Page 25 of The Arrogant One
He sighed. “You know we’ve promised our readers that Horned was getting reviewed this week. We’ve been building it up, teasing it. Our readers trust us. And because they trust us and they know we deliver on our promises, they’re loyal.”
I wrapped an arm around my stomach. “Which is another reason I didn’t reach out.”
“Is there a reason you haven’t gone back to Horned to eat? You didn’t mention why you’d left, so I’m unsure if something happened in the restaurant or?—”
“No, nothing like that. I left”—I glanced around my large office, trying to think of what to say—“for personal reasons. Reasons that had nothing to do with the restaurant. And I haven’t been back because I’ve been slammed. I had an event last night, and I’ve been filming content and …” My excuses sounded weak, but they were the truth.
I needed an assistant and to stop saying yes to everything and to find a balance; work was dominating almost every part of my life. Even though it should have been a priority, driving back to Laguna Beach was the last thing I wanted.
“Sadie, help me out here. What am I going to tell our readers when your column is one extremely glaring section of emptiness?”
Silence ticked between us.
“I’ll go to Horned tonight,” I told him.
“What?” He laughed. “You’ll never be able to get in. They’re booked out for months.”
“Then I’ll eat in the bar. Or I’ll find another way in. Trust me, I’ll get it done.” I waited, and he said nothing. “Please, let me fix this. I messed up, I was wrong, and I want to make it right.”
“If the article is in my hands by tomorrow morning, I’ll forget we even had this conversation. I won’t forget that you didn’t respond to my email—don’t let that happen again—but you’ll be forgiven.”
“Deal.”
The phone went dead, and I continued to hold it in my palm, staring at the home screen, my brain reeling with everything I needed to accomplish tonight. Dear Foodie could get into any restaurant in the state within a second. Sadie? Not so much.
But I would figure this out. I had to.
My weekly article inSeenhad been the start of my career in the food business, and it began the foundation of my social media following. Without them, I wouldn’t have grown into what I had today.
I would never forget that.
I pulled up my Contacts and my Favorites, hitting the number for my best friend, and as soon as it started ringing, I returned the phone to my ear.
“She’s calling me midday rather than texting,” Bryn said as she answered. “Which tells me this is going to be major. Hold on. I need to sit down.” She paused. “Okay, I’m ready. Hit mewith it.”
I laughed. “I love you.”
“I love you more. Are you all right?”
My stare wandered over my office as I calculated how much time it would take to film the cooking video and have it edited, and then wash and dry my hair for dinner because the way I looked at the moment was terrifying. “Do you have plans tonight?”
“Sounds like I do now. What kind of trouble are you going to get me into?”
I rolled my eyes. “Because I’ve got Miss Trouble written all over me.”
“Miss Bad Girl is more like it.”
“Oh God, stop. We’re not going thereagain. We’ve talked out the whole Lockhart night forward and backward and sideways.”
“And I could hear it one more time, and it would feel like the first.”
And I could repeat it over and over, and it would never be enough.
I wondered if Lockhart thought about that night the way I did. If he wished I’d woken him up before I left.
If he regretted not getting my number before we fell asleep.
“Moving on,” I groaned. “So, because I was a bad girl that night, I didn’t get enough info to write my article on the restaurant, and my boss isn’t happy with me. That’s why I’m calling. Do you want to go there with me tonight?”
