unstable place that Toni currently found herself, she was almost in tears herself. She kissed Birdie’s forehead and nudged her out of the booth. “I’m sure your chickens are hungry.”
“I’ll hurry,” Birdie said. She rushed out the back door, her entourage of dogs on her heels.
Toni turned to Grandma, who was smiling at her. “I never saw two sisters as close as you two. Of course, you practically raised her yourself, so I’m not surprised.”
Toni munched on her last piece of bacon. “How did Mom rope you into taking over the house?”
“She didn’t have to rope, just ask. I think I’m done with traveling. Seen everything I care to see. I’m ready to be with family, and with Charlie and Phillip gone, you girls are all I have left.”
Toni reached across the table and squeezed Grandma’s hand. She’d lost her husband fairly young, and the loss of her only son had all but destroyed her.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Toni said.
“Now you can follow your dreams without worrying about Birdie,” Grandma said, patting their joined hands.
Toni hadn’t thought of it that way, but Grandma was right. Toni would worry far less with Birdie in Grandma’s expert care. But it didn’t matter. Her dreams were probably over. No band would ever trust her with their personal lives. Not after what had happened to Exodus End.
But maybe she could redeem herself by writing their book. By making it perfect and showing the world what wonderful people they really were.
“I’m going to the office now,” she said. All the computer programs she needed to craft her masterpiece were there. And so was the bitch who’d caused all her problems.
“You need to get some sleep. You look exhausted.”
She was exhausted. But she was too amped up to sleep. She had important business to attend to.
And she didn’t mind looking a bit wild and scary when she faced Susan.
An hour later, Toni dropped off her gear next to her desk before storming down the hall to Susan’s office. Toni had gone over everything she’d wanted to say to Susan a thousand times in her head, but she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to hold it together enough to express her words rationally. She didn’t even bother knocking, just flung the door open so hard it slammed into the wall.
In unison, Julian and Susan looked up from the tabloid paper spread across the desk.
“Toni!” Julian said. “What are you doing here?”
Every carefully chosen word flew straight out of Toni’s head. “You’re reading it with her?” she snarled, Julian’s betrayal slashing across her heart.
“Wow, Toni,” Susan said. “I never thought you’d actually have the balls to publish something like this. Bravo to you, kiddo!”
“You’re congratulating me for something you did?”
Susan scrunched her brows together. “Huh?”
Either Susan was innocent or she was a fantastic actress. Toni was counting on the actress thing.
“You stole my journal and used it to write this garbage! The band fired me because of what you did!” Toni splayed her hand in the center of the tabloid paper and clenched her fist, crumpling the pages into a messy ball.
“No idea what you’re talking about, but do you really think I’d still be editing other people’s crap at this shithole job if I’d sold this kind of gold to the tabloids?” Susan rolled her eyes. “You really are a naïve idiot.”
Toni narrowed her eyes. “Pack your shit and leave. You’re fired.”
Susan’s jaw dropped, but she quickly replaced her look of astonishment with a smirk. “You can’t fire me.”
“I just did. Get lost.”
Julian circled the desk and caught Toni by the arms. “I’ve never seen you like this,” he said, staring deeply into Toni’s eyes. “When’s the last time you slept?”
“I slept on the plane,” she said. For like twenty minutes. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to let Susan talk down to me anymore. I don’t care if it was someone else who screwed me over.” Toni had been so sure it had been Susan, she was still halfway convinced she’d been the one. “I don’t want her here. She’s not even very good at her job.”
Susan huffed in disdain.
“She’s rude and unprofessional,” Toni said, looking Susan square in the eye while she said it. “Nichols Publishing doesn’t need an employee like her, so she’s fired.” She turned her face toward Julian and cocked her head at him. “Are you going to give me any more lip, Mr. Reynolds?”
Julian laughed and hugged her, of all things. “I like this new you, Miss Toni. I knew