It was four in the morning which was too early to do anything useful like vacuum without being incredibly rude to anyone who lived around you, and it was too late to get a full night of sleep, and both were off the table because I was very much in jail. Which was... well, not awesome.
"You look like crap," a voice said right outside my cell.
I looked up to find Laurence Royal leaning against the bars, taking me in, in my empty jail cell.
I sat on a loan dirty bench which was covered in questionable stains, fingers weaving into my hair, sporting a now very wrinkledâ yet still very stylish outfit.
"Looks like you got your bar fight after all."
"Royal?" I asked, mostly to confirm that he was real and not a hallucination from the concussion I probably had.
I rubbed my temples, trying to clear my head. "Play to your strengths right? I've never been a good flirter. A good fighter on the other hand..." I trailed off.
Laurence fought a smile, seeming to disagree, but refusing to speak to it. "How you holding up?" he asked, crossing his arms.
I gingerly touched my cheek, wincing at the sharp pain and the fresh blood now coating my fingers. "Not too bad. You should see the other guy."
I bit my lip, embarrassed by my terrible choice of words. Great job Allie.
I finally met his gaze. "Have you seen Carter yet?"
"He's my next stop," Laurence replied, his shoulders slumping, the weight of his awful brother tugging at his shoulders.
"Sorry, you had to see that," I murmured, thinking back to him watching me pummel his younger brother on the dance floor of the club.
He tucked his hands into his pockets, brows furrowed. "You didn't pull any punches. Not that I blame you after what he pulled. I just... I didn't know he was so..." Laurence paused, searching for the right words. "He was just my kid brother a few days ago and now he's... well..."
A dumpster fire of chaos? I refrained from saying anything. He already knew. And based on the look on Laurence's face, he really didn't need mean, but very true commentary into his personal life.
"Awful," he finished, voice breaking.
"Even if he isn't involved with what happened at the Masquerade..." Laurence murmured, unable to meet my eye line. "I need to get him help. I need to fix this..."
"You gonna bail him out?" I asked quietly, barely able to keep my theories to myself. There was so much that Laurence didn't know. And the reality of it broke my heart. But I couldn't tell him. Not yet. He would know the truth soon enough.
Laurence traced a pattern across one of the bars of the jail cell, eyes distant. "After making him sweat for a bit, yeah."
I smiled up at him. "Delle's rubbing off on you."
He searched my face, eyes uncertain. "I can't tell if that is supposed to be a compliment, or an insult..."
"Depends on your perspective."
"True. I'll take it as a compliment then." Pushing away from the bars, Laurence glanced down the hall. "You have someone to bail you out?"
"Yep. He's just making me sweat."
Laurence chuckled. "Another good person then. You gonna be okay until then?"
I nodded, ignoring the pang of uncertainty that turned into a lump in my throat as Laurence turned to leave.
"Thanks for your help," I called after him.
He flailed his hand in an uncomfortable, flustered gesture. "Sure. But let's not do it again any time soon... or ever." He offered me an encouraging smile. "See ya around, Ms. Winters."
"Bye, Royal."
I went back to staring at the ceiling, listening to his steps recede down the hall. Letting my calm, collected demeanor slip away, revealing my exhaustion and anxiety.
Have I done enough? Will this be worth it? Did I just ruin everything?
Someone cleared their throat, cutting through my internal monologue. "You really put up a fight."
I looked up to find Aiden staring down at me from the other side of the bars, face unreadable.
"It's one of the things I am best at, right? Hurting people," I replied, unable to keep the bitterness from my tone.
Aiden sighed, guilt crossing his features. "I'm sorry." He crouched down, meeting my eye line on the other side of the bars. "I should have never said that." He paused, thinking for a beat. "Just because you can throw a mean right hook doesn't make you a bad person. You did good today."
I stood up, ignoring the compliment. "Did it work?"
Aiden pulled out his phone as he stood back up. "No word yet. But based on the internet traction..." he paused, staring at the screen. "Yeah, I think so. Looks like you got everyone's attention. And kept it away from things we didn't want people to see."
I rocked back on my heels, bracing myself. "How bad is it?" I didn't like his vague response, the lack of certainty. I needed something concrete. Something that would assure me I hadn't just tanked what little I had left of my reputation on Aiden's vague assumption.
"The internet thinks you are crazy. So... not your best day."
"Well, that's nothing new," I said, itching to get my phone back so I could check the damage myself. "That's basically my brand at this point. Any new nicknames? Or clever headlines?"
He shook his head. "Nothing concrete yet. But it's early." We fell into an awkward silence. Thoughts tugging us away from the present, analyzing the evening's events.
"You're tough. You got this," Aiden added, looking utterly uncomfortable with his attempt at a pep talk.
"How's..." I trailed off, hating that I had to ask Aiden about Tate.
"Tate?" Aiden guessed. "He was furious."
I let out an unsteady breath, guilt cracking across my rib cage, making it hard to breathe.
"But I told him to cool his jets," Aiden said with a shrug. "That also made him furious. Nothing I contributed to the conversation helped."
I snorted. "Well, that sounds like an amazing way to fan the flames."
He laughed, actually laughed, and I suddenly understood why Laliana liked him as his smile flashed across his face, making him look approachable, almost warm. "Yes."
Aiden's smile faded, amusement gone, seeming to read my fear. "He'll come around, Allie."
I wrung my fingers together, uncertainty wreaking havoc with my insecurities. I can fix this... right?
"I've put him through a lot. I'm not sure Aiden."
"I am," he countered, sounding completely confident in that fact, making me feel better for the first time since I met him.
"Ready for step two?" Aiden asked after an awkward beat.
I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck, trying to wipe away the tension. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"Good. Let's bail you out and finish this."
...
I had enough time to take a shower, down a few cups of coffee, eat a breakfast muffin â which is just a naked cupcake you eat at breakfast, and anyone who says otherwise is just kidding themselvesâ before heading to the final destination. The location of the villain showdown.
Here goes nothing...
It was my second time in that building, and it was like walking into an entirely different place. Or perhaps I was a very different person than the last time, or the time before when I tried to go in while wielding a baseball bat. Not my proudest moment.
My bright red heels clacked against the marble, sending up an alarm to the front desk secretary, declaring my sudden arrival. I'm baaaaack.
I sported a pair of black skinny jeans, a white blouse, and a peacoat, enjoying the way the open coat flapped out behind me. The secretary was already shaking her head, attempting to raise a protest before I could walk past.
But I ignored her, walking towards the elevator as she scrambled for the phone on her desk, calling up to her boss with a panicked squeak. "She's back. The lady who doesn't take no for an answer! The scary-faced one! I couldn't stop her! She's fast in those heels! I'm sorry! Please don't fire me!"
The elevator closed, and I burst into laughter, letting my 'scary attitude walk persona' go. "Poor thing."
It was the first real smile I had cracked in days, leaving my face feeling stiff. I closed my eyes, enjoying the moment, however fleeting before walking into the lion's den, determined to finish what I had started.
The elevator doors opened before me, sending warm streams of light into the elevator. I walked into Laurence Royal's overwhelmingly large office that took up an entire floor. The view through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows was utterly breathtaking as sun rays filled the room with a cozy glow.
Laurence sat on the edge of his desk, talking to someone in one of his plush leather guest chairs.
Walking across the room with my head held high, I smiled brightly at Laurence, who looked back at me with a tentative smile, most likely a little terrified of my mean right hook now. "Ms. Winters."
"Mr. Royal," I replied, slipping into a formal greeting, following his lead as he stood up from his desk to greet me.
Laurence took my hand in his, offering it a quick squeeze. "You are going to give my secretary a heart attack one of these days. I've never heard her so terrified. What did you do to her?"
I offered a shrug. "You need to hire less squirrely assistants. Can't have your front line be someone who is scared every time someone comes into the building." I sat down on the edge of his desk, making myself comfortable.
Laurence chuckled. "I am pretty sure you are the only one who terrifies her." He gestured to all of me. "You have this... angry thing going on."
I rolled my eyes. "People are so easily scared these days." I finally took in his guest, offering him a venomous smile. "Derik Lawson, it's been a while."
Derik still sported his ridiculous man bun, taking me in with a cocky grin, lips curved in a cruel bent. "'Sup ex-boss lady."
Laurence looked between us, eyebrow raised. "Ms. Winters, I didn't know you knew Mr. Lawson."
"I do! He used to work for me," I replied with an amused grin, chucking off my peacoat and dropping it on Laurence's desk with a loud flop. "And by the looks of it, you hired this man bun wearing yahoo?"
I took in Derik again, irritated by his easy-going body language. By how he had his feet up on the coffee table like he owned the place, greedy fingers burrowing into his ridiculous bag of skittles, looking for treasures like Gollum with the One Ring.
Derik continued to throw skittles up into the air and catch them in his mouth with a victorious smirk.
Ugh. How has Laurence not knocked the stupid bag of candy out of Derik's hand yet?
"Nice to see you too Miranda Priestly act-alike," he said between chews.
I had an instant flashback to Derik's final day at work. When he had compared me to the fashion tyrant from Devil Wears Prada. The words had burned, craking away at my resolve. And by the look on his face, he knew it.
Derik laughed in between bites, watching his words hit true. "You were one hard lady to please."
"Believe me, your laziness was never pleasing," I replied dryly.
Laurence looked between us, brow raised.
"I fired him for misconduct," I explained, having zero interest in fake niceties.
Derik shrugged, seeming unbothered by my words as he chucked another skittle into his mouth. Unphased, acting untouchable.
I dropped my smile altogether, eyes glinting, flames beginning to spark under my skin as I leaned forward.
"And since we are on the subject, Derik, care to explain to your new boss why you tried to kill me and pin him with attempted murder?"
---
Thank you for reading chapter fifty! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes! Add this story to your reading list to know when the next chapter drops!
UPDATE DAYS - A NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!
Okay, it looks like Allie has put some things together. Will Derik fess up? Is he the only culprit?
What was the point of Allie's entire ordeal the night before?!? How will that play in?
Why would Derik want to hurt her?
Did Laurence know?
CHAPTER QUESTION - Do you have a favorite mystery show, book, or movie? What is it?