Page 108 of Crossing Lines

“Just something about finding a new sponsor is dragging on longer than it should.”

That catches my attention. It’s probably common knowledge that Stonehaven didn’t renew their sponsorship, but no one besides Zeki, Nina, and me knows thatfinding a new sponsor has been challenging and that it’s been taking a long time, longer than it should.

“Hmm, it’s been frustrating,” I say, keeping my expression neutral. “But I’ve got it handled. How did you hear about that, though?”

“As you’ve pointed out, I’m well-connected.” Harold shrugs good-naturedly. “And as we’ve established, people like to talk.”

“Must be nice, to have so many connections.”

“It is.”

“What would you recommend to help combat these rumors?” I ask.

“Well, I wouldn’t have let it get that far. But I’d find a way to get a handle on it all, and fast. Rumors can ruin a business if you’re not careful.”

“We wouldn’t want that to happen,” I say, noting that when we sat down, he said the opposite.

“Yes, we wouldn’t want that.” There’s an edge to Harold’s response that rubs me the wrong way, and my gut tells me something’s off.

But why would Harold want me to fail? Because if I fail, the team fails, and he’s supposed to care about that. At least, I’d assume so after dedicating so many years of his life to it.

Even though I don’t understand it, something’s off. But I need proof and right now I only have a gut feeling.

I quickly wrap up the drink after that and head home to Nina and Zeki.

“And?” Nina asks when I walk in.

“Pretty sure it’s Harold, but I don’t understand why he’d do this. He sold me the team, helped speed up the board approval. I just don’t get it.”

“I think,” Zeki says, “it’s time to dig deep into Harold’s background and his connection to the design team and Stonehaven. I can coordinate with Nate and our lawyers, but Glam Pop might be involved too since they are making such an illogical demand.”

“We think,” I say, “Mick’s being difficult because he’s Nina’s biological father.”

“Is this… Are we having aStar Warsmoment right now?” Zeki asks in shock.

“Unfortunately,” Nina grumbles.

“Holy shit,” Zeki says. “Well, that changes things.”

“Maybe,” I say, “or maybe not. We’ve kept them waiting long enough. It’s finally time to meet with them.”

Chapter 28

Nina

The first sign that something is wrong is the buzzing.

It starts before sunrise with my phone vibrating so much it nearly skitters off the nightstand. Then Evren’s starts.

Is it related to Harold? Glam Pop? My mom? The possibilities are endless at this point.

“What is it this time?” I ask Evren, my voice heavy with exhaustion.

“It’s too early.” Evren grabs his phone and reads something on it before flipping the screen toward me. On it is a headline that says, “Evren Kaya is Hiding Secret Baby with Designer Girlfriend!”

“Oh fuck,” I mutter, grabbing his phone and searching Evren’s name. Headline after headline after headline stares back at me. I click on one of the articles and it references an inside source that says, “Nina’sofficially two months pregnant, but Evren wants to keep it a secret until the baby is born…”

Deep in my bones, I know my mom is behind this, that she’s the secret source. The realization hits like a fist to the ribs, knocking the air from my lungs. My fingers go numb around the phone, the screen blurring as my vision tunnels.A high-pitched buzz fills my ears and I shove the phone back in Evren’s hands. I press the heels of my hands into my eyes, but all I see are headlines, comments, the inevitable tidal wave of pity and gossip.

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