Page 51 of Her Beastly Billionaire Rock Star
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and lowered his gaze. “I…sold them.”
“What?”
“They didn’t mean as much to me as that car meant to you.”
Charlotte stepped into him. “You had to sell them?”
Shrugging, he said, “As hard as this might be to believe, I had a few brain cells back when we first got signed, and most of my money went into a conservatorship. I have enough to buy just about anything, but large withdrawals are by approval until I demonstrate that I’m clean. My accountant oversees it, along with my grandfather.” He grinned. “I called him yesterday, by the way.”
Her lips parted as they curved up. “You did? How did it go?”
Here she was, her father’s car sitting in the garage in front of her, and she was more interested in him than it. “It went great. He accepted my apology and wants me to visit.”
She sucked in a sharp breath, and her eyes lit up. “That’s great. I can’t tell you how happy I am for you.”
“I didn’t want to apologize to the world before calling him. The only reason I haven’t called my parents is that I want it to get back to them. Hopefully, it’ll go a long way to making things easier.”
She hugged him around the waist. “That’s amazing, Malakai.” She looked up at him. “I’m sure they’ll—”
A truck pulled into the garage, and the driver rolled down the window. “Just checking on the fish.”
“Thanks,” Emilia said as she slinked over the side of the bed.
The man saluted and pulled away. “You bet.”
Emilia wiped her hands down her jeans. “Oh, man, do I have some news for you.” Her gaze landed on the Bluebird. “Whoa, cool car.”
Malakai stepped away from Charlotte and walked to Emilia. “What are you doing?”
“Using cover to get back in here.” She craned her neck and looked at Charlotte. “Do you have your phone on you?”
“No,” Charlotte said, shaking her head.
“Good. Go get it and meet me in the living room. We have a problem.”
Whatever it was sent a chill down Malakai’s spine. Emilia wasn’t one to get excited about much. If she was saying there was a problem, it was huge. And Charlotte’s phone? He had no idea how that fit in the puzzle, but he certainly was eager to find out.
Chapter 25
Charlotte’s nerves were on edge. First, she’d been terrified that Malakai thought she’d been the one who leaked about his accident. Second, Malakai had purchased her father’s car…at the expense of his cars and bike. Third, Emilia had returned to the house with news and instructed Charlotte to get her cell phone from her bedroom. What could she possibly want with the phone?
While she did that, Emilia had gone to the office to grab the laptop she’d left from her first visit. Only, Charlotte was faster, and she and Malakai were now waiting on Emilia to return.
Malakai pulled her onto his lap. “Relax. She has news. I bet—”
Emilia returned, her phone held between her ear and her shoulder. “Yeah, I’m getting it up now.” She held out her hand to Charlotte and flicked her gaze to the phone.
The phone? Charlotte set it in her hand, and Emilia set her laptop on the coffee table, putting her finger to her lips. Then she mouthed,Press conference, and made an angry face.
Jerking her attention to Malakai, Charlotte tried to make sense of what was going on. What did the press conference have to do with her phone?
Emilia held up Charlotte’s phone and touched her ear.
Charlotte’s heart fell to the center of the earth as her heart hummed in her ears. She looked to Malakai, and recognition played on his face.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I can’t believe you’d betray me like that. I poured out my heart to you, and you told the press? How could you do that to me?”
“I didn’t,” Charlotte replied. It was finally hitting her that she needed to play along. “I don’t know how they found out.”
