Page 20 of Crazy In Love
“And I really don’t need him to do that.”
He glanced down at his phone and made an awkward face again. “Oh, he’s not happy. He said you’re being stubborn, and you should just let Walter do the job that he came here to do.”
“Tell him I said ‘glass houses.’ He’s the one who’s being stubborn. I don’t need his money—I simply need an apology. And remind him that he’s not welcome in my shop until he apologizes.”
Walter’s head tipped back in a full-bodied laugh. “Mr. Chadwick is not a man most people say no to.”
“Well, lucky for him I’m not most people. Thanks for coming, but you can pack up and head back to the city. Unless you need some flowers?” I asked.
“Actually,” Walter said, “it’s my anniversary today. Twenty-seven years with my beautiful wife. We’re going to dinner, but I think it might be nice to grab her some flowers, too.”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Brenner hissed under his breath, and Walter completely ignored him and stepped inside the shop while I remained outside with Brenner, who wasn’t finished speaking. “You do know your other client egged your building, correct?”
“Correct. But she doesn’t know that I know,” I whispered. “She’s a regular here, and I don’t want to embarrass her.”
He narrowed his gaze. “I think she should probably be embarrassed all on her own.”
“Well, it really is your boss who should be embarrassed. If he hadn’t accused me of writing that ridiculous column, none of this would have even happened. He is the one who owes me an apology.”
“And what about the pregnant egg lady? Does she owe you an apology?” he asked as I glanced inside and overheard Cara and Walter discussing the weather. Beatrice was at the register, ringing Cara up.
“Well, he’s been doing it for a lot longer. She only has one offense, and it was caused by him. So let’s start there, okay?” I said.
“He’s not big on apologies. This was his apology. You should just take it. We haven’t left yet.”
“Unbelievable. You’re afraid of him, aren’t you?”
He chuckled. “No. He’s harmless. Moody, grumpy, demanding—sure. But he’s not scary. He’s just a stoic guy who runs a very successful company, and this is his way of apologizing.”
“And I don’t accept. But thanks for trying. I’ll be waiting for the apology that I’m owed.”
I clapped him on the shoulder and was turning to step inside when his phone vibrated in his hand, and he groaned.
“Speak of the devil,” he said, answering the call. “What’s up, boss.”
I couldn’t hear what Bridger was saying, but he obviously wasn’t happy about how this was going down.
“Yep. I’m dead serious,” Brenner repeated three times as he followed me inside the flower shop.
I made my way around the counter, just as Cara was turning to leave.
“There’s a rumor going around that you don’t write ‘The Taylor Tea,’” she said, smiling at me like I was her favorite person again.
“That would be the first correct rumor I’ve heard in a while.” I smirked.
“I couldn’t imagine you saying that about me,” she said.
Beatrice couldn’t resist, and her head popped up. “What exactly did it say about you, Cara? I can’t remember.”
“They wrote about me and Harvey Lawson having an affair and getting pregnant. It’s offensive.” She threw her hands in the air.
Walter’s eyes moved slowly down to the gigantic baby bump and then back up, as if he was trying to figure out why she was offended.
“Aren’t you and Harvey dating?” Beatrice pressed.
“Well, yes. We’ve been secretly seeing one another for months. But now we’re making it public, because, well, we’ve got a little one on the way.” She chuckled, and we all just stared at her in confusion.
“So ‘The Taylor Tea’ was correct. You are dating Harvey, and the two of you are having a baby.” Beatrice reared back and laughed.
