“God, it’s pitch-dark in here. I’m going to check and see if anyone else on Madison lost power.” I walk to the front of the shop while I’m talking. None of the other high-rises or street-level storefronts seem affected.
“I thought that swanky building belongs to Dominic Baine,” Paige says. “Don’t tell me he forgot to pay the light bill.”
“It’s probably just a blown fuse or bad circuit-breaker or something.”
Because, yes, this is a Baine property, and I’m absolutely sure it has nothing to do with an unpaid electric bill. I also know from past experience that any utility blip or power outage trips an alarm at Baine’s corporate headquarters. And if that alarm continues for more than eight minutes, the police will be automatically dispatched to the building to investigate.
Which means my overprotective brother will have one more reason to worry about me.
I exhale a heavy sigh. “If it is only a fuse, maybe I can reset it.”
“And if it’s not?” Paige makes a dubious noise on the other end of the line. “Evelyn, maybe you should get out of there.”
She’s nervous for me. I know because she’s calling me by my given name instead of the one she’s been usingsince we met at a fashion show during our second year in the business together.
“I’ll be fine. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
But I keep her on the line with me as I carefully find my way back to the utility closet near the rear of the boutique. I locate the fuse box and use the illumination of my phone to check for blown switches. I’m only passingly handy when it comes to this kind of thing, but I can see that none of the fuses are offline.
“Tell me what’s happening,” Paige says. “Should we hang up? I can call 911 for you.”
“And tell them what? Your friend could use a flashlight if they don’t mind running one over to me?”
“All right, then call your brother.”
“No. Definitely not.” I shake my head in the pitch-darkness as I flip several of the switches on and off, hoping to jar something back to life. “It’s bad enough Andrew worries I’m going to work myself into another nervous breakdown at any moment. I’ve spent the past five years trying to prove to him that I’m better, stronger, that I’m healthy now. I don’t want him thinking I’m his responsibility, not that I ever was.”
“Doesn’t mean he’ll ever stop caring, Eve.”
The gentle reminder makes me pause. “I know.”
My fingers are hovering over the fuse box switches when all at once, the lights come on.
“Oh, thank God,” I murmur under my breath. “Problem solved. I have power again.”
I’m fairly certain I had nothing to do with it, but I’ll take the victory, nevertheless.
“Great,” Paige says. “Now, will you please make me feel better and get the fuck out of there?”
“Okay, okay. I have to pack up a few things first, butthen I’ll go.”
“All right. Do it quick, okay? I know it takes a lot to scare you, but after what happened yesterday with your purse . . .”
“That? It was no big deal,” I say, walking back to my desk. “I don’t know how it ended up leaving my office or who put it in that lingerie drawer, but at least nothing was taken.”
“Not unless you count that gorgeous red Dior lipstick you can’t find now,” she reminds me.
“I could’ve lost that anywhere. The point is, my wallet, ID, credit cards, my phone . . . all the important things were accounted for.”
“I just think it’s odd that when you found your purse, your phone had been turned off.”
“Yeah, me too.” As soon as I realized my clutch was missing, I’d used the shop’s phone to call my cell to help locate it, but every attempt went straight to voicemail. Now, I wish I hadn’t shared the whole strange incident with my friend because her paranoia was starting to make me nervous too. “I should get moving, Paige. I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch, okay?”
“Can’t wait,” she chirps. “Text me when you get home tonight.”
“I will.”
We end the call and I set my phone on the edge of the desk, easily within my reach as I begin organizing my project materials and straightening up to leave. I hurry, even though I tell myself it’s ridiculous to be spooked.
