“Are you sure we can’t see your father tonight?” Emily asks as we pull up into the parking lot of The Amber Room.

“One-hundred percent sure.” I turn off the engine and step out of the car as Emily does the same on the other side.

I can’t think of a worse idea than having my father and Emily share a meal together. The absurdity of the question almost makes me burst out in laughter.

After how badly everything went last night with Alice, I didn’t think Emily would want to repeat the experience, but she’s a stubborn one. She has no idea how much worse a dinner with my father would go. She’d be putting herself in real danger.

That’s my own fault for not telling her. I know. But I just need to buy some time.

“Well, can we see him some other time?” Emily insists as she takes my hand and we walk across the parking lot.

“Sure.” I let out a discreet little sigh.

Oh, we’ll see him alright. But it won’t be a fun little family get-together.

“It’s just family’s really important to me.” She looks at the ground and continues, “I know you probably wouldn’t think that after what happened last night.”

“Hey, if anything, what happened last night showed me how close you two are. I barely see my family outside of business dealings.”

“I’m sorry.” Emily tightens her grip on my hand, as if lending me support.

“You’re sweet,” I say. “But it doesn’t bother me. My family’s not super close. I’ve made my peace with that a long time ago. It’s not like I once had a tight-knit family and now I’ve lost it. This is normal to me.”

I glance at Emily. She looks beautiful in a black dress that we just bought earlier today at the Westfield Center. She only had work clothes at my place and didn’t want to go home where she’d risk seeing Alice.

I love seeing her all dressed up like this. It reminds me of the way she looked when I first saw her in this very bar, wrapped like a present with a bow around her waist. That was the night when everything changed.

“Hey, Cole,” Shelley says when she spots me sitting at the bar. We’ve been waiting for a while as it’s a pretty busy, which is par for the course for a Saturday night. “What’s it going to be tonight?”

“A Macallan for me, and…” I turn toward Emily, prompting her to order.

“A Diet Coke for me, thanks.”

“Diet Coke, huh? I don’t get many orders for those here,” Shelley says as she pours our drinks into glasses. She winks at Emily and says, “I also don’t often see Cole show up with a date.”

Emily smiles and thanks Shelley when she serves up my whiskey and Emily’s soda on the counter.

“My name’s Shelley.” She points at the name tag on her black polo shirt. “Feel free to call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Shelley. I’m Emily,” she says politely.

“Nice to meet you, Emily.” Lowering her voice, Shelley says, “Keep an eye on your man here, or else one of the girls will steal him away. He’s Mr. Popular around here.”

With that, Shelley sashays away to deal with the growing crowd. A handful of guys have become pretty loud and aggressive as they fight to get her attention.

“So… Mr. Popular, huh?” Emily’s eyes twinkle as she teases me. “You really do come here a lot, don’t you?”

“I sometimes come here after work just to unwind.” I shrug.

“I didn’t peg you as a bar regular.”

“I only started coming for business. There was a guy from out of town. He stayed in a hotel nearby. I wanted to close a deal with him, so I started hanging out here to purposely ‘bump into him.’” I raise my fingers up to form air quotes, which makes Emily smile. “And then I just kept coming even after the contract was signed and the guy had left the city.”

“Your phone’s ringing again.” Emily looks at the phone in my jeans pocket. “You said you didn’t want to pick it up while driving in the car. Shouldn’t you check at least? It might be important.”

“You’re right.” I pull the phone out. I already know who it is. My father has been trying to get a reaction out of me, but I’ve decided not to give him the satisfaction. Besides, it’s probably safer if I make zero contact with him, at least until Tuesday.

“Hey, player.” Rick slaps my shoulder from behind and chortles. “A different girl again?”

“Hi, Rick.” I look back and give the tall, lanky guy a dirty look. Luckily, Emily seems to find it funny. “Don’t mind him, Emily. He thinks he’s funny.”

“Hi Emily,” he says. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Rick, and I am funny. Too bad ‘funny’ doesn’t pull as many girls as ‘handsome and successful,’ eh, Cole?”

“Hi, Rick. I keep hearing about these girls.” Emily grins.

“Oh, you want me to fill you in on that? I can tell you all the dirty, nasty, disgusting details.”

Emily laughs while Rick keeps shooting stupid jokes at her. Okay, so Emily doesn’t seem like the jealous type. This is good. I’ve made a good decision taking her to this bar. It scratches her itch of wanting to see a different side of me, keeps her away from my family, and helps her forget about the fight with Alice.

I look down at my phone as the two of them chat. Seventeen missed calls from my father. One text message. It simply says: “Check your email and call me right away.” I sigh.

Jesus. What is it this time? It’s Sunday night. Can’t he let me enjoy a weekend for once?

“I feel like I’ve seen you before, Emily,” Rick says.

“Don’t mind him. He says that to all the girls,” I say to Emily, raising my head up to join the conversation.

“I don’t know,” Emily says. “This place does look a little familiar. The layout, at least. I don’t remember the black chandeliers and the red velvet chairs, though.”

I tap the envelope icon on my phone to find an email from my father. No subject, no text, just attachments. What could this be?

“It wouldn’t be too weird if you’ve been here before. This place went through a big renovation last year. And it was all the rage one, two years ago. It’s still great now, but it’s not as hot as it used to be,” Rick says.

I tap the email open. As I scan the little previews of the attached pictures, tendrils of fear wrap around me. It suddenly feels cold and suffocating in here.

“What do you think, Cole?” Emily touches my arm, making me jump in surprise. She looks at me with concern. “Rick and I were just talking about whether I’ve been here before.”

“Oh, right. I’ve seen you here before,” I say distractedly, my eyes transfixed on the pictures on my phone. They’re obviously pictures of Emily and me, taken stealthily with long-focus lenses. I can’t believe this. He sent one of his fucking spies to check on me.

“Are you okay, Cole?” Emily knits her eyebrows together with worry.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just need to go outside for a while. Get some fresh air. Make a phone call.” My words stumble all over one another. I take a deep breath. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Fuck. This is the worst thing that can happen now. I didn’t expect him to move this quickly. I thought I had enough time.

When I’m outside, I lean against the wall and look up at the stars in the night sky. I gulp in as much air as I can into my compressed lungs. But as hard as I try, I can’t get any relief. I still feel like there are walls all around me, closing in on me.

I press the button on my phone again to turn on the screen. There they are. Fucking high-resolution pictures of Emily and me: us driving into the Westfield Center parking lot, us stepping out of Banana Republic with Emily’s new dress, us walking hand in hand into my apartment building.

There are even pictures of us getting into The Amber Room barely half an hour ago. Is this guy still here? Is he taking pictures of me now? Is my father looking at pictures of me hyperventilating right now?

I look around, trying to spot some guy with dark clothing and expensive camera equipment skulking around in the bushes, or sitting idly inside a dark car. I’m going to beat him to a pulp if I find him. Cowardly fucker, hiding in the shadows.

I clench my hands into hard fists and realize they’re shaking. I’m all wound up and I’m probably not thinking straight. It’s not a good idea to call my father right now. That’s only going to show him how much he’s gotten to me — although if the spy’s still hanging around he probably already knows anyway.

Emily.

Emily should be my priority. I have to keep her safe. I have to get back inside and take her somewhere safe. Explaining everything to her would be tricky, but the airport should probably be our next stop.