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Breakfast of champions.
At noon, I turn my phone back on and check my messages. As soon as it powers on, I see a long string of missed calls and texts. The majority of them are from Lexi.
Lexi: We need to talk.
Translation: We need to get our stories straight.
Lexi: I still love you. We can figure this out together. You just need to come back to LA.
Translation: I need you to come back to LA so I don’t have to field the press and tabloids by myself.
Lexi: I’m serious, Went. You need to tell the police what really happened Saturday night.
Translation: I’m hoping I can manipulate you into taking the heat for something I did.
Lexi: Who the hell is Conner Gilroy and why is he setting up a press conference at your LA hotel?
Tapping out a quick reply, I hit send.
Me: Conner Gilroy is my lawyer. Anything you have to say to me needs to go through him.
After I hit send, I contemplate blocking her but decide against it. Lexi is impulsive. There’s a chance she might admit that she was the one driving if I keep the lines of communication open. Settling for muting her messages instead, I text Conner.
Me: Any word on Brian Maxwell?
Con: He’s still in ICU. Still in a coma. Critical but stable. His medical bills are going to be astronomical.
I don’t even have to think about it.
Me: Pay them.
Con: As your attorney, I should advise you that paying Brian Maxwell’s hospital bills looks a lot like you’re taking responsibility for what happened.
Shit. He’s right. But then again, Conner is pretty much always right.
Me: I trust you to figure out a way to get it done without it linking back to me.
Con: Figured that’s what you’d say. Already taken care of. How’s Montana?
Me: Quiet. How was the press conference?
Con: Loud. You need to rein in your mother. Her army of suits are out here, fucking shit up.
Shit.
Doing everything I can to avoid calling Astrid, I text Delilah instead.
Me: When I asked you to tell Mother to back off, I was serious.
Even though it’s edging toward noon in New York, I don’t expect her to text back but she does, almost immediately.
Lilah: I did. She ignored me. As usual.
Goddamnit.
Leaving Delilah on read, I text Conner back because I’m sure he’s five seconds away from either killing Astrid’s chief counsel or just walking away from the entire mess altogether.
Me: I’ll take care of it.