Page 16 of Perfect Order
Beckett frowns thoughtfully as we reach the elevators. “That’s reasonable. I’ll propose it to her. No promises.”
Once he disappears into the elevator, I give some thought as to why I’m concerned about Kylie Miles. I know it has to do with the amount of time she spends around my principal, but there’s something else nagging at me. And I learned all too well in the military not to ignore those feelings.
Not when people’s lives could be at stake.
Who knew Erzulie had a mole right there? Certainly we didn’t until the pictures of her naked showed up in our inbox this morning. All we have to say, Erzulie, is wow! You may never be remembered for your vocal cords after this.
—StellaNova
It’s a good thing I’m getting away from work. “Kylie better have my damn handbag ready, considering I just spent the better part of the night squashing that pipsqueak Hutnik?” I let out a growl when I think of the way he tried to photoshop our head onto someone else’s body and pass it off to one of the biggest social media blogs in America.
Dumb-freaking-ass.
I feel the power surge through me as I speed my brand-new Bentayga down the Taconic. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact I’m driving an SUV that purrs like a sports car and everything to do with the fact my sister’s voice explodes through the sublime Naim sound system. When the song ends, the national DJ announces, “‘Faith and Trust’ has once again put Erzulie at the top of the charts. There’s no stopping her as she soars with hit after hit.”
Another voice declares, “It’s hard to imagine that earlier this year, she was accepting the Grammy for Best New Artist.”
“Nothing’s going to stop her from reaching the top.”
With an enormous smile, I reach over and pat my purse, where the card I received from her arrived before my meeting yesterday. My sister has the ability to pull me away from my computer the way no one else does. I burst out laughing at the two elderly women on the front before I read the preprintedThe sun will rise no matter what.Then I read what my sister had sent to me via overnight messenger:I’m so proud of you. I can’t wait to see you. Once your meeting is done, get here fast. I have so much to catch you up on and this isn’t the face I want to show you when I do it.Then she drew an arrow around to the front of the card, making me laugh out loud in my light-filled office, despite how shocked I was when I read the postscript about her doing something we swore we’d only do together.
It was a vow. A promise. And my sister never broke them—at least, not to me.
Hopefully, we can use the weekend to catch up. In the last two weeks, our nightly calls have left me anxious just to get to her. Last night after she left a party early, the slightest noise had her leaping out of her chair. I frown in memory as I push my foot down on the pedal. “Don’t worry about it, Leanne,” I recall her laughing as she took another swig of a martini—something she rarely indulged in at home. “It’s just something to calm my nerves before I go out and face the world tomorrow.”
“You’re you, Lee. You don’t have nerves.” Concern causes me to use our childhood nickname—each of us being Lee. A part of one another for always.
Her eyes unfocused before they bored through the video at me. “You’d be surprised at what makes me jump in shock these days. Or rather who.”
Then I got her card. It was on the tip of my tongue to beg her to forget about her commitments, to leave the city, when the maelstrom of emotions settled and the dynamic smile I know better than any other would spread across her face. Then her voice hummed melodically, “I love you, forever, Leanne.”
“I love you always, Kylie,” I whispered back before she disconnected.
My phone rings over my Bluetooth. It’s her. “Hey, I’m running late. I got yanked into a meeting with Ivan.” I name my chief data scientist. She starts coughing uncontrollably. “Are you okay?” I demand.
“Good, fine. Couldn’t be better. Should I just check in?”
“Let me call and add you to the room. I was certain I’d be there by now.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you in a few. If I get bored, I’ll head down to the spa and charge it to you. I’m exhausted from a party I was at last night. In fact, you’ll never believe who I ran into there. I thought his eyes were going to bug out when he saw what I was wearing.”
“Who was it?” I ask curiously, wondering if Kylie ran into one of our mutual acquaintances from home.
“Nuh-uh. Not while you’re driving. I want to see your expression on this one.”
“That’s just rude. Get me curious, and then leave me hanging.”
“Well, curiosity is a bitch. You know what she did to that damn cat.”
“Likely stepped on it with one of your shoes.” We both laugh at my quick comeback. “Is this why you were so upset last night?”
My teeth clamp down at her obvious avoidance of the question when she blithely continues. “His only saving grace is what I was wearing wasn’t sheer, otherwise he might have completely keeled over.”
“Was it something scandalous?”
“You’d probably think so. The boots alone had so many crystals on them, I think I blinded half the guests. Or maybe that’s because of where they ended.”
We both chuckle. “As for the spa, I highly support this plan. In fact, get the works done for me.”
