Still—you never know until you tried, right?
The servant’s apartment was only about a hundred feet from the main house, not too far away, and while Jo came in and out of the main kitchen several times a day, she’d never even knocked on the LeBlancs’ door once. So, after I said goodbye to a shocked Jo, I went back there.
I walked into Emilia’s room, nonchalant as ever. I hummed Kravinsky’s “Nightcall” because it finally dawned on me, albeit out of nowhere, that Emilia liked the song because it was about me. I collected everything I thought she’d miss. Framed pictures. Mementos from high school. Her favorite boots. Tucking everything that wasn’t already packed by her parents and shoving it into a box.
I spent the next three hours carrying all of the LeBlancs boxes to an SUV in the garage and making three trips to the storage warehouse outside of town.
Emilia’s box, though, I kept for myself.
All that time, I saw Jo through the vast French doors of the mansion’s kitchen. Pacing, tossing back glass after glass of wine, and losing her shit. Then, when I was finally done, I turned on the gas burners of the stove in the pool house—all four of them—and left.
I wouldn’t do the burning down myself. I needed an alibi. But it was going to happen. Finally.
If Jo decided to stay in the house and burn down with it, that was her problem, not mine.
I’d warned her.
Now I had one more mission before I went back to New York—win the LeBlanc couple over.
“HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEWS?” Rosie flopped on our small sofa beside me. The couch came with the place. It was small, but it was fun to sit on an actual seat when watching TV. Rosie clicked on buttons until she reached a news channel. A mansion we knew all too well was on fire, the roof collapsing into the dancing flames. I stared at it for a long time, knowing exactly what it meant.
Vicious.
When we were seniors, he’d set fire to La Belle, the yacht that was also a restaurant that belonged to another football player who’d become an enemy of the four HotHoles. Vicious liked fire. Maybe because he was so cold, he liked the warmth twirling in his palm. It had his signature all over it.
I grabbed my phone from the coffee table and jumped to my feet, dialing his number. I wanted to make sure my parents were okay. That he was okay. He answered on the fourth ring.
I stopped whatever it was I was going to say, because I heard he was somewhere noisy. A party? A restaurant? I heard women giggling and men shouting. My heart sank to my stomach.
“Hey,” I croaked. “Is everyone all right? I saw there was a huge fire in your old neighborhood.” I kept it vague because I knew there was no way he was going to tell me the whole story over the phone. Or maybe even ever. Tucking a lock of my lavender hair behind my ear, I clasped one hand behind my neck and paced the apartment.
“Your parents are at The Vineyard.” He was curt, as always, even when he was chasing me every day. I made a memo to thank him for the taxi that had waited for me today, when he wasn’t able to walk me home. “I’m taking them to LA tomorrow. I need someone to be in charge of the catering at the Los Angeles branch, and your mom’s perfect for the job.”
I closed my eyes, breathing hard. The last thing I wanted was his charity, but my parents weren’t proud people. They just wanted to work and earn their way. I pinched my nose with my fingers, hating that I needed his help and was going to accept it, even after everything we’d been through.
“Thanks,” I said. “Well, I’ll let you go back to your party.”
“Bye,” he said, as if nothing had happened. As if he didn’t save my butt…again.
“Wait,” I hurried out before he hung up. The line was still there, but he didn’t say anything. I rubbed a hand against my thighs. “When will you be back in New York?”
“Can you just admit you miss me? It’s not that fucking hard.” I heard the smile in his voice.
I cringed. I did. I missed him. I hated that he wasn’t here today.
“I’m willing to give you your five minutes.” I dodged his accusation.
“Ten,” he argued. Even after all this time.
“Eight,” I retorted. It was all a game. I’d have given him as many hours as he needed to explain everything to me.
“Terrible negotiator,” he said in a tsking tone. “I would’ve taken five in a heartbeat. Good night, Em.”
Em. A tentative smile curved my lips. I knew it would stay there for long hours afterward.
He called me Em.
On Thursday, I wore a white and gold floor-length dress to the exhibition, letting my thick wavy hair fall against my bare back. Brent rented me this dress—rented!—knowing how important the exhibition was for me. I couldn’t sleep all night thinking about it. I tried to convince myself that it wouldn’t be a big deal if no one bought my painting. It was going to be the first time a painting of mine would be on display and for sale in a gallery—a prestigious one too—and I was with some of the best artists in New York. I should’ve just been happy with the fact that my painting was there.
On the pristine white wall.
Looking at me. Smiling at me. Demanding my attention.
I couldn’t focus on anything but that painting.
This afternoon, I’d spoken to my parents on the phone. They were already in Los Angeles and were living in an apartment in the same building as Vicious’s penthouse in Los Feliz. I didn’t want to know how many apartments the HotHoles had purchased over the years.
Mama was still upset about what happened at the Spencer mansion. “The worst part”—her voice shook again—“was that they think what caused the fire was our stove. I never leave my stove on. You know that. I check it three times before I go to bed every night. I’m telling you, Millie, it wasn’t us.”
“I know,” I said, brushing my hair in front of the mirror, minutes before Brent picked me up. “It wasn’t you. I know that. But who knows? Maybe Josephine came in? Maybe one of the other people who worked for her?”
I left Vicious’s name out for obvious reasons.
Mama sighed. “What if they think we left it on purpose because she fired us?”
“Well, does anyone actually know that she fired you?”
“No.”
“Let’s try and keep it that way,” I said.
“Your boyfriend said the same thing.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” I was getting a little tired of repeating this to everybody, mainly because I wanted the opposite to be true.
“Well, I have to go, Millie. Dean is taking us to buy some things for our apartment. It’s really nice. Big. But all the neighbors are so young. It’s really weird to live here.”
Dean was helping them out? I bit my inner cheek but didn’t say a word. That was the main thing about the HotHoles. They were such ass*oles, but deep down, they had great hearts.