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Today I choose happiness, and with the lift fiasco and now this guy, I’m ready to get home.
“You don’t get out much, do you?” He stops me halfway to the door, his question lacking curiosity and reeking of arrogance.
I stop walking and let my shoulders fall, staring at the door for a beat before I spin. “A backward compliment?” Does this man have zero tact? “I’d ask you to let Mason know I was here, but it’s pointless. There’d be no business deal at the other end of it to benefit him.”
“You think that’s all he cares about?”
“Am I wrong?”
“Yes.”
I stare him down, his dark brow low and making his green eyes hard to focus on. “Do you even know my brother?”
He reaches for his mobile phone and quickly swipes across the screen, holding it to his ear.
“Wait—” I instantly regret telling him to call Mason. There won’t be an excuse good enough, no matter the circumstance. It’ll still sting.
That’s if he even answers the phone for Lance.
“Lowell, I have your sister in my office.”
I look to the carpet and close my eyes, hoping I’ll miss the moment he remembers he has a sister. It slapped hard enough that he answered immediately.
Lance holds out his hand, his phone pointed toward me. “Here.”
I sigh and smooth back my hair, lifting the phone to my ear. “Mase.”
“Scar, I’m so sorry. I had a meeting and then had to go on site. Are you still at the office? I can be back within the hour.”
I bite the inside of my lip. I’ve had two text messages today. One from Charlie Aldridge, one of my brother’s best friends. And one from Vinny, my brother’s driver, both wishing me a happy birthday.
“It’s fine, don’t stress it, Mase.”
“Don’t be like that. Elliot’s AWOL, and I’m swamped.”
“I know you are. I’m not mad.” Just don’t ask me out for lunch. Simple.
“Let me make it up to you.” There’s a large crashing sound down the line, and I imagine him on the building site. “The Hamilton Gala is tomorrow night. Come with me and the guys.”
Wait, what? “You’d take me to a business event?”
He chuckles down the line, and I close my eyes and smile at the sound. “You could go without me. You have no idea the pull your last name has. They’re bored of me, and you’re the secret Lowell lovechild we locked away in our ivory tower for years. They’re desperate to have you in attendance.”
The idea of going to the gala is kind of exciting. I’ve seen pictures of Mason at the event, but also of Mum. Frey never let us miss a second of the short life she lived. The idea I could go and live it for myself, to be in the moment like she was. “Mase, I’d love to come.”
“That’s settled then, and Scar?”
“Yeah?” My eyes lock with Lance’s, and the way his eyes hold on me, waiting, makes my skin burn.
“Happy birthday. I’m sorry I missed lunch, I completely forgot, and it’s not fair.”
“It’s okay, Mase—”
“It’s not.” He pauses for a second, and it feels awkward. Like he wants to say more about it but doesn’t, and Lance has the most beautiful green eyes I think I’ve ever seen. “I’ll send Vinny for you tomorrow night, six o’clock.”
I turn away from the desk, breaking my trance. “I’ll need to come in earlier than that. I need everything. Hair, nails, and I don’t think I have a dress I’d want to wear—”
“I’ll sort all of that, don’t worry, okay?”
