Lowering her voice, she added, “Remember Mr. Hayes from this morning? He’s the one who helped. He dropped off the dresses himself, and I met him outside to collect them.”

Tamara’s jaw dropped. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. How could this be? Wasn’t everything already handled by Eric?

Now, with Zane stepping in, it looked like all the credit would shift to him. Feeling unsettled, Tamara pulled out her phone and texted Phillips, filling him in on everything that had happened.

The promotional event carried on as planned.

Right before she was set to go on stage, Hadley’s phone rang with a call from Zane.

She answered right away. “Zane, where are you?”

Hadley couldn’t help but feel a little awkward—he had gone out of his way for her, yet she hadn’t even caught a glimpse of him. With the event being strictly guest-list only, Zane wouldn’t have been allowed inside even if he had tried.

“If you’re nearby, I can send my assistant to bring you in,” Hadley suggested.

Zane let out a soft laugh on the other end. Wherever he was, the background noise made it impossible to guess.

“There’s really no need. I’m heading out now.”

A client had just called, and he needed to move on to his next appointment.

“Oh, right,” Hadley replied, realizing he had work to do. She felt a bit embarrassed. “I almost forgot you’re here on business. I won’t keep you. And thank you again for the dresses.”

“No problem, really.”

“But I owe you one. You’ve done so much for me. Let me at least treat you to dinner sometime!” Hadley insisted, a grin in her voice. “If there’s a place you like, just tell me.”

“That would be great,” said Zane, sounding genuinely pleased. “I’m not picky, so wherever is fine. For now, I’d better get going—I can’t really keep my client waiting.”

Read all updates on gα?ησvls?com

“Alright, talk soon,” Hadley said quickly. “I have to head into the event anyway. We’ll pick a time later!”

“Sounds good.”

“Hadley, are you done?” Elvin called out to her. “We need to go in.”

“I’m coming!”

Back in Srixby, Eric stared at his phone, his eyes glued to the screen without blinking. He read Tamara’s message slowly, repeating every word several times, unable to think straight.

Suddenly, Eric twisted his wrist and flung the phone aside.

He reached into the drawer, pulled out a cigarette box, took one out, and placed it between his lips. With a flick of the lighter, he lit it. He drew in a long breath, closed his eyes, and let out a heavy sigh.

The burnt nicotine smell brought him no comfort.

He couldn’t sit still any longer. He knew he had to do something. But what exactly could he do?

The event had been a complete success.

.

.

.