Page 3 of Lair

Sensing my thoughts, Cailee pulls out her phone and hunkers down beside me. “Guess who has a million followers now?”

I sigh and look at the Instagram feed: Emmie Gallagher. A blonde-haired beauty in a bikini with puffy lips and come-on-me tits, hanging on some businessman’s arm on a yacht. It’s hard not to compare myself to her. I’m brunette, short, compact, un-plumped—hardly supermodel material.

I shake my head. “Can you believe she graduated high school with us?”

“A bona fide Influencer. Only took her a couple of months. You think she’s banging that guy?”

“Definitely.” I pause. “But still. It’d be nice to enjoy the good life.”

Cailee turns thoughtful. “Yeah . . .” For a moment she scrolls through endless photos of Emmie frolicking in exotic locales, then shoves her phone back in her shorts. “We’ll get there. We’re both getting staffed on superyachts and seeing the world. Right?” She holds out her pinky, and I laugh and crook mine around it.

“Right.”

“And then we’ll seduce the billionaire owners and retire at twenty-five.”

I snort and push her. “That’s what you’ll be doing.”

Cailee smirks and stands, grabbing the hose. “Suit yourself, Goody Two-Shoes.”

Smiling, I look around. Boats bob, gulls cry, fresh-faced dockwalkers pad down the floating links of docks, hoping to score a gig to the Med. Behind us, hot-pink Art Deco buildings and glass-plated skyscrapers shimmer in the heat, the flamboyant architectural magic of Miami. Sometimes I don’t know how I got here, or into what world I’ve strayed. I could be content here. This could be enough.

I shut my eyes—

RRR. RRR. RRR. I jerk and pull out my phone, check the incoming call: Unknown. My heart sinks. The blood thumps in my wrists. How did he find me? How did Josh—

But Cailee knows exactly what I’m thinking.

“It can’t be him,” she mollifies. “You got a new number, remember?” I look up into her eyes, and find enough strength there to nod and take the call.

“Hello?”

A cool, clipped voice drifts into my ear. “Miss Strand?”

I feel the hairs on the back of my neck prick and glance over at Cailee. “Yes?”

“This is Renata Sproule with Lair Yachting Incorporated. I have a captain who’d like to speak with you.”

I put a hand to my brow. “I’m sorry. Who is this?”

“Lair Yachting Incorporated. I have a captain who’d like to speak with you in person.”

“In person.” I lift my brows. Both Cailee and Greg are watching me now, hose and mop gripped tight.

“Can you be here in two hours?”

“I, uh...” I look over at Cailee, and she frantically motions at me: Yes! Yes! Do it!

“Yeah, sure. No problem.”

“Perfect. See you soon, Miss Strand.”

Click.

I stare at my phone like an idiot. What just happened?

“Well?” Cailee’s patience lasts all of three seconds. “Did you get an interview?”

A little bubble of happiness is expanding inside me. My voice comes out hollow and stunned. “Yeah. With Lair Yachting Incorporated.”

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