Page 102 of Pink

And so far, all they had were words. What good was that, really?

• • •

The week that followed the meeting with Marco and Jensen was quiet. Strangely so. Normal, even, considering Lev returned to handling his business and life like nothing had happened. Andino kept telling him the silence didn’t necessarily mean something was about to happen, or that the assholes were planning an attack, but Lev didn’t know if that was actually the case.

History told him differently.

He’d had enough time watching Andino’s back to know silence after a meeting like the one they had was nothing more than a waiting game. His boss was simply trying to keep him calm because that was better than the chaos of the opposite.

But who was he to say?

“So, is that a no on meeting up tonight, or—”

Gigi’s light laughter filtered through the speakers of his Jeep as he navigated the familiar block leading to his daughter’s daycare. It was Arely’s last week at the place—technically her pre-k graduation was the week before, but she still was attending for the week to make things a little easier on Lev with work.

“I wish I could, I mean … if you want to come here between a conference call and my next fitting, then you’re more than welcome. It’s boring, there’s going to be way too many people in the hotel, and yeah,” she said lamely.

Lev sighed, drumming his fingers to the steering wheel while his thoughts ran wild. She hadn’t been lying when she told him things were about to get a lot busier for her. Even their phone calls were constantly interrupted by someone else on her side. He understood that was just her life, and it was something he had to accept but that didn’t mean it wasn’t frustrating sometimes when all he wanted to do was sneak her away from the watching world.

Especially because his kid kept asking about her.

“When is Gigi coming back, Daddy?”

“Will she bring more lip gloss?”

Typical girl.

Lev loved it.

“Maybe I will,” he settled on saying.

“What?”

“Just show up. Five minutes is better than nothing, right?”

The smile in her tone was clear when she replied, “Yeah, right. Say hey to Arely for me when you pick her up, okay? I’ve got to jump in the shower before my assistant starts bitching that I’m behind on the schedule again.”

Lev chuckled. “Will do. Later, babe.”

“Bye.”

The call ended with a click, replaced by the rolling beat of a hip-hop song he’d been listening to before Gigi called. Now, his fingers drummed to the beat of the song as he closed in on his daughter’s daycare. What would usually be a busy street filled with a line of cars and groups of parents waiting for their kids was ten times worse when Lev pulled up on the side street.

It took him all of two seconds to realize why.

The paps had found his kid’s school. They were all over the fucking place—like flies. Buzzing and annoying, cameras clicking faster when he stepped out of the Jeep with a scowl that he was sure rivaled the fucking Devil’s.

What were they doing here?

Gigi’s team put out a statement—they were clear on the fact that Arely was not her secret love child hidden from the spotlight. Some media outlets apologized for splashing an innocent child’s face across the tabloids without an ounce of consideration. Others doubled down on the bullshit. Nonetheless, they had kept their distance.

Until today, it seemed.

“Lev! A question! Or would you rather Pink?” a man shouted at him as he passed the car the guy was sitting on, using the trunk to steady his tripod.

Lev turned to look at the man, asking, “What do you even know about Pink, asshole?”

The paparazzo grinned, swinging his camera to take a picture of Lev when he replied, “What kind of dealings does Gigi Rey have with the mob in New York? Are they funding her career, too?”