Page 110 of It Starts With A No

But he wanted it to be her choice.

Now he knew.

And if Edward Eolenfeld, with all the money and connections he had, couldn’t keep Clary safe, what could Seth do?

* * *

Time flew by while Clary and Andrea worked. The two tubs of ice cream were long gone, and she wasn’t sure where she’d kicked her stilettos to.

But finally, after nearly three weeks in San Francisco, Clary was taking steps to fix the colossal mess Hugh left behind.

Her stomach growled. She stretched out on the sofa after checking her watch. “It’s already three.”

She and Andrea had spent the morning videoconferencing with Hayes Security, making arrangements to kick-start their plan.

“And we haven’t even had lunch.” The last time Clary checked, it was nearly twelve. She’d told herself that she’d order some food once they were done. She hadn’t realized how late it was.

“I’m starving.” Andrea stretched out on the lounge chair. “Are we working at home again tomorrow? Can I be in pajamas?”

“Why didn’t we change into our pajamas before?” When Clary got back, Andrea hadn’t returned from buying ice cream.

Her assistant, however, had already put their to-do list on the dining table. Clary didn’t need to sit around, wondering how things had gotten so good and then so bad with Seth in less than a week.

So Clary got to work.

At the top of the list: a new security team. One that wouldn’t let Hugh Eolenfeld into the building unless she gave the green light. One that she believed would protect her and Andrea if the boys’ club tried to hurt them or even just got aggressive.

“Order whatever you want, and just add an extra helping for me,” Clary said. “Unless you’re ordering something healthy like salad, in which case get me something with meat in it. And no Italian food.”

“Do you want to order instead?”

She shook her head. “Charge it to the credit card.”

“You have another text,” Andrea said.

Clary grabbed her phone and shook her head. “Tamara gives me the attitude while I’m at work, then is all concerned about whether I need anything from the office or if I need her help while I’m not there.”

“What’s that? The third time she’s asked?”

Clary scrolled through the messages. “Fourth.” She’d replied to the previous messages, assuring and reassuring Tamara that she didn’t need anything from her or the office.

“You should find something for her to do.”

Clary nodded slowly. “I’ll tell her to put up Christmas decorations in the office.”

“Aren’t you going to decorate the house?”

“I’ve been so busy, and it was just me.”

“Not anymore.”

Once Clary sent out the text, she returned the phone to the coffee table and draped an arm over her eyes. “You sound like you want to.” She paused and drew a breath through her nose. “Yeah, why not?” It might help get her into the Christmas mood.

Or she could just snap out of it.

Negative emotions were simply an indication that she’d taken her eyes off Jesus. Lord …

“Have you thought about how you’re going to sort out the people who made mistakes and regret them, and the ones who should’ve been kicked to the curb a long time ago?” Andrea asked while tapping away on her phone. “Because anyone can say they’re sorry.”

---