly, like she still didn’t quite believe Harrison wasn’t a heartless dog-cloner and therefore thought I was an asshole by association.
“So sorry about that,” Harrison said as he joined us. “Scarlet, good morning, and thank you for being here. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you meeting with me. I’m looking forward to sunny days ahead.”
I hoped my shock didn’t register on my face at Harrison’s reference to one of Scarlet’s earliest songs, “Sunshine Baby.” When had he found the time to dive into her back catalog?
The callback to her music was enough to get a quarter-smile out of her. “We have a lot to talk about. Let’s eat.”
The other team members hung back, a Greek chorus of whispering worriers. Harrison held the door open for us, and when we walked into the banquet room, we all froze.
Somehow, in the time between letting Harrison know the plan and arriving at the hotel, he’d managed to find someone to fill the room with dozens of yellow roses.
“Oh, this is too much,” Scarlet said with a little laugh. “Wow.”
