“Shut up.”I roll my eyes.“I don’t know what guy online you’re talking about.This man’s name is Darrell Boseman.”
“Wait.”She shakes her head, holding up a hand.“TheDarrell Boseman of Boseman Unlimited?”
“I guess.I don’t know.”
“Just a moment.”She clicks away on her phone as the window shrinks.
My phone pings in my hand.I tap the messages open, and my breath wooshes from my body.
“Oh no.No.No.No.I can’t be that.I won’t.”I shake my head, denying what I’m seeing.
Images of Darrell fill my screen.Him with several different women at red carpet celebrity events.In the Hamptons.Some around Chattanooga and Nashville.One woman appears repeatedly, and I can tell these are older, maybe almost ten years back.He still looks handsome as ever, and the woman he’s with looks so much like him that I know in my heart she’s related to him.It’s the other women and the social settings that drive me heart rate up and start a panic attack.
“The last one is from like five years ago, sis.He hasn’t been on social media since then.”
“I can’t do that.I won’t be subjected to the online bullies again.”
After appearing on an episode of the reality show, I was targeted online.People called me fat and ugly.I received marriage proposals, death threats, rape threats, all of it.It was awful.I won’t go through that again.
“Calm down, Daphy.It’s going to be okay.It’s not a date.He just requested you be there, nothing more.”
“Well, yeah.”
“Don’t get in your head thinking it’s a date.Explain to me exactly what he said to you.”
I tell her about meeting him and his “wet” comment.I don’t tell her about my reaction.As my twin, and because of our bond, she already knows.Since we were little, we could sense each other’s feelings.It’s not something mystical or supernatural.It’s real.
“You like him,” she says.
I look down, and my heart clenches.
“Yeah.I thought he was different.My hand tingled when he touched me.”
“Okay, for now, let’s focus on the event.If something more happens, then we’ll go from there.Got it?”
“Yeah.Delly, I’m scared.”
“It will be okay, Daphy.We can do this.I’ll come down and see you the Saturday after the event, and we can plan a bike trip.Then you can come up and help me find a new condo in Nashville, although I’m looking at a place out of town.Maybe it’s time to buy a house.We have the money from Granny I could use.”
“Momma wanted me to buy instead of rent, but I wanted to see which areas I liked first.”
We talk a moment longer before she needs to get back to work, or she’ll end up spending the night in the office again.I stand up, wobbling slightly from the wine, and feed the girls before grabbing my flashlight, taser, and their leashes to head out into the dark for a walk.
Darrell
As soon as I got back to the office, I pored over Daphne’s file.She’s exactly what I thought she was, an innocent hidden beauty.She lives near the aquarium and is single.
There are questions about whether she has social media, which Titan flagged.He found an account for a D.Placer, but the location lists DC instead of Tennessee.There are only a few pictures, and none of them show her face.The file does say she’s a twin, so this could be her sister.
There are also some posts on Reddit about a reality show she was on that make my blood run cold.People were vicious, and the threats scare the shit out of me.
“Cancel all my meetings for the evening.”I walk out of the office and head down to the parking garage.
My driver is already waiting for me, but I shake my head at him.I had a dinner meeting planned with Brock, or Cronus as he’s called.He’s in town to discuss some contracts.I help him with legal matters anytime he needs it, and he does the same for me.
“Sorry, Totten.I’m going to do this on my own.You can head to the property.I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”Totten lives in a small cabin near my house, so he’s close by if I need him.
“Yes, sir.Tell Cronus I said hello.”
