You’re mad at him, Mills. He manipulated you and he needs to answer for that.
chapter
twelve
Hayden
My gate intercom buzzes at 2:30 a.m.
Normally I’d be fast asleep and bolting upright in bed.
But since I left Mills, I can’t sleep. I’ve been pacing the floor like a caged animal because nothing felt right about leaving her even though she told me to go.
Fuck me and my principles.
I check the Wi-Fi camera and of course, it’s Mills and Monster waiting for me at the gate.
I buzz her through, then shove open the front door, meeting her in the driveway.
She launches into a tirade before I get out a hello.
“Did you plant all those people?”
Registering what she’s talking about takes a second before I answer. “Sorry, Dimples. You’re gonna have to back up and give me some context.”
She plants a balled-up fist on one hip. “Did you plant all those people at my show at the Laugh Lodge last night?”
“Oh, that? Yes.”
“Why would you do that?!”
Monster is starting to get agitated at the shouting. And pretty soon, so will the neighbors.
“Let’s go inside and talk.”
She considers whether this is a good idea, and it pierces a hole in my heart. Maybe I’m delusional but as far as I’m concerned, this is as much her home as it is mine.
Inside the foyer, Monster scrambles on the marble floor, his claws making such a racket that Shelby wakes up and scampers over to see what’s happening. The two dogs greet each other, Monster gently putting the bigger dog in its place when she tries to sniff his backside. The two of them then trot off into the kitchen together.
When I look back at Mills, she’s staring at my bare stomach. When she notices I’m pleased at this, she squares her shoulders. “So answer the question. Why would you buy out an entire show?”
“Because there were literally no tickets sold,” I tell her plainly.
Mills frowns, genuinely surprised. “There wasn’t?”
“Not a one, according to the box office. So I bought the whole club.”
Mills blinks at me. “Who were all those people?”
“Mostly, they work for me. And there was a handful of family and friends.”
She takes a step back. “Oh gods, they were there because their boss made them go?”
“No! They were there because they got a free ticket, and I said first come, first serve. And there was free alcohol involved.”
A pause follows, and then she asks, “So, you didn’t force them to go?”
“No.”