“Do you want to go grab a drink and go over the notes?” Anthym asked me.
“Sure,” I said, taking the dinner receipt and my credit card from the server.
We settled at a nearby bar that was close to the Brandenburg Gate. The tourist attraction was on Lexi’s list.
Anthym set her purse down, opened up her laptop, and began to go through the notes.
I tried to pay attention, but I was getting antsy. I wanted to go to the Brandenburg Gate and call Lexi, show her I was still working through her list.
“You know, I like Berlin a lot,” Anthym said when we had the to-do list of emails and follow-ups completed. “I grew up in a military family with lots of siblings. You have a lot of siblings, too, don’t you?”
I was immediately on guard.
“I’m not in contact with them.”
“I’m not really with my siblings either, or my father,” she added. She reached over to place her hand on mine. “If you ever need to talk, I think we might have something in common.”
“Thank you, but you’re my secretary. I like to keep firm boundaries in place.” I stood up. “I think we should return to the hotel.”
“Of course, Mr. Richmond,” Anthym said after a beat then followed me outside.
I knocked on the window of the hired car and waved to the driver then opened the door for Anthym. She scooted over.
“Have a good evening,” I said, not getting in beside her.
“Going to meet someone?” Anthym asked.
“No,” I said, “just going for a walk to clear my head.”
Was she suspicious? I had my phone locked down. She didn’t have access.
My father would always be hyper paranoid that my mother or any of the other young women were hiding a phone or sneaking messages out somehow. Seems that particular brand of paranoia was one more evil I’d inherited from him.
No one can get into your phone, I told myself.Anthym doesn’t know about Lexi.
41
LEXI
“You better make sure his penthouse is spotless,” Anthym’s voice chased away the last bit of sleep.
“That’s not your boyfriend, is it?” Grenadine called from the bottom bunk while I blearily felt around the studio apartment for a Kleenex to wipe the drool off of my face.
“You guys aren’t coming back for two days,” I said, trying not to sound hungover.
“And when we are,” Anthym practically spat, “he’s bringing some girlfriend there.”
My stomach sank.
“Grays—uh, Mr. Richmond has a girlfriend?”
“I don’t know where he found her.” Anthym sounded furious. “But he must have picked up a gold digger at some point on this trip. Probably in that hotel in Paris. The front desk clerk seemed very interested in him, and I think she might have made herself a copy of his keycard.”
I stared at the phone after the secretary hung up; the numbers on the screen glowed three fifteen.
Grayson had met someone.
“Anthym is out of control,” McKenna groaned from the top bunk.
