Page 62 of Crossing Lines

“It’s going in the right direction, but they’re not there yet. For example.” She points to a shirt on the top of the screen. “The cut is better, and more feminine, which is good, but the logo placement overpowers the entire shirt, and the colors are all too dark. No one is going to wear this outside of a game, and the entire set of options doesn’t include the versatility point.”

“Okay, thanks, let me?—”

My phone pings with a message from Nate. I read it and then glance at Nina. “Nate is asking for us to come to the pool house right now.”

Nina pops to her feet and says, “Do you think he has an update about the break-in?”

“Let’s find out.”

On the way to the pool house, Nina grabs a box of donuties from the kitchen cabinet and brings it over. “What’s that for?”

“Just an apology to Nate. I was a little rude to him after you moved me from the pool house.”

“He doesn’t care.” He’s paid not to.

“Well, I care.”

Not many people see this side of Nina. She’s all heart beneath her prickly exterior. It’s a rare quality to have,and I’m starting to realize it’s the thing I crave most about her.

We make it to the pool house seconds later and Nate doesn’t waste any time getting straight to the point. “We apprehended the intruder. It turns out he was trying to find out if Stella has a double or not.”

“People are still trying to do that ridiculous challenge?” Nina asks in shock.

A few months ago, there was a viral challenge Stella’s ex started to determine if there were two Stellas. He wasn’t wrong since Stella and Elodie switched places, but it got out of hand when there was a cash reward added into the mix. Stella dealt with multiple break-ins, and evidently, they’re still happening.

“It appears that way,” Nate says. “But it means that this incident was unrelated to your house being hacked and the corporate issues you’re experiencing.”

“Shit, we need to call Kai and give him a heads-up.” As Stella’s head of security, Kai needs to know about the threat against Stella.

“I’ve already informed him,” Nate says, “but he wants to keep what happened quiet. Sounds to me like he doesn’t want Stella to find out and have her be distracted while on tour.”

“She has a right to know,” Nina says.

Nate shrugs. “It’s his choice, and Stella trusts him to keep her safe. But this means we can pull the security detail on Nina if you desire.”

“Yes, please,” Nina says at the same time I say, “No.”

“Just for a little bit?” Nina asks. “There’s no threat against me.”

“But what if something happens…”

“I have that app on my phone. I’ll be fine.”

Two days later, at breakfast, I show Nina the updated designs. She swipes through the pages, a frown forming between her eyebrows.

“It’s still not right,” she says. “They only improved the color palette, but didn’t change anything else. Can you show me the email you sent them?”

I click over to it and pass her back the iPad.

“The instructions are clear.” She glances at me in confusion. “Your team sucks. It’s like they’re purposely not listening to your feedback.”

“Shit,” I murmur under my breath. That’s exactly what I was afraid of. It makes me wonder if someone on the design team is sabotaging this whole renewal. I wouldn’t put it past Mert to have someone in his pocket, feeding him information and purposely trying to ruin what I’m doing with Glam Pop. “I think I have a traitor on my team, and they all need to be fired.” And they will be. I refuse to have anyone working against me on the team.

“Whoa, back up. Why do you think that?”

“Because of Mert.” I explain to her who he is and ourtheory that he’s behind all the issues I’ve been having lately.

She sits back in the chair, cereal long forgotten, and lets out a low whistle. “Holy shit. Is this considered normal for you? Being blackmailed?”

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