Page 72 of Business or Pleasure

Once we left, we would need to deal with all the complications the real world presented.

Neither of us spoke about that, even as we checked out and got into the car Alec sent for us. We had one more thing left to do, and Alec agreed that it would be best to do it at MIRI. I managed to put it all out of my mind since Harlee and I talked about it at the diner, but now it was the only thing I could think about.

“Are you sure you want me there for this?” Harlee asked as we pulled up in front of MIRI. “She’s your assistant and she doesn’t like me.”

“That’s an understatement,” I said. “And that’s exactly why you should be here. She came after you and you deserve to confront her about it.”

“Is it petty of me to actually be glad about it?” Harlee threaded her fingers through mine as we walked to the entrance. “Not about what she did, but that she isn’t getting off without any consequences?”

“Not at all,” I said firmly.

Harlee never said it, but I suspected her need to see justice served was greater than a lot of people would have been. She had, after all, been a victim of a system that failed. Technically, Jin was the one who hadn’t gotten justice, but it was because of that failure that Harlee had done what she’d done, and everything that came after it was a direct result. I couldn’t change the past, but I could make sure that Harlee saw that I wasn’t going to let anyone get away with hurting her.

Tuesday was waiting for us when we stepped off the elevator, the grim expression on her face telling me that she knew what was happening. She confirmed that by saying, “I’ll show Ms. Flitton to Mr. McCrae’s office when she arrives. He said to send the two of you right back.”

We made small talk with Alec for a few minutes, mostly thanking him for his assistance, and then Tuesday was knocking on the door. Brigh was smiling when she stepped inside the office, but the smile faltered when she saw Harlee. She caught herself quickly though and came straight to me.

“I’ve been worried about you, Baylen,” Brigh said. “You didn’t answer any of my texts or calls and Al – Mr. McCrae said you were going to be out of touch for a few days. I even thought about calling your parents.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” I said. The last thing I needed was them to start digging around into where I was and why I’d gone off-grid.

“Our flight’s first thing in the morning and we have things to discuss before then,” she continued. “I was worried I’d need to come to the hotel and get you just so we wouldn’t miss it.”

“I’m not–” Her words clicked. “Wait, did you say you’d need to come to the hotel?”

Brigh’s cheeks turned pink. “Aye, well…I mean…”

I suddenly remembered something she said before and a suspicion reared its head. “Brigh, you asked me once before about staying overnight with someone, but it wasn’t an actual question, was it? You knew where I was then, and you knew where I’ve been these last couple days.”

“And you knew he was at my apartment the other night.” Harlee quietly entered the conversation. “Didn’t you? That’s how you knew if you slid that envelope under the door, he’d most likely see it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Brigh folded her arms, a mutinous expression on her face.

“Aye, you do.” I shook my head. “How? Why?”

“I think I can answer both of those questions,” Harlee said. “Can I see your phone, Bay?”

The color drained from Brigh’s face as I handed over my phone and Harlee began to go through it.

“Look, we should really go,” Brigh said, tension making her voice rise. “I’ll make us lunch reservations and we can talk about what needs done before we go home.”

“I’m not going home tomorrow.”

“That’s crazy! We have a business to run.”

“Baylen has a business to run,” Harlee cut in. Brigh glared at her, but Harlee didn’t even seem to notice it. “You might have been a good assistant, but your recent actions prove you have your own interests at heart, not his.” Harlee looked at me. “There’s a tracking app on your phone.”

My jaw dropped. “What?!”

“We just wanted to keep you safe.” Brigh took a step toward me, but I put up my hand. I was shocked enough that even the hurt that crossed her face at my gesture couldn’t make me feel guilty. “We needed to know where you were, what you were doing.”

“We?” Alec asked in a low voice. “Who is the we, Ms. Flitton?”

Red flooded Brigh’s face. “Baylen–”

I cut in. “Answer the question.”

“Your parents.”

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