“Whatever. The movie’s at nine.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.” Valerie closed the door quietly behind herself.
Hayley surveyed the crumpled page she’d been writing on. She set it aside and took her phone back out. No new messages. She pressed ‘edit’ on her texts and selected the mysterious messages to delete but stopped.
Maybe the new guy should take a look at them, just to be safe? She shut off the screen. And it couldn’t hurt to take a closer look at her new security personnel. Tomorrow, she’d make a point to at least learn his name.
7
Let’s Talk Shop
Bryce pulledup to the house at exactly 7:30 AM, his computer bag in tow.
He’d stayed up late tracking down the location of Hayley’s stalker through the creep’s Twitter handle, but the man had proven elusive. He clearly knew his way around computers and the dark web. Bryce would try again after installing the new security system. He juggled the coffee he’d picked up en route to Haley’s house before knocking lightly on the door, just in case anyone in the family was still sleeping. Steve opened almost immediately.
“Good morning,” Steve said, stepping back to let Bryce in. “No activity last night. I’m packing up and going to get some sleep as soon as Nash gets here.” He checked his watch. “Should be about ten minutes.”
“Did the equipment arrive yet?” Bryce asked.
Steve shook his head. “Still waiting.”
A woman in a bathrobe sat at the kitchen counter with a coffee mug. She hopped off the stool as Bryce walked by, and took his hand.
“You must be the New York computer wiz,” She said. “I’m Linda.”
“Nice to meet you, Mrs Wild.” Bryce let the woman squeeze his hand. Her smile was as warm as the house.
“Oh please. Just call me Linda. You look so young. Didn’t they let you finish college before scooping you up for this job?”
Bryce blushed. Skipping college could be a badge of honor or an embarrassment, depending on who he was talking to at any given time.
“I’m just teasing,” Linda added, patting his arm. “You’re too handsome for your own good. And I’m glad you’re here. I just can’t believe anyone could ever want to hurt my Hayley,” She lowered her voice a half-whisper. “She’s already been through so much with my divorce. I don’t want her to even think about the possibility of landing in a bad marriage herself, even if it’s just some nutjob's fantasy. If you catch whoever is behind this, give him to me first. I’ll wring out his neck.”
“I wouldn’t blame you if you did,” Bryce said. “These threats are very serious.”
“Tell that to Hayley,” Linda said. “Or don’t. I suppose you know; I haven’t shared all of this with her. She doesn’t need this weighing on her, you know? She thinks the accident was just a coincidence and everything is fine. I mean, I don’t want her to be scared, but she’s not cautious at all. Why can’t she just be reasonably paranoid, like other famous people? She wants to please everyone – goes out into the crowd at her concerts. Stops to talk to anyone in her path. I just want her to be safe. A balance between safe and happy.”
“Don’t worry, Linda. We’re going to make that happen.”
“She’s a good kid. Both my girls are. Here’s my younger daughter. Valerie, come over here.”
“Mom,” the girl said. “I haven’t showered yet.” Valerie, who Bryce had seen on the couch the day before, had her hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. She wore a satin camisole and matching shorts, and looked like a shorter, baby-faced version of her older sister, but with braces.
“These gentlemen don’t care what you smell like,” Linda chided. “This is Hayley’s little sister, Valerie. Valerie, this is… I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”
“Bryce,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”
Valerie blushed, before rolling her eyes at her mother, then disappeared behind the refrigerator door as she rummaged inside.
“And you’ve met Steve,” Linda said. She turned to Valerie. “Honey, it’s almost eight! Go get ready for school.”
“Mooooom,” Valerie complained, emerging with a carton of milk. She got cereal from the pantry and sat down at the table with a bowl.
“She’s fifteen,” Linda whispered. “You know how they are.”
“I have a younger sister, too,” Bryce winked. “I remember that age.”
