Page 232 of Enthrall Shadows
Why hadn’t I seen the clues?
This woman right here was the one that got away.
My phone pinged and I stared down hoping to see a text from Henry.
De Sade: We’ve doubled our offer.
That snagged my attention.
De Sade, Grantchester and Sinclair, along with their silent partner, were coming at me hard. The amount offered probably wouldn’t even warrant attention from these billionaires, but for me it was a mind-blowing figure.
Reese drew my attention back to her. “Something important?”
“Job offer.”
“That’s exciting. Here in Cali?”
“Yes.”
You can’t get rid of me that easily.
Or maybe she could.
Men like Henry always had more than one woman. I’d been naïve to believe otherwise.
Had I read him wrong this entire time?
My hope for us had blinded reality.
“I have to go.” I turned and made my way back around the side of the house.
Once I got back in my car, I sat there trying to calm my emotions. I’d literally interrupted Henry’s Sunday afternoon with his old girlfriend.
Maybe someone he’d never stopped loving.
He’d not told me she’d be here today.
It took forever for those tall gates to open and allow me to escape this oppressively wealthy neighborhood.
Aclose girlfriend can sense when you need them—even when you’re not quite ready to talk. They can hear it in your voice. They can see the light has gone out of your eyes.
Scarlet’s fix for my sadness was us spending time together on a girl’s day out.
We’d dressed up, both of us in our little summer dresses thanks to L.A.’s temperate January, her carrying a Prada handbag and me with my favorite Marc Jacobs purse—casual but dressy in the best kind of way.
We dined on salads for lunch at Granville at the Grove, catching up on gossip.
Scarlet shared more about her excitement over the novel she was writing. She’d gone from dominatrix to romance author. It suited her well.
I talked about job hunting. Scarlet was the best kind of listener. Having left Enthrall herself, she was merely consulting now.
After lunch, we visited the Grove’s Barnes and Noble, both of us having fun imagining her books amongst all these amazing novels stacking the shelves.
Then we engaged in a little window shopping.
We came out of Candi’s Chocolate Store laughing with a sugar high from eating too many free samples. Not recommended when you’re off to buy a gown for a gala. I’d finally received my embossed invitation for this Saturday’s event.
I hadn’t seen Henry all week.
