Page 39 of Hush Money
“She’s back,” is all he offers his big brother, and that seems to be enough to suffice. Maybe it’s the distraction of everything with Cato, or maybe it’s this new girl who’s softened him up a bit. But either way, I let out a sigh of relief as he gives me a nod then leads us into his study.
There is a large wooden table in the corner of the room by the windows, and he leads us to it and motions for us to sit down.
He lifts up a folder then looks at Keaton.
“I assume that…” Julian says, motioning to me. Keaton nods.
“She knows,” he says. Julian nods slowly.
“I would never—” I start to say, but Julian just nods.
“I know,” he says. “I know. And I wish we had some more time for you two to catch me up on what the hell is happening with you two right now, but the reporter will be here any minute, and she has requested that she just meet with us brothers—at least for this first time. Of course, Brooks bailed again. And I’m not waiting on his ass. Are you two okay waiting upstairs?” Julian looks at Sawyer and me.
I look at Keaton. He gives me a sad smile and nods.
“I will do whatever you guys need me to do,” I say.
“We will go hang upstairs,” Sawyer says. “Let us know if you need us. Come on, Evie. We’ll get some grub and watch shitty TV.”
I smile.
“Sounds great.” I turn back to Keaton, eyeing the folder. I put my hand on his face. “I’m right here.”
He leans forward and kisses my cheek again.
“I know.”
With that, I follow Sawyer out of the study, down the hall, and up the massive floating staircase.
“This place is nuts,” I say as I look out over the city. She giggles.
“I thought I’d be used to it by now, but I don’t know if I ever will be,” she says. We walk into what looks to be a large rec room with a red-velvet pool table in one corner, an air hockey table at the other, three huge couches, some arcade games, and a TV screen that is the size of the entire wall. There is also afull stocked bar, a coffee bar, and what appears to be a vending machine.
She walks to the bar and goes behind it, grabbing two glasses.
“Want anything?” she asks.
I think about it. A nice glass of whiskey sounds good right now to calm my nerves, but I want to be in the right headspace for him. I want to be ready when he’s done and needs me.
“Maybe just a seltzer water?” I ask. She nods, and I see that she’s making herself a sweet iced tea. She comes around and hands me the glass then leads me toward the couches. We plop down, and she leans over to hit a few buttons on a remote that looks more like a tablet. The lighting above us dims a bit, and the massive television turns on. The channel switches to a trashy dating show, which is exactly what I’d be putting on if I were alone, stressing right now. Then she turns to me.
“So,” she says, pulling her legs up underneath her, “since we didn’t really get an intro earlier, want to give me yours?”
I smile, turning to face her and pulling my legs up too.
“What do you want to know?”
“Well, first, I want to know if you aretheEvie,” Sawyer says. I roll my lips together and narrow my eyes.
“TheEvie?” I ask. She nods.
“Once, I was asking Julian about Keaton’s dating life. In the months that I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him talk to, talk about, or even stand near a woman. I asked Julian if he was gay, but he said no. He said he has never been quite the same after Evie. Are you that Evie?”
I love how forward she is.
“Yeah, I guess I amthatEvie,” I say. “I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.”
She shrugs.
