doing, whether he’d imagined her discomfort the night before. He lingered on the party, what needed to be done for it next, and whether she needed any assistance.
By the time he finished the meeting with Simon—and they agreed to plan a trip to Miami to look over properties—he knew two things for sure. One, that Adison had worked her magic on him, whether he liked it or not. And two, that he needed to do something about that.
What exactly he would do, though, he wasn’t yet sure.
Chapter 12
Adison
The driver behind Adison beeped their horn, making her cringe.
“Sorry.” She waved her hand and hit the gas to speed through the green light.
It was the third time that morning she’d been honked at. Apparently the extra shot in her latte had done no good, as she was lacking the most important energy booster of all: sleep. Without that, she couldn’t function properly.
Maybe, in between her duties at the Montoya Foundation and the emails she had to write and research she had to do for the Christmas party, she’d find time to snatch a catnap in a broom closet.
The thought of curling up on a pile of cleaning rags made her smile, even as she knew she would never take a nap at work. Especially not at a job she’d just started.
Her phone rang, startling her—being jumpy was another symptom of not getting enough sleep.
Pleased to see her best friend’s name come up on the screen, she answered the call.
“Hi, Corinne. What’s going on?”
“Hey. Not much. Just got off the phone with Maggie.”
“Oh yeah? How’s she doing?” Adison turned into the Montoya Foundation’s parking lot, wondering what the phone call was really about. Not only was it eight in the morning—an odd time to call to simply chat—but there was a forced cheerfulness in Corinne’s voice. After years of friendship, Adison had gotten surprisingly good at knowing when her bestie was faking something.
“She’s doing okay. Tired of pregnancy.”
“Right. I can imagine.”
Corinne’s sister, who lived in California, was in her third trimester with her first child.
“Where are you?” Corinne asked. “Did you make it to work yet?”
“I’m parking now.” She pulled into a spot but kept the engine on so that the heat would continue to run.
As she unbuckled, she gazed at the multi-story brick building. Ken was in there somewhere.
They hadn’t seen each other since the awkward parting at his house two days earlier, though they had exchanged emails about the party planning. She wasn’t dreading seeing him face-to-face again, but she wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, either.
“Anyway…” Corinne took a moment. “I got an e-vite to Diana’s cocktail party.”
“I got one, too. It’s this Friday, right? Are you going?”
“I think so, except… Okay, I heard Buttface will be there.”
“Buttface?” Adison laughed, but on the inside her heart was sinking. She knew exactly who Corinne was talking about.
“Seems appropriate. Sorry to bring you the bad news.”
Adison started to sigh, then stopped herself. Nope. She wasn’t going to let Danny ruin so much as another moment for her again.
“It doesn’t matter,” she decided. “I’m going anyway.”
“That’s the spirit. So are you bringing a date?”
“Who would I bring?” Adison rifled through her purse, looking for her lipstick.
“Oh, I dunno… Maybe your fake boyfriend.”
Adison’s hand stilled in the purse. “He’s not that.” By now, Corinne knew every detail of the run-in at the coffee shop—since she’d made Adison retell it three times.
“Not your steady fake boyfriend, sure.” Corinne chuckled. “But maybe you guys can become more and start a fake serious relationship.”
Adison flipped the visor down and caught her unhappy reflection. “Even if that Thea woman isn’t his girlfriend, I doubt Ken would agree with that.”
“Ken?”
“Mr. Montoya,” she corrected herself. Even if he was okay with it, she shouldn’t be using his first name. It made their relationship too personal.
“How do you know? You haven’t asked him yet.”
Adison chewed that over. She really wanted to go to Diana’s party. The two of them didn’t get to see each other near enough. She could always say that her “boyfriend” wasn’t able to make the event, but there was one small, petty part of her that really wanted to see Danny’s reaction when she showed up with Ken.
“Maybe,” she said. “I have to run. Talk to you later.”
“Okay. Have a good day.”
They hung up, with Adison’s stomach twisted into knots. Instead of going into the building right away, she unlocked her cell phone and went to the first social media page her thumb hit.
She shouldn’t have been