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Ordinarily, a security detail would have addressed the situation, but our clients hadn’t requested any for their event. Right at that moment, I couldn’t be more annoyed by that.
The moment Mimi spotted me, her mouth set into an ugly smirk that held a pinch of smugness. “Ah, there you are,” she said, a slight slur to her voice.
I would have asked how she’d known where to find me if it wasn’tfarmore important I get her out of this ballroom before the hosts took notice. “How about we go get some fresh air?”
“No,” she snapped with a childlike pout. “I wanna talkhere.”
I felt my lips tighten. “If you have a single bit of common sense, you’ll leave right now.”
She snickered and gave me a haughty onceover. “Why, whatcha gonna do if I don’t?”
Sabrina shook her head at the woman. “You have to know you made a colossal mistake coming near Addison. Dax is going to freakingflip. Don’t make the situation worse. Just leave quietly.”
Mimi notched up her chin, belligerent. “Hmm, nah.”
Right then, Grayden materialized. “Mimi, what the hell are you doing here?”
She frowned at him. “Talking to Addison. What’s it look like I’m doing?”
“It looks like you’re pushing Dax’s buttons again,” he clipped. “I thought you wanted to fix things.”
“I did,” she whined. “I do. I just … I … You know what? Fuck him.”
Sighing, Grayden rubbed at his forehead. “If you don’t abandon whatever plan you have in your head right now, you risk losing him for good.”
She snorted. “What? No. Me and Dax … we’re, like, tied.”
Tied?
“By what?” he asked, bewildered.
“By what we lost,duh.”
Static sounded through my headset, and then … “The sheriff is here with one of his deputies, Addie,” said Megan. “He says they have questions for you. I tried getting him to leave, but he won’t.”
Lowe?Unbelievable.Seriously unbelievable.
I wondered if he was here about Thaddeus. Probably. I wasn’t sure what exact personal form of justice Dax had visited upon him yesterday, but I felt confident that Thaddeus would be in a bad state. Maybe he’d tattled, or it could be that Lowe merely suspected Dax was responsible.
Whatever the case, I would bet that the sheriff’s reason for coming to question me at an event was quite simply that the police presence would shit on my company’s reputation—thus avenging his niece.
I felt a serious clusterfuck coming on.
Sabrina leaned into me. “You get rid of her, I’ll get rid of Lowe,” she said, having obviously overheard Megan through her own headset.
Grayden looked from me to a retreating Sabrina. “Lowe? Lowe is here?”
I sighed. “Yes. Maybe you could help my friend convince him to leave.” Because the sheriff turning up would gainfarmore attention than Mimi’s antics. “We both know he’s sought me outhereas a high-five to your wife, after all.” Ex-wife. Whatever.
Muttering something beneath his breath, Grayden jogged after Sabrina.
“Let’s go somewhere private,” I urged Mimi.
She shot me a petulantly stubborn look. “Uh, let’s not.”
Lord give me strength. “You have two choices. You can come with me, and then we’ll talk. Or you can refuse, and I’ll have you thrown out. Makes no difference to me either way.” I walked off, leaving her the choice to follow. Thankfully, she followed, not sensing that I was only calling her bluff.
Since the nearest room happened to be the ladies restroom, I slipped inside, conscious of her still trailing behind me. Quickly realizing it was empty, I stopped near the end stall and swerved to face her.
