I hoped so too. For a brief time, I felt like I had more of a purpose. And even though now I had other things I could focus on like my dad and school again, I kind of missed the place I’d made for myself. And the person I’d made it with.
I showered and forced myself to get ready, to feel like a normal human being, even though I had no other plans for the day other than wallowing in my misery.
Xander offered to call in sick today too, but I told him to do what he needed to do. One of us had to pay the bills, I reminded him.
He went to work after I insisted. I spent the morning cleaning the refrigerator and getting rid of all of our old leftovers and doing laundry that had needed to be done for nearly two weeks now.
Close to lunchtime, the guard at the front desk called up. I froze before answering the phone, afraid he was calling about Declan.
“You don’t have to get that,” Xander told me from the loft.
I blew out a breath. “It could be important.”
I answered with a hesitant hello.
“There’s someone here to see you,” the man at the desk said.
With my heart racing, I looked up at Xander. He rolled his chair over and looked down. “Who is it?” he whispered.
I asked the man at the desk.
“It’s a woman,” the guard said. “She says her name is Maggie Johnson.”
My mouth opened in surprise. That name, that name… Oh, crap. It was the woman from the elevator, the very first day I’d met Declan. The woman I had felt irrationally jealous over. But…Johnson? That was her last name?
In my mind, I pulled up the image of the paper in Declan’s office, the one I’d copied and brought to my father. The last name Johnson had been on there along with my father’s.
Dammit. Now I was curious. Either she had something to do with all this or she had something to do with Declan. Maybe both.
Maybe she was the one he’d kept texting and talking on the phone with.
“Miss Patterson?”
I blinked. “Sorry,” I told the man at the desk. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Who is it?” Xander asked.
“Maggie Johnson.”
“Johnson?” he asked, frowning.
I ran a hand through my hair. “Yeah, I had the same thought—and don’t ask. I have no idea why she’s here.”
But my stomach pitched at the idea that it was strictly because of Declan. That maybe something really was going on with them.
“You can tell her to go away,” Xander said when I turned in a circle, searching for my shoes. “You are allowed to say no, you know.”
It reminded me so much of our college days, I had to laugh. Whenever Tate would call me and tell me to come over or say he was stopping by, obviously to get some, Xander would tell me I could say no.
It had taken some time, but I’d finally followed his advice.
But now, I was curious. And I’d had a good night of sleep. I needed to figure things out at some point and it might as well be now.
“I’m going down there,” I called up to Xander.
“Do you think that’s safe?”
“I’ll just be in the lobby for now. I’ll let you know what happens.”
He hesitated, but finally nodded and then pulled his microphone back over his mouth. His wheels squeaked when he rolled his chair away, and I crouched to put my boots on.
I took the stairs down instead of the elevator, using the extra minute to catch my breath. I saw her the moment I hit the bottom set of stairs.
Maggie Johnson. She looked as elegant and beautiful as the first time I’d seen her. She was clothed in black with dark glasses perched on her head. Damn. She looked perfect for Declan.
I wasn’t sure where that thought had come from but I couldn’t help the jealously that reared up to bite me.
“Royal,” she said, making my stomach clench.
She knew who I was. The last time we’d spoken, I’d given her my fake name. Which meant that someone had told her the truth since then.
I crossed my arms defensively over my chest. “I’m assuming Declan told you my real name.”
“He did.” Her smile was sincere. “And I’m so glad that he found you.”
My eyebrows furrowed, trying to figure out what she meant. “I’m sorry, why are you here? I don’t mean to be rude, but—”
“No, no. Not rude at all. I’m the one who showed up at your house unannounced. And Declan doesn’t know I’m here, so please don’t tell him.”
I relaxed slightly at those words. Declan hadn’t sent her. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t here because of him.
“Listen,” she continued, edging away from the front desk and lowering her voice, “Declan told me some things, some surprising things and he mentioned he’d already talked to you about it. I was hoping…well, that you would let me take you out to lunch so we could talk.” When I hesitated, she held up her hands. “Not to gossip about him, but I’m concerned for him. And I imagine you are too.”
When I hesitated, she shrugged and pointed. “How about a walk, then? It’s lovely out there, though the clouds are coming in.”
A walk. I could do that. Especially now that there was a part of me that was starting to think her affection for
