Page 131 of Until You

Chapter Thirty-Five

Sleep didn’t come easily for Lanie Sunday night. On Sunday afternoon, she’d gotten a call saying that her legal team might have found a solution to the injunction. The attorneys planned to be at the courthouse first thing Monday morning, and hoped they’d be able to overturn it before the store opening.

Stephanie had been excited when Lanie told her the news, and the two of them called their employees and told them all to come in at nine thirty…just in case. Then Lanie suggested they take the offensive and try to get the media on their side. Stephanie usually sent out press releases, but after the injunction, they hadn’t sent them. Lanie had Stephanie type one up and e-mail it to the local newspapers and TV stations, informing them of a surprise opening if all went well. And if didn’t, they’d take their story to the media and hope the public outcry over losing a Margo Benson Boutique would put pressure on the store blocking their opening.

At least they hoped it’d work that way.

The hardest part was that she couldn’t tell Tyler. He might not be on the case any longer, but he was still tied to the law firm. With any luck at all, she’d open the store, get her promotion, then stay in Kansas City and build a life with Tyler.

But Lanie was so worried she’d clue Tyler in that she told him she was spending the night at her own apartment on Sunday night. Alone. He’d sounded so hurt, she almost told him the truth, but she told herself to stay strong; the end result would be worth it.

On Monday morning, Lanie was at the store an hour and a half early. Weeks before, they’d hired a security team to help with the crowds, and even though they wouldn’t know until close to ten if the judge had reversed the injunction, they were going to keep going as though they were opening. The local television stations had run segments about the “secret opening,” and now people were already lining up out front. The last thing Lanie needed was for things to get out of hand, so she made sure the security team was up to speed on how to handle the crowds if they opened, and came up with an alternate plan in case they didn’t. Once she was assured they were prepared, she went inside and paced the floor, checking everything.

All she could do was wait.

When the employees showed up at nine thirty, she and Stephanie made sure that everyone knew their places…and then they waited.

At ten, they hadn’t gotten a call from the attorneys yet, and Lanie and Stephanie peered out the window, wondering how long to wait until they told the crowd that the Margo Benson Boutique hadn’t been allowed to open.

“I’m calling corporate,” Lanie said ten minutes later. “Maybe they can tell us what’s going on.” She called the legal department, but the assistant still hadn’t heard anything.

When people began to chant—“We want Margo! We want Margo!”—Lanie made the executive decision to address the crowd. She and Stephanie came up with a plan, then ducked through the tarp and faced the crowd. The people lining the sidewalk cheered, and Lanie started to address them, but her phone rang in her pocket. She pulled it out to see if it was one of the attorneys, but saw Aiden’s name instead. She silenced the call and dropped it into her pocket. He was probably calling to see if the store had opened. She’d call him back later.

The crowd was bigger than she’d expected, especially since there had been very little publicity. People filled the sidewalk from one end of the block to the other and had spilled out onto the street.

“Thank you all for coming for our grand opening!” Lanie shouted as she waved.

Stephanie beamed next to her.

The crowd continued to chant, but Lanie lifted both hands. “I’m sure you all are eager to find out what’s behind this tarp. Am I right?”

The crowd whooped and cheered.

“I’m Lanie and this is Stephanie, and we’ve spent the last five months preparing for this day.” Stephanie moved to one edge of the tarp, which had been prepared to be removed, while Lanie moved to the other. “And now, what you’ve all been waiting for—” They tugged the edge, and the fabric fell, revealing the sign as she announced, “Welcome to Margo Benson Boutique, Kansas City!”

And that’s when she saw him.

Tyler was wearing a dark suit, which she’d learned over the last month meant he was either going to court or meeting with an important client.

Had he just come from court? Was he back on the case? No. He wouldn’t do that to her—do that to them.

But why was he here? Had he shown up out of curiosity? Was he here for support? She couldn’t deny that seeing him now took her breath away. His gaze was glued to hers, but his deadpan expression gave nothing away.

Stephanie caught her attention. Lanie still had a job to do.

“Now, we would love for you to come inside and check us out, but there’s a not-so-small problem.”

The crowd let out a groan, but Lanie held up her hands to settle them down. “Stephanie and I are ready for you. The fifteen employees we have inside are excited to meet you and show you around, but the Jackson County court system has decided to keep us closed for a while.”

The crowd released sounds of restlessness.

The phone rang in Lanie’s pocket again. “Stephanie is going to tell you a little bit about what’s happening.”

Stephanie gave her a questioning glance, and Lanie pulled out her phone and gestured toward it. Steph’s eyes widened in understanding and she turned toward the crowd of people. “We’d like to make it clear that everything about the store is up to code. The store is perfectly safe. But one store in the area—”

Lanie moved close to the front door, and checked caller ID. Aiden again.

The fact that he’d called twice in such a short period was a warning of some kind, so Lanie called him back.

---