Blake

With the cellphone flipping around the knuckles of his long, steady fingers, Blake thought about the text he had received from Mila’s Driver, Hensley.

She’s safe. That’s the most important thing. He told himself to forget about Hensley’s comment. Mila and Yasmin had seemed to be on a wild goose chase searching for Lido. Blake continued to focus on the fact that Hensley held a black belt, and Lamb had personally chosen him to accompany Blake’s most prized possession to New York. Another thought crept into his mind as he thought about Mila, relating to her safety. The iPhone stopped flipping around his fingers.

Have Todd murdered. The thought etched itself on his brain. Blake shut the idea down as quickly as he had considered it. Todd Welsh now resided in a supermax prison located in Colorado. He’d almost mentioned it to Isaac, and that would’ve been the worst decision he could have made. Although Blake trusted Isaac, the problem was his friend would’ve talked him out of it. Blake gripped the iPhone tightly as the morning Todd cornered Mila roamed through his mind.

“I could have him murdered if I wanted to,” he mumbled to himself. And he really wanted to. The feeling wove its way deep into his bones, ready to set roots.

Blake placed the phone on the table and looked around himself for the first time. Vengeance had utterly consumed him a moment prior, and he was now mentally back in his office in Santa Monica. Through the glass doors, he noticed Parker pacing down the hall. Her suit swallowed her lanky figure. She eyed him, and he huffed. Parker wanted to talk.

He gestured for her to come in. Parker opened the double doors and strutted in. The thin line of her lips lurched into a smile.

“Do you recall purchasing home improvements for struggling families across the nation to ensure Mila received the commission at Versa Improvements?”

He nodded.

“Do you recall the residual effects of how your social media business exploded! You bypassed Pinterest that day—”

“What’s with the lawyer stance, Parker? Yes, we also bulldozed Instagram for a time.”

Parker steepled her fingertips and made a muhahaha sound. “I have the perfect plan. As your public relationships representative, I’d like to boost your social media account subscribers.”

Blake rubbed at his bristled jaw. “Every time you speak to the media, there’s always a boost in clients starting profiles and what not. What the hell are you getting at?”

She slinked down onto the thick, leather chair across from him. “Blake, that stuff comes with the territory. The moment I stepped in front of the camera at your home in Hollywood Hills to address your driving like a lunatic to save your fiancée, the news channels have eaten it up. You were trending on every social media site, including your biggest enemy.”

Facebook.

She grinned as he frowned. “Let’s not give the other guys a reason to tweet or post, unless, well, they’re linking their comments and ideas to your social media site!”

“I like the sound of that. Shit, I’ll give you a seat on my tech team.” He almost cracked a smile as she frowned. His tech team had this habit of ordering pizza and hoagies at lunchtime, talking Star Wars with their mouths full of food, or debating which was better, Marvel or DC, while wearing Avenger and Justice League memorabilia. “Honorary seat.”

“No, thank you.” She pushed a piece of thin, brown hair behind her ear. “I’m a social butterfly as much as the next person but on my terms.”

“So, how will you start a social media frenzy on my site only—or at the very least, with my application is the main platform?”

“Your wedding.”

He picked up his cellphone once more and let it rove over his knuckles and around his fingers. He was not sure he liked the sound of it. He growled again. “How?”

Parker smiled as if she was done playing the shock-and-awe, pause-for-effect bullshit. She finally got right down to it. “We’ll let the people choose where you get married. You’ll have the romantics—and I mean this world is overpopulated with women and gay men—they’ll chime in. Some of the men who cannot keep their mouths shut, no matter how machismo they are, will say something as well. Then you’ll have venues bartering for—”

“Hell no.” Blake cut her off cold. She was accustomed to reeling him into her way of thinking, but this time, it wasn’t about Blake or his company. This was about the love of his life. With Mila confessing the true reason why she did not want to get married and all ready to elope, or whatnot, he had no desire of adding a billion eyes to the equation. Her running off to save Lido prolonged their engagement enough, and he had high hopes that the girl’s loony bin stint was not a means to draw more attention to herself for various reasons.

“Why not?” The excitement radiating from the lanky woman faded. Parker took off her prescription glasses and bit the tip of one end. “It was a great idea.”

“Fuck great, that was the idea of the century, Parker. But no.”

“Again, I ask why? The more I am aware, the more I am capable of assisting you in the future. Is it Mila?”

He laughed at her. “It’s my decision not to pimp out my fucking wedding, Parker, don’t continue to question me!”

This was the Blake that Parker had grown accustomed to over the years. The rags would come calling for a comment, and Parker had to tell them Y, without adding X and Z into the fold.

“I’m . . .” Blake began. It was the closest thing to an apology that he would do.

“No worries here, Blake. You’re good at biting heads off when needing to get your point across. Besides, you looked a tad testy when I came in to inquire—”

“And you will not ask again.”

“No, sir, I won’t bother you about it.” She started to rise. “People, among other magazine and news outlets, would like to attend an engagement party or wedding or whatever morsel you’re willing to give, once you begin planning.”

“That you can ask me about again but later.”

Parker left, and Blake leaned back in his chair and began to think. He contemplated calling Lamb and giving him the go-ahead to have Todd murdered. Instead, he settled on texting Hensley.

BLAKE: Did they find her??

HENSLEY: Yes. Driving to get Lido. There’s a snowstorm coming . . . Might be stuck for the night.

BLAKE: Keep me updated.

HENSLEY: I’ll pin drop in a few.

Blake tossed the phone at the wall. A techy on the other side of the glass jumped. The man gave his boss a shocked look to which Blake raised a hand in apology. The first time he had done this, the windows weren’t shatterproof. Needless to say, he lost his best coder for a few weeks due to a concussion.

Blake and Mila hadn’t spent a single second apart since Todd Welsh. It appeared like they would tonight, all due to her sister. And he didn’t like that at all.