Page 13 of Faking Love

“Yeah, definitely.” Brandon’s thoughts were racing out of control. “I can be in on Thursday. I’ll let her know myself.”

“Perfect.”

They exchanged a few more pleasantries, then Trent was gone, chasing down another distributor.

The moment Trent left, Brandon pulled out his phone. He had Adeline’s number up in seconds. Each ring in his ear was another layer of aggravation and need for answers. Her voice mail clicked on.

He wanted to leave her a furious message, but part of him hoped it was just a misunderstanding. That, and he would hash it out with her in real-time if it wasn’t. “It’s me. Something’s come up, and it’s important. Call me as soon as you can.”

Fury pumped through his veins. Why had she lied? The person he paid to make sure he got work, and she’d cut him off from a source of income. What the hell was going on?

On top of that, based on meaningless threats, he’d walked away from a fantastic night. But—a sliver of glee wormed through his irritation—that meant no one actually cared if he saw Molly one more time before the weekend was up.

A quick glance at his watch told him he still had an hour before his first panel. He glanced at the growing pack of people in front of the elevator and sprinted up the stairs instead. By the time he reached the sixth floor, he had to pause in the stairwell, to catch his breath. Okay, probably not the smartest thing he’d ever done. But worth it. He strode toward Molly’s door, slowing his pace when it came into sight. The cleaning staff was in there, and she wasn’t.

He tried to be subtle about peeking through the crack in the door, but he couldn’t see enough of the room to tell if her stuff was still in there.Please, please let her just be out for the day.

He stopped by his room on the way back to the main floor. Like a lot of the cons, this one had given him two passes—one for him and one for a guest. He never had a reason to use the second one before, but now...

He rushed back down to the lobby and made a straight line for the front desk. The girl behind the counter greeted him with a pleasant smile.

He gave her what he hoped was a winning grin. “I’m trying to find out if Molly in 610 has checked out yet?” Maybe he should’ve gotten her last name.

Her expression faded, though her smile didn’t dim. “I’m sorry, sir. I can’t give out guest information.”

Of course. “Yeah—no. Totally understand.” He set the passes on counter, one for the con and one for the concert that night. “If she’s still here, can you make sure she gets these?”

She didn’t touch them. “If she’s not here, I’ll have to throw them away.”

Did that mean she was gone? “Do what you have to. Thanks.”

Brandon fell back into his routine, as the day wore on. He didn’t feel obligated to hide in his room anymore. If no one cared who he was friendly with, he could talk to his fans and enjoy the other panels.

He tried to ignore it, but as the hours ticked away with no sign of Molly, his disappointment grew, aggravated by the fact that Adeline hadn’t called him back.

Chapter Seven

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