Liam slung an arm around my shoulders. "I complained to Hunter about what was happening. He threatened to send all our younger half-brothers to live with Greg instead of with him and my other brothers in Harrogate." Liam doubled over laughing. "Can you imagine Greg taking care of a bunch of eleven- and twelve-year-olds?"
I smiled slightly. "I appreciate it, but I think it's a bit too late. Chloe is taking a job in Brooklyn at a restaurant."
"That is unacceptable," Greg said. "I want this tenant deal locked down by Christmas. I have a preliminary agreement drawn up for her restaurant. It should be enough to satisfy Mark Holbrook while you call her and tell her that she needs to run this restaurant."
"I'll try," I said. Chloe had seemed adamant about wanting to take the Brooklyn job. But maybe if I begged and pleaded, she would agree to run the restaurant.
"I want an update by tomorrow," Greg ordered.
On my way back to Frost Tower, I started to panic. I still didn't have Chloe's number, and she hadn't offered to give it to me before she left.
I had to make this deal work. I forced myself to calm down and make a plan. I sent Dana a message begging for Chloe's number, then I sent her a message through Instagram. While I waited to hear back from Dana, I wondered if Chloe was only trying to let me down gently. Maybe she didn't actually want to continue our relationship. Maybe she would disappear like Belle.
Seeing Hartleigh outside the tower when I returned jolted my thoughts out of their downward spiral.
"Jack!" she cried, wrapping her arms around me. "Tell me it isn't true!"
"What isn't true?" I asked, irritated, as I struggled to peel her off of me.
"About Chloe! She's not carrying your baby, is she? My parents said…" Hartleigh started sobbing. "They said she was pregnant."
Ah, yes. The lie I had told to my parents to make them angry had now come back to bite me.
I was still feeling sour, so instead of telling Hartleigh the truth I replied, "Of course Chloe is pregnant. You were never the one for me. I would never in a million years allow you to be the mother of my child."
Hartleigh started screaming and crying. She yelled and swiped at my face with her nails. I pushed her off and ran inside the lobby, locking the door against her.
"Eddie!" I yelled, but the Santa was passed out at the security desk.
63
Chloe
The Airbnb I stayed in that night was small, cramped, and smelled funny. It was nowhere near as nice as Jack's penthouse. After a fitful sleep and a lackluster breakfast, I went over to the Brooklyn restaurant. It was in an old industrial complex. The space was nice, with high ceilings and old brick walls covered in artwork.
"This is going to be nice," I told myself. "It's a little hipster, but it's cute. You can work with this."
My good feelings evaporated when I walked into a small office. There, waiting for me, was a man in a Santa suit, minus the beard and the hat.
"I'm here about the job?" I said to him, feeling apprehensive.
"Chloe!" he boomed, crushing me to him in a hug. Then he kissed me on the cheek. I laughed nervously.
"I'm Herbert, the manager here," he said, a wide grin on his face.
"I see you have the Christmas spirit," I said, wondering if I should cut my losses and run. But I needed this job. I had to pay for the Airbnb.
"I work at the mall as a Santa," he told me as he crossed the small room in two steps, cutting off my access to the door.
"You work at the mall?" I asked, feeling slightly faint. Alarm bells were going off in my head.
"I enjoy it! I love to help make Christmas memories for people. That’s why I think we're perfect for each other. You like Christmas as much as I do."
He had stepped towards me, and I huddled back against the desk. He wasn't the Santa at the Christmas market—I knew that much. He wasn't tall enough. But I knew he had stalked me in the mall and the grocery store.
"Where's the chef?" I asked, trying to diffuse the situation.
"He's not going to be here until later," Herbert said. "I wanted us to have the chance to chat. Alone."
