The Phone

ANNA

As the days until I became Gavin’s wife dwindled, I grew more thankful that we’d agreed on a very small wedding ceremony. We didn’t make any official announcements about the timeline.

Unfortunately, that didn’t stop anyone from making assumptions based on Gavin informing his company board of his upcoming absence.

We were both left dodging reporters trying to break a story every time we left the penthouse. It grew to be so exhausting that I avoided going anywhere altogether.

By the end of the week, even Gavin was taking most of his work calls from home.

“Do they have nothing better to do?” he muttered as he stepped off the elevator from a quick trip into the office.

I jumped up from my perch on the couch and wrapped my arms around him.

He bent down and planted a kiss on my forehead.

“Did you pick up my new phone?” I asked.

“Shit.” His head fell back in frustration. “I’m so sorry. I completely forgot.”

I tried to hide my disappointment. I hadn’t been able to call anyone since I broke my phone after talking to my father. I’d been able to keep up with texts and emails on my tablet while at home, but it was getting annoying.

“That’s okay…I can run down the street myself.” I remembered the reporters outside and wrinkled my nose at the thought.

“Actually, I think I have an extra in my office you can use for the time being,” he offered. “I promise I’ll grab you the new one tomorrow.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “That would be great. You don’t mind?”

He chuckled. “Of course not.”

He returned a moment later with a cell phone that was a few years old.

“Thank you,” I said, reaching up to peck him on the lips. “Since we leave in a couple days, I’ll just use this one until we get back.”

“Slight change of plans,” he said and grimaced. “We are going to have to postpone leaving by a day or two.”

“Oh.” I felt myself deflate. “Why?”

“I thought I could get out of a meeting, but the board is throwing a fit.”

“Got it,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment.

He squeezed me a little tighter before leaning down to whisper in my ear playfully, “After that, I’m all yours, Ms. Miller.”

I giggled. “Hmm, maybe you should tell me where we are going for the honeymoon to make up for it.”

He tilted his head as if seriously considering it, then smirked smugly. “But where’s the fun in that?”

“Ugh!” I groaned. “I hate waiting. Please, please just tell me?”

I batted my eyelashes and bit my lip in the pouty way I knew he liked.

Sure enough, his eyes darkened, and he pulled me in a little closer. After a moment, a low chuckle rumbled in his chest.

“You’re dangerous, Annalise. You almost had me there.”

“Gavinnnn…” I whined and stomped my foot.

“Baby, you are a twenty-four-year-old soon-to-be billionaire. You cannot throw a temper tantrum in our living room,” he said in mock sternness.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You liked it.”

His devilish grin told me I was correct.

Just as I wrapped my arms around his neck, his phone started ringing.

Being that it was technically a workday, I knew he would have to take it.

A deep frown crossed his face when he glanced at the screen.

“What?” he answered the phone, suddenly on edge.

A voice on the other end seemed to be trying to placate my fiancé as he pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

I gently touched the back of his arm in support. But he didn’t pull me in as I expected he might.

He glanced down with a tight smile before shifting farther away.

“Hold on,” he said into the receiver, then turned to me. “I’m going to take this in my office, but I’ll be out for dinner. Okay?”

I nodded agreeably despite my sudden sense of unease. “Sure.”

He pecked my cheek before striding down the hallway and closing the door behind him.

It wasn’t that I was necessarily worried about who might be on the other end of the call.

He was the CEO of a major corporation. Long hours came with the territory.

Besides, Gavin almost always took work calls in his office.

It wasn’t even like he tried to keep the room private.

But there was something about the way he reacted to whoever was calling.

It was as if a wall came up between us the second he looked at the caller ID. I stared at the closed door and shook my head.

~Stop creating imaginary problems. He’s just stressed about how much time he’s taking off work.~

Gavin hardly ever left on extended vacations.

Between the time he had been out after my attack, our trip to Colorado, the wedding, and our honeymoon, he would be out of the office more in the last month than he had the entire previous year.

I knew he was working hard to make sure we would not be interrupted while starting our lives as husband and wife.

~And yet…~

Guilt washed over me as I tiptoed down the hallway and stood outside of Gavin’s office.

Still, I had to know. I had to make sure he wasn’t talking to ~her~.

As much as I wanted to let go of my jealousy toward Chelsea Marks, as much as I wanted to be the girl who trusted her lover, I couldn’t. Not quite yet.

Quiet as a mouse, I pressed my ear against the cold wood of the door.

“I don’t care what they fucking eat, Roger,” Gavin’s muffled voice sounded annoyed. “I’m delaying my fucking wedding for this bullshit. Just tell her to handle it… Of course I’m not interested.

“I don’t want to go… I will show my face as promised, but under no circumstances will I be speaking… What the fuck do I pay you for, Roger?”

I heard his footsteps draw nearer and quickly tucked tail toward the living room.

In my haste, I nearly ran over Margaret.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” I apologized, grabbing her arms to keep us both from toppling over.

“Quite all right, Miss—Anna,” she said, straightening her blouse. “I was just coming to let you know dinner is in the oven and should be ready in about thirty minutes.”

“Oh wonderful. Thank you so much,” I said with breathless enthusiasm.

Margaret raised her eyebrow and glanced behind me.

I felt a blush heat my cheeks.

“Anna—”

“I know!” I cut her off. “I shouldn’t be eavesdropping.”

She pursed her lips. “Actually, I was going to suggest wearing socks if you’re going to be sneaking around. It’s quieter on the wood floors.”

My jaw fell open.

Margaret shrugged. “What? Men should know better than to hide things from their wives. Just ask my first husband.”

“You’ve been married twice?”

She winked. “No, I just like to call him the first to remind him that there ~could~ be a second.”

I couldn’t help but giggle. “And here I thought I was the only crazy one in this house.”

“Hardly. But I would like to offer you some advice.”

I nodded for her to continue.

“People will treat you the way you allow them to treat you, Anna. If you don’t want to be shut out, don’t ~let~ him shut you out.”

I glanced back at Gavin’s office and scrunched up my nose. “I’m not sure I know how to stand up to him quite yet.”

“You don’t necessarily have to. You just need to decide what you can live with, what you want your marriage to look like.”

Margaret gave my arm a squeeze. “He cares about you more than he’d like to admit.”

I gave her a small smile to hide the fact that I still had my doubts. Where Gavin stood, as far as his feelings, was still a mystery to me. What I did know was that there was no chance he would call off the wedding.

For better or worse, Gavin rarely conceded, even when the odds weren’t in his favor. It was true of him as a businessman, and I could sense it was the same in his personal life.

“Anyway,” Margaret continued with a wave of her hand, “like I said, dinner is in the oven. When the timer goes off, it’s ready to serve.”

“Thank you,” I told her with a smile.

“Your suitcases are just about packed,” she continued as we walked toward the front door. “The final fitting for your dress is tomorrow. The caterer left a message about napkin fabrics, which I directed to the planner’s office.”

“You’re a godsend.”

“It’s my job, dear.” She smiled as she stepped onto the elevator out of the penthouse. “Enjoy your evening.”

I stared at the elevator doors for a moment after they closed and let out a sharp breath. With our housekeeper gone, the penthouse was once again quiet. I tapped my fingers on my thigh as I glanced around.

Stillness hadn’t been my friend lately. In motion and activity, I could put the weight of our pending nuptials to the back of my mind. But solitude made way for my anxiety to come to the forefront.

I mentally shook myself back to the present with a deep breath.

~Get it together.~

Gavin was still in his office, so I set about finding a charger for the old cell phone. Lucky for me, his kitchen had a junk drawer much like my own. Unlike mine, all the cords were neatly wrapped and labeled so that things were easy to find.

~Figures.~

The screen came to life as soon as I plugged it in, and my heart nearly stopped.

This wasn’t Gavin’s old phone.

It was Chelsea’s.