Follow Me Darkly (Follow Me #1) - Helen Hardt Page 0,79
to be paid. Turns out Addie gets a lot more than most influencers, so the fact that I scored $10K from Susanne is quite a coup.
I’m hungry, and there’s a little café near the harbor I’ve been wanting to try. I hop on the T, and twenty minutes later I exit the station and immerse myself in the harbor area.
This is the beauty I see lit up at night from Braden’s window. In a strange way, I feel his building watching me as I walk down a side street. I stop to peruse the antiques in a shop window, and then—
Betsy’s Bark Boutique.
Right here, where it always is. I still have Betsy’s money in my purse, so I impulsively open the door and go in. Betsy is helping a customer, so I look at her selection of handmade dog collars while I wait.
A few minutes later, she approaches. “Hi, Skye.”
“Hi, Betsy. I wanted to return your money from the other night.” I hand her the bills. “Braden ended up picking up the entire check.”
“You came all the way here for that?” she asks.
“I also came for lunch. I’ve been meaning to try the new deli and café down the street.”
“Oh, good. I’d hate to think you made a trip just to give me a few dollars.”
“Why? It’s your money.”
“You could have easily kept it and I’d never know.”
I lift my eyebrows. “I’d never do that.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” Her eyes become glassy, as if she’s looking through me.
“Betsy? You okay?”
“Yeah,” she says quietly, eyeing her other customers. “I should apologize to you, for…you know.”
“For what?”
“For breaking down in the bathroom. You didn’t need to see that.”
“It’s okay.”
“Just be careful, Skye.”
“Be careful of what? Braden?”
She nods.
“I don’t understand. Everything the man does is scrutinized by the press and the public. He hasn’t had a tiny blemish on his record in the last ten years. How am I supposed to believe he’s bad news, as Addie says, when the worst thing I’ve read about him is that he’s a womanizer?”
“Isn’t that bad enough?”
My heart speeds up a little. “He’s not the first billionaire who likes women, and as long as he’s faithful to me while we’re together, I don’t see why it should matter.”
“He’s faithful to you?”
“We haven’t been together long, but yeah, so far he is.”
She clears her throat. “Addison came into the shop this morning.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t want me talking to you.”
“Why shouldn’t you talk to me?”
“She’s all uptight about you and your new Instagram posts. She’s being weird. I haven’t seen her like this since…” She shakes her head.
“Since when?”
Betsy shakes her head. “Nothing. If you’re not going to buy anything, I need you to leave, Skye.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
I follow Betsy to the counter and set my baguettes down. “I don’t have a dog, but I’ll buy some treats for a friend’s dog.” I place a bag of small bone-shaped cookies on the counter.
She rings me up quickly. “Eleven dollars and thirty-eight cents.”
I insert my credit card into the chip reader. “What are you scared of, Betsy?”
She doesn’t look me in the eye. “I’m not scared of anything.”
“Look at me.”
She hesitates a few seconds but then meets my gaze and speaks quietly. “I like you, and I like Tessa. We all clicked so well, and I’ll miss you guys, but I can’t do this.”
“Do what?”
“Hang out with you guys anymore.”
“Why?”
“I just can’t.”
“Whatever Addie has on you—”
“She doesn’t have anything on me. It’s me, Skye. I’m the one who has something on her.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Then what do you care what she says?”
“She’s a huge influencer. She could ruin me.”
Betsy’s hands tremble slightly. Only slightly, but I notice. She’s frightened of Addison. But why?
“Maybe she’s afraid you’ll ruin her,” I say quietly.
Betsy looks around the store. Two customers are browsing. One leaves. When the other chooses a few items and then pays for them, Betsy thanks him politely and then locks the door to the shop, placing the Closed sign in the window.
“Closing for lunch?” I ask.
She nods.
“Want to join me?”
She nods again.
“You just said you don’t want to hang out with me anymore.”
“I said I can’t hang out with you anymore. Big difference.”
I nod. I get it. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“I like you guys a lot. It’s been a while since I’ve met any new friends. My shop keeps me busy. I only have one employee and he’s part-time. He works a couple of evenings a week. The shop is doing well, but without Addie’s influencing, I’m not sure I’d