Page 35 of In Spades

So that’s why Lawson’s assistant wouldn’t stop pestering me. Not that I had answered any of his calls. I was starting to regret that.

“Yeah, pretty crazy.” She sighed and shook her head. “I just hate being in limbo. I can’t afford to be out of a job, even for just a few weeks.”

I met her eyes and smiled sympathetically. “I wish I knew what to say.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be a downer,” Kristin said, tugging her hair out of the loose ponytail it was in. She raked her fingers through it, then put it back up. “Thank you for lunch, Will. It was very thoughtful.”

I lingered in front of the door leading to the lobby. “So, about that date?”

Kristin smiled. “I’ll think about it. If I’m being honest, I kind of have a lot going on right now.”

“Will I see you tomorrow?”

“Same time as always.”

Taking a leap of faith, I asked, “What about your number? Can I, you know, text you or something?”

She looked down at her phone. Just like that, her walls went back up.

“Is this part of those trust issues you talked about?”

Kristin trapped her lip between her teeth. “A little.”

“How ‘bout I give you my number instead.” I pried the phone from her death grip, and quickly keyed in my information. “If you make up your mind about that date, you can let me know.”

“Kristin!” A booming voice roared from the lobby.

Kristin jumped away from me, and her attention snapped to the rotund man strutting towards us.

“You’re late,” the man snapped. “Your break ended two minutes ago.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to me, then hurried inside, leaving me standing in the courtyard without a glass slipper.

“Spenser Crenshaw.”

I stood on the balcony of my hotel room, pressing my phone to my ear. “This is William Solomon returning your?—”

“Don’t you dare hang up on me!” Spenser’s panicked voice cut me off, all but shouting. “You are the hardest man to get in touch with on the face of the earth.”

I remained silent, letting him collect himself.

His anxious breathing abruptly halted. “Are you still there?”

“I’m here,” I said flatly. Any other day, messing with this guy would’ve been hilarious. But I needed to track down the hotel manager to apologize for making Kristin late, and then call Elena to make sure she kept Rich on a short leash. “Is Mr. Lawson available to speak or not?”

“I’m connecting you to Mr. Lawson,” Spenser said. “He’s on a plane, so it might take a minute. I’m begging you—for the sake of my sanity—please stay on the line.”

“Just breathe, buddy,” I said, stifling a laugh. “I called you this time, remember?”

Silence.

I paced the balcony impatiently. Kristin’s voice had left me anxious.

When she mentioned the possibility of losing her job, it sounded like she was going to hyperventilate. Being forced to find a new job would suck for anyone, but Kristin seemed convinced she wouldn’t survive.

Things would be made right with her manager—I would see to it. But I also wanted to fix whatever problems had stretched Kristin so thin in the first place.

Spenser’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “Mr. Lawson, you have William Solomon on the line.”

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