Page 81 of Bitter Secrets

“He said two weeks.” Into the awkward silence, she said, “I guess it’s a good thing I’m not in New York, or I’d be hounded by reporters.”

“That’s true,” Colette said a little too enthusiastically and then, “Penelope heard about the announcement and called me to get your number. When I told her you were in London, she demanded to see you. Are you able to meet with her?”

“Penelope Davies?”

“Yes.”

She put her sisters on speaker, so she could look at her missed calls. After asking Colette to recite Penelope’s number, she saw that her friend had called six times in the past two hours, along with seventy-nine other people.

“Give her a call,” Ariana urged. “She wants to catch up with you.”

Was this her sisters’ way of having someone do a visual check to make sure she was okay? She shrugged. It didn’t matter. Even if she had plans, she would have canceled them for Penelope.

“I will.” When her phone beeped, she glanced at the screen and said, “She’s calling again.”

“Okay. Have fun. Keep us posted,” Colette said.

She switched calls. “Penny?”

“You have a lot of explaining to do, missy!”

She grinned at the sound of her friend’s crisp, British accent. “Do I?”

“Yes, you do. Meet me at Remy’s Castle in twenty minutes. It’s an espresso bar.”

“What if I have something to do?” she teased.

“Don’t make me hunt you down.”

“I’ll see you there,” she said and hung up before she texted Johan and Mo, who responded immediately.

As she packed her purse, she glanced at her computer. Rex would have to wait. Real life was calling, and maybe that was a good thing. It would give the characters time to reconsider the path they were on and hopefully change the trajectory of the story.

As she made her way out of the bedroom and down the hallway, she checked her email and wasn’t pleased to see that she had requests for interviews from the press. Fuck. How did they get a hold of the email address she made in college? Hell. She glanced at the alarming number of notifications for her personal social media and logged off. She wasn’t about to put her hand in that bear trap. Her voicemails were out of control, but she decided to listen to the one Daiyu had left an hour ago.

“Girl, you look gorgeous wearing my dress, if I do say so myself. The pictures were too stunning not to submit to Vogue. You know I'm friends with the editor. Don’t be mad at me. You’ll thank me later. By the way, I want to hear details about the wedding! But before that, I need to ask you for a favor. Don’t even think of saying no. I have a spot in New York Fashion Week and I want you to be in it. I already have your measurements and I know exactly what I want you to wear. You’re gonna lookfab! Thanks to you, my bridal line is a go. Call me.”

“Hell no,” she muttered.

“Mrs. Roth.”

She blinked at Johan, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. “How did you get here so fast?”

“We have staff quarters in the building.”

Of course, they did.

“Another café?” Johan asked as they entered the elevator.

“Yes.”

“You don’t have your computer.”

“No.”

He glanced at her as he entered the code to get the car moving. “You aren’t going to write?”

“No, I’m meeting a friend.”

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