He eyed me. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“Your phone keeps ringing.” I handed it to him, but he didn’t grab it.
“Sit it down. I’ll get it later.”
“It’s Sasha,” I told him, my eyes focused on him. He didn’t seem fazed at the mention of her name.Maybe I’m trippin’.“She’s texted several times and even called.”
“You didn’t answer?”
I planted a hand on my hip. “No.”
“Hmm.” He poured avocado oil into the skillet and washed his hands. After he dried off, he picked up his phone and looked at the screen. His face was unreadable, but I didn’t miss the slight fall in his shoulders.
My chest tightened as I watched him process whatever she’d sent. “What happened?”
Duke let out a slow breath. “Carolyn died.”
* * *
Duke
“Thanks for coming,”Sasha said when I walked into her office.
The news that Carolyn had died hit me harder than I thought it would. I knew it was going to happen. After all, she’d been sick for a while. Even before her diagnosis, her mind had shattered into pieces the day Trinity died. What I didn’t expect was her death to feel like a punch to the gut.
Sasha offered me something to drink, but I shook my head. “When did it happen?” I asked.
“Last night.” She sat across from me and sipped her tea.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Was it peaceful?”
“She died in her sleep,” she explained. “Ola found her during one of her nightly checkups.”
Carolyn Fuller had left an indelible imprint on every person that she interacted with. She was unforgettable, full of life, a shrewd businesswoman. The world might have turned its back on her, but she’d made her mark.
Sasha sniffed, dashing a tear from her cheek. “Hard to believe she’s gone.”
“I know.”
“There was a time when I thought she was invincible.”
Sasha and I had met Carolyn under similar circumstances. Both of us were young, both of us had found ourselves in precarious situations, and both of us wanted to keep our troubles from our families. Where we differed, though, were our motivations. Sasha was driven by her desire to rise out of poverty, and I was more concerned with getting out of trouble and being with Carolyn.
Sasha shook her head. “No one knows about that part of my life. But she helped me. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her.”
Her words resonated with me in that they were similar to what Demi had told me after I’d spilled my guts to her. All in all, even through the scandal, the turmoil, my experience with Carolyn served as a catalyst for me to follow my dreams.I’m Chef Duke Young, in part, because of her. “Right,” I agreed.
“Ola wanted me to give this to you upon Carolyn’s death.” She held out an envelope.
I opened it, peering at Sasha. “Do you know what this is?” She didn’t respond, essentially giving me the answer with her silence. Pulling out the piece of paper, I scanned the document. My eyes flashed to hers. “What the fuck is this?”
“Duke, you have to understand the position she was in.”
I read the document again. Then, again. Each time, I grew angrier. The sadness I’d felt only a minute earlier had been replaced with rage. “And you didn’t think I deserved to know?”
“I absolutely thought you should know. But I just found out myself last year, right before Thanksgiving. I pressed her to tell you, but she’d completely blocked it out. She had no memory of it.”
My stomach roiled as my mind raced with the possibilities. I thought back to the last conversation I’d had with her before I left for Paris and the way she’d talked to me during her lucid moments in November. Then, I thought of Trinity.Is that why she was drinking? “Did Trinity know?”
