She takes a deeper breath then says something very telling. “I need to talk to Jill and Colton.”
My fingers that have been drawing lazy patterns on her skin slow as my brain starts to process what she said. “Okay, Jill I understand. Your injury changes your scope with her, but why Colton?”
“I don’t just want to raise money and help these kids through adversity with the arts. I want to help them psychologically too. That sometimes can be worse than a physical injury. There are so many evil things you can say to yourself or convince yourself are true. Those kids need to know how to deal with rejection and setbacks. I wish I’d had that when I started. I wouldn’t have gone through so much self-doubt. I wouldn’t have seen as many tears, possibly all the issues I’ve seen with artist self-harm… everything. I feel really strongly about this, Eli.”
“Another fire lit in the belly of my wife. This is the sexiest thing about you.”
“It is? I thought it’s was the way I give you shit. Damn. Am I slipping?”
I chuckle against the top of her head. “No, Viper. In fact, you’re getting better at it.”
“I’m going to take a couple of days and get my thoughts more organized. I want to talk to Colton and see what he thinks, maybe even have a conversation with Rylee. She can give me an on-the-ground perspective. Then I want to talk to your father.”
“Dad? Why?”
“Sometimes I think we’re so attached that if we had someone we trust look at it from the outside in, we could avoid pushback.”
“You mean Elyse. Dylan, maybe I should be the one to talk to my father. Maybe I should just tell him, then that steals her power.”
“No. We’re not there yet. I agree there’s only one way to deal with a snake, and that’s head-on. You don’t call me Viper for nothing. I’m going to circle the pit and if I need to, dive in.”
“I was wrong. That is the sexiest thing about you.”
Wes
I’ve tried to reach Hayley now for more than twenty-four hours. I know that by the find a phone option on the phone that she was with Eli and at home on either side of it. I just wish I understood what is going on. I try once more to get her on the phone. It rings all the way to voice mail. I toss my phone on the hotel bed and continue packing to catch my flight. Just as I’m ready to head out the door, my text notification pings. Finally, Hayley’s responding.
I open our text chat to find a screenshot of an Instagram post from the fundraiser last night. Just below is a short message. I hope you had fun.
Fuck.
Just… fuck.
Dylan
Eli doesn’t think I should be working yet. I feel differently. So we meet in the middle. I will work from home at the table until next week, then I will go back to the office as normal. I can get around our space by myself. We pull the office chair from the spare bedroom desk so I can wheel around between all the rooms and bring my crutches with for spots the chair can’t get into. I’m glad we came up with this, because honestly, it’s a great workout wheeling myself all over.
The other part is he will work two-thirds of the day in the office then start and end at home. I told him he didn’t have to do that, but the Prince Charming that lives in my husband won’t have it any other way. Skye is being amazing, not like that’s a shock, and so are my partners. With the slow roll back to normal, I’ve got a little time on my calendar this morning. I’ve asked for an in-person meeting with someone who could hold a few of the missing pieces for us.
Jack was surprised I called this morning and even more surprised I wanted to keep it just between the two of us for now. I asked him to stop over at lunchtime. I ordered in from his favorite local deli, which had our food waiting when he knocked on the door.
“It’s open,” I holler.
My father-in-law enters with another knock with the door open a crack. “Dylan?”
“I’m at the table. I’d come greet you but….”
Jack gets past the corner of the wall and stops. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” I give my chair a good shove back then pedal my way forward with my good leg. “I hope you’re not still in too much pain.”
“I’m able to get myself in and out of the bathroom and this chair is like a carnival ride. We can do chair races later, if you want.”
“I can see you haven’t lost your sense of humor. Is that Carlito’s I smell?”
“I thought the least I could do is feed you since I didn’t give you much indication as to why I wanted to meet.”
“You never need a reason, Dylan. You could have just wanted company and I would have cleared the time. However, you do have me curious.”
“Let me mark us in a meeting and we can eat while we talk.”
“I won’t argue.”
He grabs the back of my chair and carefully wheels me back to the end of the table. I love how much Jack loves things. I know that’s where Eli gets it from. It doesn’t matter if it’s a pitch, a sporting event, a cause he believes in, or a simple conversation with his family, the passion and attention he gives is the same.
“We’ve not had the chance to sit and talk like this for a while. Have we?” he asks.
“No. That’s part of it too. I’m looking for some information and I guess, perspective. I trust you and that’s the reason.”
“I’m honored, Dylan. Truly. I’ll help you if I can. What is this pertaining to?”
“It’s a couple of areas really, but they’re tied together in a way. I need to start with this.” I take a long sip of water before my subtle nerves to continue. “What can you tell me about Elyse Nordby?”
“That’s not a topic I thought would come up. What do you want to know specifically?”
“I’ve, well we’ve, that is Eli and I have had trouble with her lately. I guess if I’m being honest, she’s hated me from the moment she knew Eli and I were together in any way. She’s tried in many instances to make things harder or even impossible for me. Did we tell you she was one of the judges on my audition panel for the company I turned down?”
“You didn’t. Lily and I simply knew you’d decided not to join. It wasn’t a matter of why. You thought it was right, so we supported it.”
I think my cheeks flush as I look down at my half-full glass on the table. “I still forget I don’t have to explain myself. It was the director of the company, Jill Wallace, who I work with now, and Elyse.”
“That couldn’t have been a comfortable situation for you to be presented with.”
“It wasn’t. Elyse could have been overruled, which she didn’t like, by a two-to-one margin to accept me. Then when I turned it down, before they even voted, she was more pissed off than if she got me blackballed. She’s been very hard on me where ALITE is concerned. I’m not saying this to whine, but she makes me feel like a child in my own meetings. No one else does that.”