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“I heard there was also a robbery at the insurance company across the street,” she said, worry in her voice. “I wonder if they’re related?”
“I have no idea,” I lied, just thankful none of my staff had any idea of what was truly going on.
“I’ll just be glad to get back to work.”
“Me, too.”
We hung up and I called Sofia. “Hey there. Sorry I missed your call. What’s up?”
“I was wondering about the studio? What happened? When might it open again?”
So, had the officer not asked her for an interview? “Well... like I said, it’s getting cleaned up and they’re getting it done as fast as they can. I’ll reopen as soon as I’m given the all-clear by the police.”
“Right,” she said, her voice tiny.
“Sofia? Are you okay?” Then it dawned on me, she hadn’t mentioned anything about her brother in a while. “Is everything alright with your brother?”
“Yes. And I’m still not sure.” Emotion filled her voice. “They haven’t found him yet.”
“That must be so hard. I’m so sorry, especially if all this at the studio is adding to your stress.”
“It’s fine.”
“No.” I sat on my bed and bowed my head, knowing Justin would hate this. “Look. A police officer might be calling to ask you some questions about the break-in... if you’re not feeling up to talking to him, just say so, okay?”
“Yeah, okay, but I don’t mind.”
I lifted my head when I heard Justin move down the hall and the bathroom door close, his proximity creating a physical reaction I couldn’t control. I tightened my grip on the phone with one hand and squeezed my comforter with the other.
I’m honestly not sure what else I said to Sofia as I listened to the sounds of Justin taking a shower. I threw down the phone and bit my lip as the throbbing became painful between my legs now that I knew what his touch felt like. His taste.
“Damn it!” I stood and began to pace as the water shut off, doing everything I could not to picture him naked, and epically failing because I knew he’d be glorious.
What was I doing?
I’d let one man brutalize my heart. I’d be damned if I gave that power to another.
I yanked up my phone and shot off a text reply to Whitney.
Not getting laid. Officer is just asking routine questions about break-in to all staff. No big deal. (No idea if he’s hot, guess you’ll find out.)
I let it go, hoping it would appease her.
No such luck. My phone rang right away.
“Hello?”
“Really, Liv?” she deadpanned. “You expect me to take that shit and be good with it? Do you know me at all?”
I sighed and threw myself across my bed to stare at my ceiling. “I do. Can’t say I didn’t try though.”
“So? Why the sudden need for interrogation?”
“I’m not supposed to say.”
She was silent for a long moment. “Well... I am on the short list of people who know the truth about Mr. McDreamy and why he’s there, so if you can’t spill it even to me, that must mean... wait one fucking minute! Are they looking at me for some of this shit that’s been going on?”
“I told you I’m not supposed to say anything, Whit.” Her silence was literally painful. “But you are one of the few people with a key to the studio, so they have to at least ask you a few questions, okay? So just answer them and let’s move on.” I threw my free arm over my eyes. “I know you didn’t do anything.”