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The secretary reached my shoulder just as Matt stood and removed the napkin from his shirt. “It’s okay, Audrey,” he said to her.
“Bye, Audrey.” I smiled politely. She pursed her lips, then retreated and I released a tight breath. Being bold was tough. My palms grew clammy, and my heart skipped a beat as I approached Matt’s desk.
“What can I do for you?” Matt indicated to one of the chairs in front of the desk, then sat down.
“I’m sorry to disturb you like this, during your lunch but… but this is ridiculous. You haven’t returned any of my calls and neither has Toby and frankly, I deserve to know what’s going on. I might not be a part of the rich, elite circle you all have going on, but I am a person and this situation involves me and I— I deserve to know.” The words escaped me in a rush as I sat down and when I finished, my cheeks warmed slightly. I clasped my clammy hands together in my lap and waited.
“You’re right,” Matt agreed, much to my surprise. “I typically don’t contact someone unless I have something to tell them and as it stands, I have no news. Have you looked into getting a lawyer?”
“I can’t afford one,” I admitted. “I’ve been hoping that you could talk to Toby, and we’d reach a solution where I won’t need one. I just want to talk to him, to tell him how important the house is to me. It’s not just a building or numbers on a spreadsheet. It’s my home. I grew up here, I decorated there and…” I paused, racking my brain for the right terms I had picked up from Google. “The time spent living in that place and maintaining upkeep gives me a stronger right to the building than even Francis’ will does.”
Matt’s brow raised and a slight smile passed his thin lips. “You’ve been reading.”
“Where I can.”
“I understand this is tough for you,” Matt said and for a moment, he almost sounded sympathetic. “I know that what you see and feel for that place is extremely important, but I have to warn you that things like that don’t matter to people like the Ashbluffs. I promise you; I am doing everything I can to meet your request and get your time with Toby. It’s part of my duty as the executor but there has been no change.”
My heart sank. “I can’t wait forever.”
“I know. But I will call when I have something set up. No news is good news.”
I scoffed softly and stood slowly. “If you say so. I… okay. I will be a bit more patient. Thank you. Sorry again for disturbing your lunch.”
“It’s no problem.”
Matt almost seemed like a decent, normal person when Toby wasn’t in the room. On the way out, I flashed an apologetic smile to the secretary who merely glared in response. An understandable reaction, after all, my bold stance had made me a little rude. That boldness started to fade and by the time I reached the elevator, I was eager for a distraction.
Day drinking wasn’t frowned upon in the city, right?
Suddenly my phone buzzed to life and Lucas’ name lit up the screen. He hadn’t called since the Gala, only texting.
“Hello?”
“What to go to a party?”
“That’s what you say to me?” I scoffed.
“Is… there something else I should say?”
“You haven’t called me since the Gala. I was beginning to think…” I trailed off. What was I thinking? Lucas and I were not an item, especially not when she’d been entertaining people like Danny and Sebastian. “Actually, I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You were thinking you missed me,” Lucas said in a dreamy voice. “Oh where, oh where is my handsome suitor.”
“You think highly of yourself, huh?” I chuckled, flashing the doorman a smile as I stepped out into the street. “No, I just… after that night, things were weird and I was worried that what you saw with Toby, you’d think I was crazy.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy,” Lucas said with a soft laugh. “I can’t begin to imagine what it feels like to be in your situation but we’re friends, right? If nothing else, I can be a distraction.”
“We are?” I paused on the curb and smiled to myself.
“Aren’t we?”
“Yes, we are. Sorry. So, what’s this party?”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for, trust me,” Lucas said and for a moment, his voice sounded heavy. “Well, my parents really liked you and they’re throwing a little party tonight and I’m expected to attend. By extension, they expect my fiancé there too so… can you come? I can apologize for only texting and for not calling sooner?”
With no end in sight to the Toby situation and my current plans being to find a bar to drink alone, a party didn’t seem like a bad idea.
“Sure,” I decided. “Where and when?”
