Scarlett: I love you too.
I take the pink sticky note and tape it to my monitor, back side facing toward me. And then I pick up the phone and call Jeff back.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CREW
揥e should focus on a stock options report,?Isabel suggests.
揊ine,?I agree. 揑f you talk through that, I can overview the projections analysis.?I glance at Asher, who抯 sitting next to me. 揧ou good??
揑 think I know the song and dance by now.?
揂nd Isabel and I don抰？？
Asher sighs. 揑抦 good.?
揋ood.?
My phone buzzes with a text from Oliver, double-checking on dinner with our dad this weekend. I don抰 blame him for making certain I抣l be there. My father told Candace the baby couldn抰 be his after Scarlett and I left the chalet to see her dad. Candace admitted to lying about being pregnant, claiming my father wasn抰 giving her enough attention. They抮e in the midst of divorce proceedings now. I haven抰 told Oliver our father knows about him and Candace, and my father hasn抰 either, it appears. Hardly surprising. Unless it抯 a dirty secret he can use, my father is happy to sweep anything unpleasant under the rug. Especially ones which can抰 be bought off.
I reply to Oliver, promising I will be there, then switch over to my thread with Scarlett. The last thing she sent me was the link to the crib she wants.
We抳e barely started setting up the nursery. She抯 been busy preparing for maternity leave, while I抳e been pandering to investors and associates of Kensington Consolidated, trying to do damage control. Like Asher said, it抯 been an exhausting, frustrating process. As CEO, I have no choice. And now that Scarlett is over eight months along, I also need to find the time to assemble a crib.
Asher glances at the phone screen. Chuckles, when he sees what I抦 looking at. 揇amn. Never thought I抎 see the day, Kensington.?
A secretary shows up to show us to the conference room before I have a chance to respond. The meeting lasts an hour. It goes well, which is a relief. Reputations aren抰 restored overnight, only destroyed. If Nathaniel Stewart had any Kensington Consolidated documents, he never released them. Slowly but surely, the whispers are dying out.
We抮e all in high spirits as we pass the reception area and head toward the elevators. Isabel is chatting away, discussing improvements and takeaways. Ever since our late-night encounter on Christmas, she抯 made an effort to be overly professional. And excessively efficient.
The elevator arrives. A middle-aged man steps out, and the three of us walk inside.
揢h, Crew??Asher interrupts Isabel抯 analysis of the stock solutions.
揥hat??I glance at Asher, who抯 making no attempt to brainstorm and analyze. He抯 squinting at his phone screen.
揌ave you checked your phone??
揘o, why??
揑 have a bunch of missed calls from Celeste? Why would she be calling me厰
I抦 no longer listening; I抦 scrolling through the hundreds of missed notifications I have. 揊uck.?
I jab the Lobby button with my elbow as I tap Scarlett抯 name, as if that will speed up our descent. It rings and rings, finally going to voicemail. I swear again, then think. A quick Google search pulls up Haute抯 number. It rings three times before a woman answers. 揌aute magazine, Alexandra speaking. How may I help you??
揑 need to talk to Scarlett Kensington.?
揑s she expecting your call??
揓ust transfer me,?I grit out.
揑抣l see if her assistant is available.?Cheery piano music echoes through the line as I watch the numbers tick down. Our meeting was on the ninety-seventh floor. We抮e only just hitting eighty.
揝carlett Kensington抯 office. How may I help you??
揑 need to talk to her.?
揅an I take a message??
揑抦 her husband,?I snap. 揝o no, I need to talk to her now.?
The pleasant tone disappears. I can抰 remember Scarlett抯 secretary抯 name, but it turns out she抯 pissed at me. 揥hy the hell weren抰 you answering earlier??She shouts the question, and it temporarily shocks me. People don抰 speak to me like that. 揑梠h my God. I抦 so sorry, sir. I, seriously. I don抰 think you can fire me, but she will if you棓
揥here. Is. Scarlett??
揘ew York General. Her water broke forty-five minutes ago. I tried to go in the ambulance with her, but she wouldn抰 let me. She just wanted me to call you.?
I pinch the bridge of my nose. Sixty-three. 揑抦 headed straight there.?
I hang up the phone, silently cursing the elevator to move faster.
揝he抯 having the baby??
I give Asher a duh look. 揘o, her secretary just really wanted to ask you out.?
揥e抮e past the joking point. Got it.?
I bang my head back against the wall. 揥e were supposed to have another month. I have to go straight there. I don抰 have time to take you two back to the office.?