Carter Reed

I’d been invited for drinks by some of the other assistants in the hotel at other times. It wasn’t a large group, but we were somewhat exclusive. A fair amount of people worked underneath us so my group of friends wasn’t too big, but Theresa was in another league. She was the Assistant to the Director of Sales and now I knew that she knew Noah Tomlinson personally. I was taken aback by her invitation, but I couldn’t turn her down. In truth, everyone was curious about Theresa Webber. She worked on all the higher accounts and she worked alone. She wasn’t known to go for after-work drinks, much less a slice of pizza and beer.

She flashed me a friendly smile as she shut down her computer. “Good. I’ll meet you there in fifteen? Or if you wait around, we can walk over together?”

“How about we meet in the lobby in ten minutes?”

“Perfect. See you down there.”

When I went to my office and shut everything down, I grabbed my phone and stuffed it in my purse. I needed to go to the bathroom before I met Theresa in the lobby so I used the one on the first floor. It was always cleaner since it was the same one that the customers used, and it was beautiful. The tiling on the floor was top-notch, with separate sinks along the wall. Each of them had been individually customized as works of art from Italy. The Richmond was a work of art in itself. I was proud of Carter if he had anything to do with it.

“Oh. Hi!”

My head jerked up from washing my hands.

Amanda stood behind me, she had just come in. She was pale in the face and grabbed onto the wall to steady herself.

I whipped around and tried to grab her. I didn’t think about it. I saw her foot slip and knew she was going down, but she caught herself against the wall.

She flinched away from my hand.

The smile fell away and my hand dropped back to my side. I wasn’t used to that reaction from my friend.

“Sorry.” She grimaced. “The last day hasn’t been so easy.”

My head fell down. Shame flooded me as I remembered what I had left behind. Guilt flared up. “I’m sorry, Amanda. I really am. I—”

She waved me off. “No worries.”

I hesitated. “You were working at the café tonight?”

She nodded. “I picked up a late shift. They were cleaning our bathroom so I figured I’d use this one. You guys are right next door.”

“Yeah.” The guilt had settled in me. It wasn’t going anywhere. “I’m really sorry I left, Amanda.”

“Really, Emma. No worries. I mean it.” She was firm now. “We know you did something to help Mallory, all of us, since we’re all a part of it. You don’t have to explain yourself.”

I sighed. I left that life and stepped into some other glamorous life. Even my job seemed to have gotten better since Carter. “How’s Mallory?”

“Uh,” Amanda jerked forward. She went into a stall.

I waited until she had finished and came back out to wash her hands. Once she turned the water on, she soaped them up and rinsed before she looked up again. “Ben took her to the hospital last night.”

“What?”

She waved at me again. “No, no, no. It’s not what you think. He wanted her to get tested. They couldn’t check for sperm since Ben had…you know…”

I looked away.

She lowered her voice and stepped closer. “He wanted her bruises and stuff looked at, to make sure she was healing alright. The hospital recommended a counselor and I think he took her to one this afternoon. Since you left, and, you know, you told us that we could have a life again, she’s been better. You weren’t the only one scared about what they were going to do to us.”

My stomach twisted at the reminder. Franco Dunvan was still out there. He was looking for his son. Thanks to Carter, the trail wouldn’t lead back to us. I nodded, my throat thick with renewed emotion again. “I’m glad she’s doing better.”

“Ben still wants me to come by every night, but she slept last night. She had a little food today and he just texted. He said she’s watching some movies tonight. I was going to stop in and see if she wanted me to stay the night.”

“That’s good,” I wrung out. I should’ve been the one doing that. I should’ve been sleeping with her, taking her to the hospital, making sure she got to the counselor’s office. I shouldn’t have been going to work again, working on a new project that would ensure my future, or even going to Joe’s for a slice and beer with someone I always wanted to be friends with from before.

Things had changed so much. I felt like I had lost my old life.

“Emma?” The door opened and Theresa walked in, but stopped as she saw me. “The guys at the front desk said they saw you duck in. You ready to go?”

Amanda’s eyes went wide.

Theresa noticed her and stuck her hand out. “Hi, you work in the little café next door, right? I’m Theresa Webber.”

“Um.” Amanda shut her mouth with a snap but took her hand. “I’m Amanda. Yeah, I work in the café. You work for Mr. Dalton, don’t you?”

“Well, Emma and I both work for him now. We’re on the same account.” Theresa cheeks were pink from excitement. “I already love the work we’ve done together today.”