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I shake my head. I don’thaveto give her my thoughts on anything.
“Do you want to remain anonymous? I can make that happen.” She posies her pen in the air again, an expectant look on her face.
I shake my head again. One, because I have no idea what the hell this woman has been going on about and two, whatever it is she wants, I don’t feel inclined to give it to her by listening to her rant again.
“Be careful,” a new voice says as a woman approaches my table with her blue eyes locked on Victoria Elmer. She looks vaguely familiar and it takes a moment to place where I’ve seen her before. “Whatever you say to her will be twisted and ripped apart to fit whatever narrative she’s really after.”
The reporter straightens her back as the newcomer pauses at the head of the table. She licks her teeth, a grotesque action to make in my opinion. “No one invited you here.”
The new woman, a brunette in a pink skirt and gray shirt with matching pink heels flicks a styled eyebrow up. Looking at the way she carries herself it’s clear she comes from a higher pedigree than the woman who brazenly sat before me. If I recall correctly, she introduced herself as Emilia during the meeting I had with King, the very one he made gooey eyes at. “I see you’re still cranky about paying the fine for defamation of my client. Keep pressing Miss Hastings here and I’ll file another one. You’re already on thin ice with your boss if I recall correctly.”
Victoria is seething now. She remains quiet as she angrily stuffs her items into her messenger bag before fleeing from the establishment. Both Emilia and I watch as she angrily stomps across the street and around the corner in silent satisfaction.
“Well, that was exciting,” she laughs before slipping into the same spot Victoria just left.
I raise an eyebrow at my newest guest. Why do people keep interrupting my lunch break today? “And why are you here?”
“Because I’m your new friend.”
Oh jeez. Is she one of the lower level admins working for King Huntington-Ward? Making sure that I’m following the boundaries set in the contract? I never did quite figure out her job title when I saw her last. “Look, like I told her, I don’t do interviews and I don’t need a drop in babysitter.” I need to find out how these people keep finding me because rarely do I get approached, let alone twice in one day.
“Oh I’m definitely not one of them,” she confirms. “I have the same job as King, actually. But I’m a lot nicer than him.”
It probably wouldn’t be nice to point out a viper is nicer than him. Her job gives me pause because sheisnicer than King, which is odd for a fixer in my opinion. “So what about me needs fixing to fit in with Thorin, then?” Clearly something is going on if they’re coveting me out in public.
But Emilia shakes her head. “Nothing. I’m here because I’ve decided that you are my new friend.”
My eyebrows mash together in confusion. “I am?”
“Yup.” Emilia plucks the small menu from its holder at the back of the table and flips it open. “I’m trying to venture out and do new things. I’m an introvert at heart and don’t really have friends. Well, I have Whitney. And Whitney brings Carly to a lot of our gatherings so I guess I really have two friends. And now you.”
I should feel sad that my immediate reaction is to tell her no. As a fellow introvert, people suck and I genuinely prefer to be alone. But she says it so matter of factly, with a quiet confidence that I find myself amused by her. “And I don’t get a say?”
“Well, I’ve already decided, so no. I suppose you could tell me I’m notyourfriend, but it would be a silly thing to argue about when you can just agree to accept it.”
My lips twitch at her words. “That would be the easier option, wouldn’t it? And as myfriend,” I emphasize, “how did you know where I was?”
“I called your office. Told your assistant Detrick, who is honestly the kindest assistant I’ve ever interacted with, I wanted to be your friend and he told me you were having lunch here.”
If that’s true, I’m in for some relentless teasing when I go back to the office. “He is really nice,” I say instead.
Emilia points towards the window where we saw Victoria disappear from. “That woman is vile. I would say stay away from her, but you seem to have that part under control.” Emilia frowns as she looks back at me. “I’m sorry she’s bothering you.”
“Do you know what she wants? I wasn’t paying that much attention to her.”
Emilia sighs. “She’s interested in writing a piece on Thorin. She’s been trying for years to get insight on him. We think it’s because she has a crush, but Thorin doesn’t do interviews with her. So now that Thorin is in the media, she’s trying to capitalize on what happened at his birthday party by stalking people close to him and demanding answers.”
Funny how Victoria is so interested in wanting to know what happened for her own benefit and to make a paycheck as well. “She didn’t seem like sheknewwhat happened though.”
Emilia shakes her head. “She believes whatever she wants to believe. Thorin refuses to give her an interview. She’s dead set that he’s a drug addict and you’re part of his recovery team.”
My mouth drops open in utter disbelief. “Seriously?” I sputter. Unbelievable.
“She thinks Aillard is paying for it,” Emilia snickers as she leans back in her seat. “Since it was said he showed up with Thorin at your last event. I guess that makes Aillard his sponsor? I don’t know how she’s spinning it but I definitely know that’s not how it works.”
“Wow. I haven’t heard about any of this.” I sip my Sprite and shake my head. “I mean, Thorin told me what happened, and I get why it’s private, but I didn’t realize everyone was so focused on him.”
“The first week of June his family was named as part of the top ten most influential and richest families in the world. Thorin, specifically, falls under number four when dealing with individual people. The first day of July pictures explode all over the media of Thorin at his thirtieth birthday unconscious with people doing drugs around him. Speculation went from there.”
