Page 55 of Heart Strings & Hotlines
It goes to voicemail, and Taylor immediately starts singing again. The third time, I stand and turn the phone off. I know my work phone will ring next, so I turn that one off too, then I face-plant into the sofa.
How the hell did my life go off the rails so quickly?
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
THANE
It’s beenthree days since I told Lottie she was my girlfriend, and I haven’t seen her…and it’s driving me up the fucking wall.
Siri said that’s normal after a fight, so I’ve done everything else it suggested.
Like sending flowers—I chose lilacs, even though it went against everything my narrator was telling me to do. Why would I send a gift that will eventually die?
I sent her a lilac tree instead.
Then it said to send chocolate, which I understand even less.
And this morning, I sent earrings from that god-awful place she liked at the farmer’s market. They cost twelve dollars. Twelve. She’s worth more than twelve goddamn dollars, but Google said to pick something I know she’ll like.
I don’t even know if they’re sanitary, so I bought clip-on ones to be safe.
Hercules trots over and sits on my feet. She’s been a mess since Boone started tearing apart the downstairs. I almost don’t blame her. It’s so damn loud I have earplugs in.
Reaching down, I pick her up and set her in my lap, then get back to work on my Whac-A-Mole project. My father is an even bigger piece of shit than I thought he was because he is Charlotte’s breach.
He’s been infiltrating her systems, then using that information to position companies as investors interested in partnering with her—companies he believes he can control. The fuck-face is attempting to sabotage her from the inside out, but what he doesn’t know is I’m quietly buying up those companies. Each sale is embargoed until further notice, so he won’t be any wiser until I want him to be.
Charlotte has set up appointments with some of them, but she has no idea those companies are now sitting in a trust with her name on them. I’m straddling the line of ethics here, but it’s for her own good, and I get nothing out of these deals, except, hopefully, that she’ll use her company to improve lives.
That has to cancel out the gray areas I’m operating in. Fucking gray. I’ve spent my life in black and white, but for her, I’ll blur every line that gets in my way.
I watch as my father is systematically shut out of her cloud services once and for all, knowing he’s probably losing his damn mind about it. But he’s never been as smart as he thinks he is, and he’s not nearly as intelligent as me.
It’s like a game, and every area of her company I boot him from, he’s automatically sent a meme of Hercules barking the word “loser.” It feels good to win.
A moment later, Kara bursts into my room.
“What did you do?”
Patience. Patience is a virtue. Patience for my sister. Patience for me. It’s a little mantra I’ve adopted before responding to her outbursts. Shockingly, it’s kept our encounters almost pleasant.
“I’ve done a lot of things, Kara. You’ll have to be more specific, but I also have a meeting starting in five minutes.”
Her body is one hard line as she taps her foot on my floor. At least it’s only plywood now. The first thing I had Boone do was remove the horrific excuse for carpeting.
“You really need to wear shoes in the house during construction.”
“Brad.” Even with earplugs she’s loud, but I remove them anyway and give her my full attention.
“What is it? What can I do for you?” I whisper. Rafe said it makes me sound gentler. It’s a giant pain in the ass to remember to do, but for Kara, I’ll do anything. She’s had a hard enough time with my father.
“That,” she points a finger at my face, “is weird. Don’t do that whisper thing with me. And what did you do to Lottie? I was at the library this morning, meeting up with her friend’s daughter.”
I frown, trying to recall a friend other than Jenni.
“Remember? Imogen and Emma?”
When I continue to stare, she grumbles. Perhaps we’re more alike than I’d first realized.
