Page 58 of Never the Best

But today, her chair was empty.

I told myself not to overthink it. Maybe she was running late. Maybe she was tied up in another meeting or project.But as the minutes ticked by, the nagging knot of unease in my gut tightened. By the time the meeting wrapped up and she still hadn’t appeared, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Something wasn’t right.

I lingered as everyone else filed out, nodding distractedly at a few passing colleagues before turning to Nina, who was packing up her things at the head of the table.

“Hey, Nina.” I kept my tone casual. “Where’s Pearl?”

Nina glanced up, her sharp eyes appraising me for a moment before she answered, her voice cool and clipped. “She’s taken a leave of absence.”

“A what?” Pearl wasn’t feeling well? Panic set in. Was this why she hadn’t responded to my messages? What happened? Why hadn’t Aunt Hattie called me? “What happened? Is she okay?”

“That’s not for me to say,” Nina replied, closing her laptop with a deliberate snap. “But whatever it is, I suggest you tread carefully, Rhett.”

Her words were pointed, her gaze heavy with warning.

Before I could press her further, she slipped past me, her heels clicking against the polished floor as she disappeared down the hall.

I stood still for a moment, my mind racing, and then I pulled out my phone.

I called Pearl, no answer.

I called Aunt Hattie, no answer.

I texted them both. No reply.

I grabbed my backpack and headed for the exit, my steps quickening as unease bloomed in my chest. I had anothermeeting in an hour, but to hell with it—I was going to Aunt Hattie’s to check on Pearl.

Maybe she had the flu. Maybe….

“You son of a bitch.” Luna charged at me when I was out of the building. She had followed me out.

“What?”

“You’re one devious creep, Rhett Vanderbilt, and to think I thought you’d turned a new leaf, you can take the teenager out of the asshole, but you can’t take the asshole out of the human being.”

I raised a hand. “I’m assuming this is about Pearl. I’m headed her way and?—”

“Oh, I think not,” she snapped, closing the distance between us.

I blinked, caught off guard by the sheer force of her anger. “What the hell is going on?”

She tittered, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “You really don’t know?”

“Luna,” I said, my voice tightening. “If you’ve got something to say, just say it. Otherwise, I need to get going.”

“Fine,” she hissed, her eyes blazing. “Pearl’s gone because of you. Because someone decided to throw her past in her face in front of half of Savannah. And gee, I wonder who might have told Josie all those personal details about Pearl’s health challenges, huh?”

The air seemed to drain out of the world.

“I haven’t talked to Josie since I ended our engagement, and I’venevertalked to her about Pearl.” My heart hammered because I could guess what had happened.

Luna’s eyes narrowed. I stepped aside as someone walked up the ramp to get to the door of the building. Once they were gone, I turned to Luna. “I’ve been in Atlanta all weekend. What the fuck happened?”

“Josie decided to tell everyone and God at The Peacock Lounge that Pearl has an eating disorder and how she almost died. I’ve never seen someone break….” Luna took a deep, shaky breath.

“Wait,” I said, my voice low and unsteady. “You thinkItold Josie?” Did Pearl think that, too? Of course, she did.Holy hell!

“Well, who else would have?” she demanded, stepping closer, her fury palpable. “You’re the only one she trusted with that part of her life, Rhett. She told us how she’d never told anyone but you and Aunt Hattie, and we know Hattie’s a fuckin’ vault.”

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