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After she dried her hair, she slipped into a pair of black leggings and socks and one of Rory’s vee-neck sweaters in heather gray. She joined Christian and Rory downstairs, where they had a nice fire going that helped to warm her chilled insides. Lily was also there.
Christian’s assistant gave her a quick hug. “That’s just terrible about your apartment, Bayli. You must be devastated.”
“It’s tough to swallow at the moment, but I’ll survive.”
“Thank God you weren’t there at the time. Anything could have happened.” Lily squeezed her hands. “You must be so freaked out.”
“Kind of regretting that I bypassed renter’s insurance,” she tried to jest. But her tone was flat and hollow.
Christian put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
Lily looked taken aback by the show of affection and covered it up by lifting a shopper’s bag from the long, glass-topped dining table in the center of the cavernous room and thrust it at Bayli, saying, “I brought some necessities, since Christian said everything was smashed.”
“Thanks, that was really nice of you,” Bayli said, accepting the bag. “Luckily, a lot of my personal items are here, but I’ll reimburse you for all of this.”
“Oh, um…” She shot a look toward Rory, then turned her attention back to Bayli, who’d never seen Lily Madison quite so flustered. “No worries. I’m just trying to help. I can’t imagine what you’re going through. Really, it must be terrifying.”
Rory crossed his arms over his chest and said, “I’m sure someone in the neighborhood saw something that will give the police a lead.”
“Right. In the meantime,” Lily said, “I have a friend who’s a Realtor, if you want to look at some different places to rent. She can find you something in your price range. In a safer part of town. And I’m more than happy to help you shop for new furniture and clothes. I’m an expert at that.” She smiled eagerly.
“You’re really very helpful, Lily,” Bayli said. “I’m not even sure where to start, honestly. Cleaning the place out is the first order of business, I guess.”
“We’ll hire someone to take care of that. And you can stay here,” Christian offered … quietly demanded? “In fact, I’d prefer it.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Rory agreed. “You’re spending most nights here, anyway.”
“I didn’t know that,” Lily said, looking uncomfortable again, making Bayli wonder if there’d been some sort of romantic involvement between her and Christian. Or Rory. Both? Or perhaps Lily just preferred to be “in the know” about all facets of her boss’s life. “I thought you and Rory…?” Lily shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. None of my business. I’ll be going now.”
“Thanks again,” Bayli told her. To Christian, she said, “And thanks for the offer. It’ll be helpful not to have to worry or think about the apartment while there’s still so much to do before we leave for Huatulco. I have to buy all new outfits and shoes again.”
“Wait.” Lily placed a hand on Christian’s arm, her uncomfortable expression turning to one of grave concern. “Hold on a second. You’re not seriously considering this trip right now? Launching the webcasts while Bayli’s clearly under fire? Christian, that could be very dangerous for her. For all of you.”
“I’d say that’s true,” Rory interjected, “except that whoever’s trying to rattle her cage is here in New York. If we were shooting here, that might cause a problem, leave her wide open to be targeted. But we’re traveling to very remote areas in Mexico. I highly doubt this person is willing to follow her from location to location. And even so, we just decided on the destinations. They’re not currently public knowledge.”
“These things leak, Rory. You know that,” Lily insisted. “It seems a bit risky to move forward before the police even have the chance to try to find some leads.”
“I want to do this,” Bayli said. “We’ve invested too much time and effort, not to mention money, into
kicking off this series. Rory’s ready to turn the restaurant over to his executive chef, and we’re at the perfect point to launch the show.”
“She’s right,” Rory concurred.
“And I’ll be with the two of you the whole time,” Bayli added. “In fact, I’ll be under your nose more while we’re traveling than here in Manhattan.”
“That’s true.” Christian raked a hand through his hair as he debated the situation. Then said, “We’ll move forward. But if the police don’t come up with anything concrete, I’m going to speak with a private investigator and a bodyguard when we get back.”
“Fine.” Bayli nodded. “I just don’t think it’s anything to worry about while we’re in Mexico. According to Scarlet, who researched the ISPs for the stalker e-mails I’ve received and the worst of the hater comments related to the video, the provider is in Japan. Either in or around a prison, as best as she can tell. So, if it’s him and he’s trying to get me to stay away from Rory, then he can find people here in New York to carry out his dirty work. Much more difficult for him when we’re in Mexico.”
“Why didn’t you tell us any of this?” Rory asked. “About Scarlet looking into the ISPs.”
“She did it on her own, after I told her about the spiders. I didn’t want you to think I was still upset about that.” She kissed his cheek. “You’ve had enough to contend with, getting the restaurant and staff ready for your departure, dealing with the media, and plotting out chefs to meet with on our trip. Not to mention other things.” She winked.
“It would probably be best if, in the future, you didn’t keep things like that from us.” This from Christian.
She kissed him as well. “Duly noted.”
“Well, I need to get back to the office,” Lily said. “Call me if there’s anything I can do for you. Anything at all. I’m here to help.” She whirled around on her tall heels and breezed out of the apartment, leaving her signature fragrance wafting under everyone’s noses.
