“What are you saying?” he asked. There was so much about this young woman he didn’t know. Why hadn’t he asked before?
“I’m saying...” She wiggled and then climbed off his lap and Carter immediately pulled a file off the desk to cover himself.
He needed to be looking for new investors today. But was he? Hell no. He’d thrown caution to the wind and done what he’d wanted since the moment she’d walked in this morning.
And damnit, he wanted to do it again.
“What is it?” he asked instead.
“I’m asking, rather.” She turned to face him, her pretty rose-colored dress swirling around her ankles.
“You look different today. Is that a new gown?”
She blinked, and then blinked again.
“My apologies,” Carter leaned back in his chair. “You were saying…”
She nodded. “This is a horrible time to ask.” She dropped her gaze and then lifted it again. “Right after... But I need—well, do you know of a place where I might find affordable lodgings?”
This was the last thing he expected. “I thought you were living with your sister’s family?”
Elle bit her lip and then turned her face away. “No. I live at home with my parents.” She fussed with the lace on her bodice, something he’d noticed her doing when she seemed uncomfortable.
Any other woman and he would have suspected this a ruse. Not this one, though.
“Look at me, Elle.” Carter dipped his chin to be level with her gaze. “And now, because you’re working at the theater, they’re threatening to—what, leave you out on the streets? Why have you not said anything before now?”
“I—” Elle forced a smile. “I...didn’t want—I wasn’t going to tell them about my work here. My father forbade me from coming to the theater, and now my mother’s found out.” Elle’s mouth twisted and her eyes took on a suspicious shine. “And now I don’t know what to do.”
Carter nodded slowly but then narrowed his eyes, waiting until he had her full attention once again.
“Are they cruel to you?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s nothing like that.”
“Then why—Don’t they care about your paycheck, if nothing else?”
“They’re concerned with my future and my father’s estates. They have...very traditional ideas for me.”
Carter scrubbed his hand down his face. Parental disappointment was something he could identify with all too easily. And yet, if he was to stand even a chance at keeping the theater afloat, he couldn’t risk losing his playwright. He already had people working on the scenery for Lady of the Scullery, and it would be far too expensive to change things now. This whole situation was deteriorating at an alarming rate
He left his seat and paced to one of the bookshelves.
“It’s too late to find another play.” Carter spun around to face her. “We have auditions tomorrow, Mrs. Grey has posted performance dates last week, and we’ve already sold hundreds of tickets. You can’t quit.”
“I don’t want to,” she said. “I can’t!” But her voice hinted at panic.
Which brought him back to the original question of finding her cheap lodgings. His gaze flicked to the door that led to his own small apartment off his office. He only used it occasionally. But perhaps he could offer her the space on a temporary basis.
“You could stay here, until you find something more appropriate.”
“No, I could never ask so much of you. I can’t put you out of your own living space.” She turned back to the window and pressed her forehead against the pane.
He made a scoffing sound. “I have other lodgings.”
But she was shaking her head. “I’ll figure something out. I must. The alternative is... It would mean giving up on not just the theater, but my future, everything. But I’m running out of time.”
“Which is why this is the perfect answer.”
