Page 96 of Rebel Romeo

Both Missy and I freeze at the sound of Senator Dorsey’s voice. Her hands are still gripping my arms, pushing me out the door.

When I’m finally brave enough to peek around Missy’s shoulder, I catch a glimpse of not only Senator Dorsey but also Amy, our composer and playwright standing beside two stodgy men in expensive looking suits.

She releases her hold on my wrists, already red and raw from her grasp.

The senator clears his throat and steps forward, addressing me. “I hope you’re not leaving so soon, Katherine. Our investors here were really looking forward to meeting you.”

Heat rushes to my face and I clear my throat, stepping around Missy to offer them the warmest smile I can as I hold out my hand. “Hi,” I say, ignoring the crack in my voice. “I’m Kate Harris.”

One by one, they take my hand uneasily, their eyes first on Missy behind me, then they drop to the red welt Missy left on my arm.

I pull my hand back and clasp them behind my back, trying to hide the evidence from our fight. “You know, I think I’m a little wiped from rehearsals. And with tech week right around the corner, I should probably head home and get some rest?—”

On cue, Holden chooses that moment to enter the kitchen, his expression more than a little confused as his gaze glides across the room, taking in the scene before him. Finally his eyes settle on me. My heart slams against my ribcage and we both stop breathing. Against my will, a small sound escapes my lips. But then his eyes tear away from me and land on Missy.

He crosses the room slowly toward us, eyeing Missy like a ticking time bomb that might detonate at any moment. “What’s going on?”

Senator Dorsey clears his throat, but still is fully in charge. “I was giving the investors a tour of the house when we ran into Ms. Howl and Ms. Harris.” He pauses to turn to Amy. “Would you mind taking Julian and Richard here to the piano and playing them the beautiful instrumental piece you wrote for the top of the show.”

Amy tries to smile. “Of course. Right this way.” Her gaze flits to mine, concern shining in her eyes. I do my best to give her a reassuring smile in return that says I’m fine but I don’t think she buys it. I’m pretty sure none of them do.

Once they all clear out of the kitchen, Missy starts talking a mile a minute. “Erik, you should have seen Kate right before you came in. She was wreaking havoc back here?—”

My mouth gapes as I whip around to stare at her. “What?”

Missy gestures around the kitchen to where there were a few spilled canapes on the ground. “Tell Senator Dorsey,” she barks at the server nearest to us. Panic shines in his eyes and his gaze swings back and forth between us, terrified at being brought into this mess.

“Uh, w-well,” the server stutters. “I just walked into the kitchen a second ago.”

Missy clicks her tongue and gestures to the mess on the floor. “She was smashing plates, throwing the food, harassing your servers?—”

“Missy, that’s enough,” Holden snaps. “Katherine was a caterer in college. She would never make the job harder for our employees.”

The knot in my stomach eases a little hearing that Holden believes me.

“And,” Senator Dorsey says, “Even if that was true, we had several witnesses who saw you with your hands on Kate, hurting her.”

“You what?” Holden hissed, the venom in his voice rivaling that of a poisonous snake. “You hurt Katherine?” His gaze darts to me, sweeping down my body and assessing me. His stare freezes when he sees the red marks on my wrists.

I shake my head quickly. “I-I’m fine. Really it was nothing.”

As Holden takes a step forward, Senator Dorsey stops him with a simple palm to the chest, holding him back. “It wasn’t nothing,” Senator Dorsey says. “Especially with two of our biggest investors and the playwright as witness to the event. I’m afraid we’re going to have to let you go from the production, Missy.”

Shit.

My heart bottoms out to my stomach.

This was his plan all along. Even when I was trying to help, trying to avoid being his pawn, I still walked right into it. He wanted things between Missy and me to escalate. He wanted Missy to freak out. He needed her to commit a fireable offense and cheating on his son isn’t something you can boot her from the show for.

And he needed it to be something he could hang over her head later.

“What?” Missy gasps. “Erik, I know I may have overreacted?—”

“It’s Senator Dorsey,” he says, his voice mimicking the low rumble of thunder. “Holden, do you have any objections to us letting Missy go?”

Holden’s gaze flicks to the red marks on my arm. “No. No objections.”

Missy’s eyes fill with tears. “Holden, I told you what would happen?—”

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