Page 85 of Nothing to No One

“Bigger and better? What does that mean?”

They went outside and got into a car. Mieux was talented. She hadn’t wanted to go anywhere and asked questions. Yet without ever raising her voice or being forceful, Mieux got her to do exactly what she wanted.

“Have you heard from Roxie today?”

“You can call Roxie anytime you want. Be prepared for Astrid or one of the other assistants to answer.”

“Because she never charges her phone?”

“Yes, Zairn has her line diverted to others in case of emergency. Not that if anyone had an emergency they would call Roxie. She’s a wonderful woman to have around when things are tough. Answering her cellphone though… that’s hit and miss.”

“Do you have Tripp’s number?”

Mieux’s chin rose an inch, her eyes narrowing. “I can give you Tripp’s number. I don’t think Roman will like it.”

“Roman already thinks Tripp is sleeping with Sway.”

“Yeah, so how do you think you’ll feel about his current fiancée calling him up too? If you want to speak to Roxie, call, someone will pick up. Maybe. But you won’t have time for Crimson tonight. And Roxie’s not Roman’s biggest fan, so it might not be an idea to take him to the club without, you know, explicit permission. Without him, within earshot, because nooffence, but if your fiancé hears no, he’ll only want to go even more. And that puts the Lomonds in an awkward position.”

Uh huh, because Struan was allowed in and there had been talk of Roxie being friends with the younger Lowe brother: Logan. Could they refuse Roman without causing a scandal? Geez, everything around that guy was a scandal.

“I’m still unclear as to where we’re actually going or what we’re doing,” she said, aware of the woman’s haste and intent.

They weren’t just finished for the day and going home, if Chic was waiting at the house, something specific was on the agenda.

“There’s an event tonight, a movie premiere.”

Glam and enticing to many, yet she remained wary.

“A premiere? And you’re going to this premiere?” The question was sort of facetious, not sort of, okay, it was kind of rude, though she now understood the woman’s reticence. “Roman wants to go?”

The apology written in Mieux’s expression was sympathetic. She really did have a way of knowing things.

Could the brothers switch out? That really shouldn’t be her first thought.

“So I’m going home to get prettied up?”

To smile and spend the night on the arm of a man who wanted to throttle her.

“Red carpet,” Mieux said, “cameras.”

Okay, so she was a little grateful for the prettied up part, if her face was going to be plastered all over the place… again. Better that it match Roman’s magnificence than be captioned, “commoner after a day at the office.” All she could hope was the cameras wouldn’t capture her reluctance, or the aversion to her fiancé that vibrated her every atom.

No negativity. Be positive.

Roman was her fiancé. She’d sell it. For Struan. The wonderful, incredible man she’d been bathed in for two nights and a day. Not long enough. She’d picture him. Imagine he was with her instead of his brother, if she could. One was a poor substitute for the other, and she wasn’t looking at the scandalmonger.

THIRTY

BAMBI NEVER WANTED to be an actress. Not even when she was a little kid did she dream of fame and fortune. It had never been part of her repertoire to stand up in front of people as the center of attention. She didn’t necessarily shy away from public speaking, though it wasn’t like she had much experience.

With Chic, it didn’t matter. The guy was nice and polite but was either so bored with his job he ignored the client to save himself from small talk drudgery, or so full of himself that he didn’t think the client deserved any input. Maybe she wasn’t famous enough for him.

She wouldn’t lose any sleep over not being his best friend.

Just like before she went along with everything and was told there was a car waiting in the driveway. Down she went, without excitement or anticipation, regardless of their exclusive destination. The driver opened the door and she slipped inside the empty vehicle.

No, she didn’t want to wait around, especially with her shoes pinching her feet, but she’d rather sit there in a vacant space than be faced with Roman.

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