AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He wasn’t ready to lose him.
Oh, they weren’t close by most standards, but Ethan had always hoped there would be time to work on all that.
He stared unseeing as a laundry truck pulled up and the world went about its day.
Please, let him be okay.
‘Ready?’
He turned to the sound of her voice, though for a second he didn’t realise it was Merida.
He looked down and saw torn stockings and high heels, and then she gave him a quick flash of her outfit beneath her trench coat: a black tube top and her kilt, rolled over at the waist to shorten it some more. She really looked the part.
‘If we get photographed together, I’m going to outdo my own reputation!’
Ethan imagined Maurice’s face if he was photographed walking through midtown, holding hands with a hooker. Which made him do something he rarely did, and certainly not something he’d thought he’d do today—he laughed.
The shadow lifted—just as it had last night.
‘Where to?’ he asked.
‘Fifty-Fourth,’ Merida said, and turned in completely the wrong direction.
He hauled her back. ‘It’s this way.’
They found the building where the auditions were being held on the tenth floor, and as they stood outside he saw how pale her face was.
‘Am I allowed to say good luck?’ Ethan checked, because he knew actors were a suspicious lot.
‘No.’ Merida shook her head. ‘You’re supposed to say,Break a leg.’
‘Very well.’ He gave her a smile. ‘Break a leg—though please don’t. I’ll meet you...’ He looked across the street to a coffee shop. ‘Over there.’
He watched her go in, a dart of colour disappearing into the crowded foyer, filled with many, well...pretend hookers. All, Ethan guessed, after the same part.
It was actually nice to have a morning off.
He read the news on his phone and waited for his brother to call.
Abe didn’t call.
So he gave up reading and instead watched the door across the street, wondering what the hell was going on, because there seemed to be a load of construction workers filling the foyer now.
Perhaps the elevators were out, Ethan thought, and picked up his phone again.
There was still no word from Abe, so he called him. It went straight to voicemail.
There were more men in high-vis jackets and hard hats heading towards the building. Ethan had worked on enough high-rise building designs to be concerned. Was he sitting idly watching as some emergency unfolded while Merida was in there?
He stood and left the café, dodging the traffic as he crossed the busy street and entered the building.
There were workers everywhere—some standing chatting, others sitting reading their phones or newspapers. He was about to ask what the hell was going on when the elevator doors opened and Merida walked out.
Ethan let out a breath of relief and acknowledged to himself his concern.
‘Hey!’ He gave a rather grim response to the brightness of her presence and the cloud didn’t lift entirely. There was a knot of unease still there. ‘How did it go?’
‘“We’ll call you”,’ Merida said, and rolled her eyes as she walked out with him. ‘I’d kill for a coffee.’
