“Explain it to us,” he murmured, coming a little lower.“Nothing you say will ever leave this room.”
Tell her story?No.Absolutely not.For a decade she’d kept her and Spencer’s relationship close.So close that no one except them truly understood it.Without him, she was alone, and the only one left who even knew the truth of their story.
“I can’t,” she said, pushing him back.“I’m sorry.I can’t.”
Sneaking past him, she opened the door to escape.Schmidt may not be the best option, but without shoes or cash, he was the only one available.Home was no longer home.She had to get as far away as she could.Fast.
THIRTEEN
“NOT LA.”Dumping an armful of clothes onto her living room floor, Ariella hunkered down to sort through them, tucking the phone between her ear and shoulder.“Anywhere but LA.”
“LA was the other option,” Allan said.“You fuck up with Collier, you go to LA, that was the deal.”
Deal?They’d never made a deal.Had they made a deal?Getting away from the media was the goal, she couldn’t move to their ground zero.
“I need something that’s not in Boston and not in LA.”And nowhere near a Collier.“Brooker have divisions all over the world.”
“You’ve got to succeed before you pick your ticket.This could be a problem, Elle.”
Losing this lifeline would be devastating right now.Ideally, yeah, she’d be able to split with Brooker and have a fresh, faraway start.She just didn’t have the financial resources to quit her current job.A new city.A new job.Would this ever stop?
“Can you find out?”she asked, trying her best to dampen emotion, she would not overreact.Be calm, take steps, solve the problem.“Please, Allan.I know I’m not the best bet, but I’ll do anything.I’ll be good.I promise.I really need this.”
He exhaled.“I’ll make some calls.”
And that was all she could ask.“Thank you.”
“Hell, if I get you off my books, maybe I’ll start sleeping at night.”
Even as she laughed through gritted teeth, she wasn’t so sure that was a joke… or a lie.Asking him to go out on a limb for her was rich when she’d disappointed him so many times.Relying on the kindness of others wasn’t natural, but what choice did she have?
A knock at the door raised her to full height.She’d left a message for the landlord.If he’d come over, maybe it would be easier to tempt him into letting her out of her lease in person.Did she have that level of charisma?Man, she’d have to dig deep.
A cleansing breath didn’t do much.Didn’t matter.She had to answer the door with a smile on her face no matter what was going on inside her head.And when she did?
There was Roxie, forearm draped on the outer doorframe.“I’m a sorbet…” Uh…What?“We don’t send the men into the pressurized environment.We send me, and you decompress, no pressure.”
“Ms.Kyst, I—”
“I’m sorry,” Roxie said, more solemn as she straightened up.“About the camera thing.I had no idea Cam—we’re not like that.We don’t—”
“You take care of your own.”Exactly what Cam said.“I’m on my way out, so…”
Roxie leaned to the side to look around her.“I see that.”
Her suitcase was open in the middle of the floor, her gym bag strewn with things she hadn’t yet got through.
“Need a ride to the airport?”
If she had the slightest clue where she was going, maybe.
“I’ll figure it out.”
“I’m excellent at packing.If… You’ve been on your own a long time, huh?”A lump lodged in the middle of her chest.It wasn’t emotion so much as it was acceptance.“You don’t have to run out on him.He wanted to come over here and—”
“I can’t have a Collier here.”
“Figured as much,” Roxie said quickly.
