It took some time in his office, so I get my phone, which I’d silenced, out of my purse.
“Oh.” There’s a missed call from Hayden. Seeing his name on my screen would’ve filled me with dread just a few days before. But now, it makes me excited and even causes goosebumps to spread across my skin.
With a smile on my face, I call him back.
After a few rings, he answers.
“Hey!” I’m expecting him to make another sweet comment about the plethora of photos I sent him.
“Hi,” he replies in a stern tone.
Immediately, the energy all around me is brought down.
“Hi,” I repeat. “Is everything okay?”
“Actually, no. No, it’s not okay. Your mother is a tyrant. A goddammed tyrant, Addie.”
Oh, no.
I’m not sure if I want to know the answer, but still, I ask, “What’d she do?”
“Well, according to this lovely notice I just received, I’m being duly investigated by the IRS and the SEC.”
I gulp, and my stomach feels like it fell down to my knees.
“It doesn’t say your mom is involved. But I just know that she is. Shehasto be. I knew it. I just fucking knew she’d be the end of this entire project.”
After taking a few deep breaths myself, I try my best to calm him down.
“I’m really sorry, Hayden. I am. But please don’t let her rattle you. This is all a tactic. Plus, if you have nothing to hide, then there’s nothing to worry about, right?”
He scoffs. “Sure. But who knows what she has up her sleeve? She’s capable of almost anything. You of all people should know that, Addie.”
Yes, that is unfortunately true.
A loud ding goes off on his side of the line.
“Ugh! I’ve gotta go. I’m meeting up with Randall. Care to join?”
“I—” As much as I’d like to, I can’t. “I have to pick up Luna from school.”
“Can’t you just have Sam do it?”
While I’m impressed he remembered her name, I explain, “She’s already back in Phoenix.”
He groans before shouting, “You know what? Fine. Fine! I’ll just do all of this myself!”
Without another word, he hangs up, and I’m left speechless and with my mind reeling.
Chapter twenty-four
Hayden
I know it wasn’tright to take my anger and frustration out on Addie. Yes, it ishermother who is causing all of this strife, but she’s nothing like Rosalinda. She didn’t ask for this trouble.
In fact, I know wholeheartedly that she’s on my side—the side that is fighting to restore and uphold her grandfather’s legacy.
So, I text her later that night and ask if she and Luna will join us for dinner tomorrow.