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“Then I’m here for the long haul. My roommate can take care of the apartment while I’m gone,” Vic said. “All you have to do is give me the word.”

“Word. You’re officially rehired.”

He gave her a gentle hug. “Your focus now is to heal and get better.”

A tear leaked out of the corner of Harlow’s eye and trailed down her cheek. Her friends…her true friends were still there for her. Not for the money. Not for the prestige or the glitz and glam of Hollywood…but for their friend. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Vic knelt next to her, draping his arm across his knee. “We’ve got this, Harlow. Not employer and employee, but because we’re friends.”

“Like this.” Harlow twined her fingers together.

Her friend, confidant and protector crossed his fingers before tapping the top of hers. “Friends until the end.”

Harlow sucked in a breath. Her world was crumbling around her. Her career. Her marriage. Finding out Robert was canceling her credit cards and moving their money, but she had something even more valuable. She had familyandfriends rallying around.

Vic sprang to his feet. “Are you ready to continue with the tour?”

“You betcha.”

Backtracking, they passed by Aunt Birdie’s trailer. Harlow filled him in on her eccentric, quirky, yet totally supportive aunt. “I have almost everyone I need in place. You, Aunt Birdie, Dad, and Eryn.”

“Now that you’re figuring out what you’ll be up against with Robert, you can start planning your defense,” Vic said. “Don’t let him push you around.”

Ring…ring…ring.

Harlow’s cell phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and glanced at the screen. “It’s Robert. He must’ve made it back to the apartment and discovered he had visitors.” She promptly pressed the ignore button.

Harlow started to set it down. It rang again. Once again, she hit the ignore button.

During the third round, she turned the volume all the way down. “I bet he’s fit to be tied.”

“He has a nasty temper when he’s ticked,” Vic said. “Based on the number of calls, he’s probably spitting bullets right about now.”

“I’m only just getting started. Robert hasn’t seen anything yet.” She glanced at the screen. He was calling yet again, determined to get her to answer. “By the time I’m done with him, he’ll regret the day he messed with Harlow Wynn.”

Chapter 14

Harlow lost count of the number of times Robert called and texted. She contemplated turning her cell phone off, and she would have if not for the fact she wanted to be available in case Aunt Birdie or Eryn phoned.

Unsure of what he might do if he ran into Eryn and her aunt, she warned them to keep a low profile after dinner and avoid being in the vicinity of the apartment.

After Vic headed to his cottage and her father turned in for the night, Harlow logged onto the apartment’s security cameras. She wasn’t surprised to discover they’d been turned off.

She switched over to the condo in Palm Beach. Same thing. No surveillance cameras were recording. Up next was the house in Malibu. The interior cameras weren’t on, but the exterior ones were in perfect working order, which could only mean one thing. Robert had manually turned them off.

He left several messages. Harlow refused to listen to a single one. She wasn’t ready to deal with him, at least not yet.

Restless and unable to sleep, she threw on sweatpants and a shirt and slipped out of the house. Mort, who had crashed out in front of her bed, his favorite sleeping spot, trailed behind. Down the makeshift ramp her father had built, and along the sidewalk they went.

The moon was full and bright, giving off enough light for Harlow and the pup to navigate the property.

She meandered aimlessly, with no particular destination in mind. All the while, Harlow mentally berated herself. She’d been an idiot to let her marriage get this far into the weeds.

If she really thought about it, the signs were right before her eyes…had been there for years. Robert was all about Robert. Granted, he’d played an instrumental role in helping Harlow advance her career. Although, in her defense, she’d been well on her way by the time they met.

Over the years, he had carefully crafted the Harlow Wynn brand. Her look. How she walked. How she talked. Polished, refined. Never a hint of scandal. She prided herself on being the best. All her years of hard work had paid off…in spades.

And now, because of one moment of stupidity on her part for not paying attention to the road, she was on sinking sand. Her husband had ripped the rug out from under her. If she couldn’t fulfill her end of the contract and deliver, Harlow might never land another major movie deal.