Page 89 of Loved Out Loud
“I don’t know.” I shake my arms out, working the agitation through my fingertips. “Figured I’d just wing it.”
“Solid plan.” He nods. “Let’s do this.”
The elevator stops, and we step out into a lobby area with Calcutta marble floors and walls. On either side of the lobby area are glass doors with the name of the financial company etched onto them. We go to the left where an administrative assistant sits behind a desk. He looks up as we enter.
“Hello, can I help you?” He gives me a double take that’s identical to the security guard downstairs and scrambles out of the chair. “Mr. Tyler. Hi, hello.” The longer I look at him, the younger he looks. “I’m just an intern, Heather, the receptionist, stepped away from her desk.”
“It’s okay,” I wave him off so he relaxes. This is actually perfect. “I’m just here to see Elliot Archer.”
“Oh, yeah. Of course. His office is just down that hall and to the right. You can’t miss it.” He points us in the right direction. “I love your music. I’m actually going to the concert this weekend.”
“Oh yeah?” I reach out a hand.
“Yeah.” He grasps it and gives it a shake. “I’m excited.”
“Great. Thanks, that’s always nice to hear.”
“Sure, yeah.” He’s still star struck as we turn down the corridor.
“That was lucky,” Adam murmurs.
“No shit.” I reply quietly.
We come up to the door, and I rap my knuckles on the wood twice before grabbing the knob and twisting. It doesn’t open, but I can hear movement inside the office. A male voice calls out to wait a second. I look over at Adam with an arched brow.
After a minute of waiting, a petite brunette opens the door, her blouse just the slightest bit askew. “Can I help you?” she asks.
“No. I need to speak to him.” I bypass her, noting the lingering scent of sex in the air.
Funny that Hazel mentioned his wife being a willowy blonde. The woman with a gaping mouth doesn’t fit either of those descriptors. I’ll use that to my advantage.
“Who are you?” Elliot Archer stands behind his mahogany desk with anger flashing in his eyes. “Get out before I call security.”
“Tyler Stone. Hazel’s boyfriend.”
At my use of her name, his demeanor changes. “Heather, it’s fine.” He dismisses the woman standing in the office doorway. “I’ll speak with him privately.”
“Screwing the secretary. How unoriginal,” I say as the door closes behind her.
“What do you want? I already told Hazel I’m not interested in a relationship with her.”
“Don’t worry, she’s not interested in that either. I’m just here to make sure you understand that if she wants a relationship with her siblings, you’re going to stay out of it.”
“I’ll do no such thing.”
“It’d be a shame to tell your wife about Heather. Then again, what’s the phrase,” I look at Adam briefly as I search my mind for it. “Oh yeah, lose ‘em how you get ‘em. She probably wouldn’t be surprised to find out that you’ve been cheating.”
He sighs and sits down. “I don’t even understand why she’s here. What would make her think about coming after all these years.”
“She’s on a book tour. Have you not seen her on television over the past few months?” What rock does he live under? I don’t think he recognizes me, but that’s not too surprising, given his age.
“A book tour?” He looks genuinely surprised. His eyes, a perfect match to Hazel’s, widen a bit.
“Christ. You might want to google your daughter at some point.” I don’t mask a bit of my disgust at him. “She wants nothing to do with you, but if and when she reaches out to Sara and Nate, you’re not going to interfere.”
“They don’t know about her. It’ll hurt them to find out they’ve had a sister all this time.”
“Yeah, it probably will. Imagine how much worse it’ll be if she’s the one to tell them.”
