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“I have plenty of other scars. You’re just upset you can see this one.”
She texted Crew. “Oh shit. He can’t get up here without the key.” She handed me the glass of champagne. “I’ll ride down and bring him back up to this floor with me.”
“I can go,” I offered. “Why don’t you stay and take in the space? Make plans for how you want the conference room to look. Matching his and hers executive chairs sound good to me.”
“No. Let me just talk to him for a second. Okay?” She walked toward the elevator bay. I followed her, pressing the button for her. The doors opened. “I’ll be right back.”
I leaned toward her, sliding both hands around her waist. She tilted her lips upward.
“We’re having dinner at my place tonight,” I explained between kisses.
“Your place? With your mother?” she questioned. “I might need to take a raincheck on dining with Felicia.”
I chuckled. “No. The new place. You’ll see. Felicia is not on the guest list.”
I ran my thumb along her jawline. It was hard to let her walk in the elevator, even if it was only for five minutes. My heart pounded in my chest.
“Knight.” She wiggled away from me. “I’ll be right back.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets. “Okay. I’ll get some of the plans out. We can go over them together after our meeting with Crew.”
The doors closed and I heard the engine roar as the elevator carriage descended. I walked over the canisters where the architect plans were rolled together and stored. I unfurled the first set and spread them out on a sheet of plywood balanced on top of a pair of sawhorses. I used my phone to anchor one sign and keep it from curling up. I grabbed a discarded brick and laid it on the opposite corner.
I tried to predict what Kennedy would think of the plans. Would she like the layout? How many changes would she make? Thinking about what she had done at the Vieux Carre, I knew it was going to be extensive. Ridiculously expensive. An over the top budget. Fuck. She might spend more than we made the first quarter just getting the offices the way she wanted.
I laughed. It would be worth it. To see her happy. To see her thrive here. To finally be on the same side. To take control of the city. Together.
I wanted to see the look on their faces when they realized what we had done. All the families that had told us what we could and couldn’t do. My father’s friends. My mother’s circle. They needed to know that the old guard wasn’t in place anymore. Kennedy and would have a new way of doing things.
It was long past time that New Orleans evolved. I took a giant breath. This was exactly what I wanted to talk to Kennedy about at dinner tonight. Not to mention, I wanted her to see the new place. Where were she and Crew?
I glanced at the elevator. It was quiet. I walked to the doors, leaning my ear closer. I didn’t hear a single gear turn. There was no movement on the other side of the large door.
I sent her a text.
The champagne is getting warm. Where are you?
I stared at the blank screen. There were no blinking dots. There was no response from her after another minute. I scowled at the phone, walking through the site to see if the reception was shitty. I had full bars. That wasn’t it. The message had been delivered.
It had been close to ten minutes since she’d ridden the elevator to retrieve Crew. Was the key stuck? Had she misplaced it when she dressed hastily?
I called her, waiting for her voice to tell me to have more patience. She would be up shortly. I didn’t expect it to go straight to voicemail. What kind of a business call was more important than this? I was anxious, but I didn’t know how she could put us on the backburner. Not when everything was at stake.
It was in that moment. That one second I gasped for air. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. Something was wrong.
It hit the elevator button repeatedly. My heart hammered in my chest. As soon as the doors opened, I ran inside, pressing the lower level as many times as I could. It didn’t make things happen faster. Nothing was fast enough. The doors were in slow motion. Everything felt like fucking slow motion.
As soon as I landed on the first floor, I pried the doors and squeezed through. I ran through the lobby, bursting through the revolving carousel. The sun blared overhead. I searched the sidewalk, looking right and then left for Kennedy. I scanned the curb for where she had pointed out Crew’s car. The street was empty.
He was gone and so was Kennedy.
