Yeah, let him wonder. Let him go to bed stirred up and anxious.Elijah wasn’t going to answer questions. Not anymore. “I’ll talk to you in a few days, Dad,” he said, and hung up the phone before his father could ask him anything else.
Satisfaction filled him. He made his way to the bedroom, took off the formal clothes he had worn for the launch, and pulled on his most comfortable pajamas.
And as he threw himself into bed, the only thing on his mind was Stephanie.
CHAPTER 13
STEPHANIE
Stephanie awoke the following morning to the sound of her phone ringing on the charger.
She squeezed her eyes closed. She didn’t know what time it was, but it felt way too early for anyone to be calling. The ringing didn’t stop, though, and eventually she was forced to get out of bed and grab the phone. The number was one she didn’t recognize. “Hello?” she grunted.
“Ms. Vincent?”
It took her a moment to recognize the voice. “Mr. Norcross?”
“I’m glad I caught you. I emailed you a few times this morning, but you haven’t answered.”
She pulled the phone back from her face and peered at the time. It was seven forty-five a.m. “I was asleep,” she told him.
“Oh.” He sounded surprised. “Okay, then.”
“Did something happen?” The night before came crashing back. Had she and Elijah been seen at the pier? Had they been photographed? Everything that had happened had felt secretiveat the time, like an escape from the rigors of trying to please Oliver. But now Stephanie couldn’t help thinking just how careless they had been. She wouldn’t be able to pretend surprise at all if it turned out they had been caught.
“Nothing happened,” Oliver said, and Stephanie breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m calling because I wanted to find out about your upcoming plans with Elijah.”
“My plans?” She walked back over to her bed and sank down on it, willing her mind to catch up. “I’m not sure we have any plans at the moment. What do you mean?”
“Well, now that the app has launched, our official agreement is over,” Oliver said. “It seemed like the time for the two of us to get in touch and renegotiate. That is, if you’re willing to do that. I’d like the arrangement to go on a little longer. It’s been good for Elijah. It’s kept him out of trouble. I mean, what happened last night wasn’t ideal, but that wasn’t your fault.”
“What are you referring to?” Had he found out somehow?
“Oh, just the way he ran off in the middle of the party,” Oliver said mildly. “People were asking me questions all night. And frankly, that was a hassle. But I know you couldn’t have stopped him. He practically pulled you out by the arm.”
Stephanie closed her eyes. Her stomach churned.
Sitting on the beach with Elijah last night, listening to him open up about what it was like to deal with his father, she had felt such empathy for him. Empathy, and also, guilt for the fact that she had aligned herself with the man who was responsible for so much of his suffering. She had let herself forget about all that in the heat of the moment, but she couldn’t forget it now. It was impossible not to wonder what would happen if Elijah knew thatshe was on the phone with his father right now.He would feel so betrayed. And honestly, who could blame him for that?
He would have been right to feel betrayed because he was being betrayed. She was betraying him.
She drew a deep breath. This was the agreement she had made. But now things were different.
Elijah had asked to go on seeing her last night.
And now, this morning, his father was asking for the same thing. That the two of them keep seeing each other.
What was more, Stephanie herself wanted it. She wanted to spend more time with Elijah. She didn’t want this thing, whatever it was, to be at an end.
She smiled wryly to herself. There should be no conflict in any of that. On paper, it seemed like the three of them all wanted the same thing. It should have been easy.
But if she saw Elijah again, Stephanie knew that she would be making a choice. A significant one.
Either she would be continuing to see him for his own sake, because he had asked her to and because she valued what was starting to grow between them—or she would be doing it as a continuation of her agreement with Oliver. It couldn’t be both. She had to choose between Elijah and Oliver here. She had to decide who her priority was.
Of course, the other option was not to see him anymore at all. That had been the original plan, and if she chose that, she would never have to decide. She could count her agreement with Oliver complete. He would likely give her the loan—after all, he was an honorable businessman.
But if she did that, she would be betraying herself. She would be turning away from what she wanted.
