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“What you need to do is shut up and listen to me, Rowan.” Her tone left no room for argument. “I have no idea what the hell happened between you and Navie, and if I’m being honest, I don’t want to know. What Iwantis for you to have your ass here bright and early tomorrow morning at nine a.m. so we can interview new assistants. And I know asking for sunshine and rainbows to blow out of your ass is asking for the end of world hunger, but can you at leasttryto come off somewhat pleasant?”
I didn’t hear a damn word she had to say afterinterview new assistants. Icy dread filled my veins as black began clouding the edges of my vision. “What the hell are you talking about, Lauren? I don’t need a new assistant. I already have one.”
“Seeing as Navie called me yesterday and resigned from that position, I’d say you don’t.”
“She didwhat?”
“Rowan, I’m just the messenger here. Navie called requesting to be moved somewhere else within the company. Considering she’s one of the best workers I’ve seen in years, I didn’t want to run the risk of losing her, so I found her another position.”
Rage and anguish coursed through my body, the toxic combination threatening to destroy me as I tried to wrap my mind around what I’d just been told.
“Where is she?” I gritted.
“Now, Rowan, you need to calm down—”
“Fuck calm! Tell me where she is!”
Silence trickled through the line for several seconds before she finally responded softly. “She’s not here, Row. We worked out the details of her new position, but she requested some time off. She refused to tell me what happened between the two of you, just said she needed to get away for a while. I gave her two weeks’ vacation.”
I couldn’t breathe. I was suffocating. “Lauren, I have to go.”
“But… tomorrow—”
“I have to go,” I cut her off. “Don’t worry about a fucking personal assistant right now. I’ll discuss it with you when I get back.”
“Wait. What? Where are you going?”
“Don’t know yet,” I answered as I pulled a suitcase from my closet. “Wherever the hell she went. I just need to find out where that is.”
A resigned sigh came through the phone. “All right. I’m not going to try and talk you out of this, but please, promise me you won’t turn this into a PR nightmare. We’re just starting to get your image cleaned up.”
“I’ll do my best,” I offered unreassuringly.
“Oh, sweet Lord. Why me?”
“You can’t be mad at me! The man practically slept out on our stoop for three nights! What did you want me to do?”
“I don’t know, Harlow,” I replied sarcastically. “Maybe call security, or the cops? Or how aboutnottell the asshole who broke my heart exactly where I was when I left to getawayfrom him?” I knew I was being unfair. I wasn’t mad at Harlow, but trying to get a handle on the emotions that had been flowing through me for the past four days was proving to be a harder task than I would have thought.
“Okay, first of all, I’m going to excuse the bitchy attitude because I love you and I know you’re under stress. Secondly, you called security on the guy the first night he refused to leave and it obviously didn’t do shit. I didn’t know what else to do.”
I let out a huff of air and fell back onto the bed. Since arriving at Willow Ranch three days before, I’d been holed up in one of the guest rooms in the main house, barely coming out to eat, let alone spend time with my family. It was clear that Carson and Cassidy were both worried about me, but so far, they’d given me space. I had a feeling that wasn’t going to last too much longer.
Silence leaked through the line for one uncomfortable minute before she spoke again. “Are you done being mad at me now?” That was yet another reason I loved my best friend so much. Harlow and I rarely fought, but like most women, when we did, we could have a tendency to be a little bit nasty. But once the dust had settled and our anger cooled, we didn’t hold grudges. We apologized and moved on, refusing to let it ruin our friendship.
“I’m sorry,” I said in a quiet voice. “I was never mad at you. I’m just confused and… sad.”
“I know, honey,” she soothed. “I’m going to say something right now that might piss you off, but you’re going to listen because you know I’m wise beyond my years and always right.”
That earned her a small laugh. “All right. Hit me with it.”
“I think you need to talk to him.” She didn’t pause to let what she said sink in, or give me an opportunity to object. “I know what you told me about his history with that bitch, but a man doesn’t sleep on the stoop of a woman’s building if he still has feelings for someone else.”
“I know what I saw, Harlow! He was kissing her!”
“Is that really what you saw?” she asked cautiously. “Can you honestly tell me that you’re a hundred percent positive there isn’t a reasonable explanation for what you saw?”
“You think there’s a reasonable explanation for why his mouth was on hers and they were pressed together so tightly not even sunlight could get through?”
