Three Little Mistakes (Blindfold Club 3)

I wondered what exactly she meant, but a knock came from my front door, making both of us jump. I sighed. Joseph had taken back Ross’s key, but I’d forgotten to remove him from the list of visitors who could come up unannounced. I left Payton in the bedroom and moved down the hallway. My body ached as I pulled the door open.

My father stepped inside, his eyes filled with concern.

“Hey.” I smiled widely. He never came to my place. “What are you doing here?”

“You cancelled dinner tonight because you were sick.” He had a black wool jacket on over his suit, like he’d come straight from the office. “Honestly, Noemi, I came to see if that was true.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Where were you last week, young lady?”

Oh, shit. The medicine head made the effects of being caught in the lie worse, and I latched a hand onto the couch to support myself. “Uh . . .” It seemed pointless to dig my hole deeper, and really, what was the big deal? I was twenty-three. I hadn’t done anything dangerous or illegal. “I went to Hawaii with my boyfriend. I’m sorry I lied to you.”

“Shit.”

The air in the room plummeted twenty degrees when Payton’s voice rang out. She stood in the hallway, her face paper-white and her wide eyes pointed at my father. His expression was blank, which I hadn’t seen before. He was an emotive man, so it was bizarre.

“Dad, this is my friend, Payton.”

Neither of them moved at first, but Payton finally marched forward and held out her hand. He took it.

“Nice to meet you, Paige,” he said.

“It’s Payton,” she corrected, but her voice was tight, the last syllable dying on her tongue. She pulled her hand back quickly and adjusted the sash on her coat. “I should get going, Em.”

“Wait a minute,” my father said. “How did you two meet?”

Crap! Joseph had asked me to give him a few weeks before introducing him to my father. I needed an alternate story that didn’t involve Joseph. “Her fiancé’s a VP at Chase Sports. I interviewed him for a paper I had to write.”

I was fairly pleased with the plausibility of my lie, until Payton looked like I’d punched her in the stomach.

“I have to go,” she said quickly, her gaze dropping as she hurried out the door, not saying goodbye to either of us.

She’d gone awkward at the sight of my father, but it happened occasionally. People were star struck by Anthony Rosso, who had no business being called a star. He’d only been in a few episodes of a TV show that aired several years ago, and hadn’t rated high. Plus, he was wealthy and had power, but he was still just a man.

“You must make her nervous,” I said, expecting him to be offended by her abrupt exit.

“What’s her fiancé’s name?”

What on earth? “Why?”

“We have a lot of money, and some people might want to take advantage of you.”

I sank down on the couch, woozy. “Dominic’s a VP at Chase, I don’t think she’s hurting for money.”

“Are you okay?” The concern was back in his voice.

“Yeah, but this cold is kicking my butt.”

As he went into the kitchen, his phone chimed. He came back carrying a glass of Kool-Aid and put his arm around me, helping me stand.

“I should be kicking your butt for lying to me. Why’d you do that?”

“Can I tell you I’m sorry, that it’s a long story, and explain it some other time when my head’s not pounding?” The thought dawned on me as we moved toward my bedroom. “How’d you find out?”

“Ross called.” I stared at him with disbelief. “Hey, I’m as surprised as you. He was hoping I knew someone over at the accounting firm he’s interviewing at. When we got to talking, he mentioned you were dating an older man, and you hadn’t gone to Mexico with your friends.”

“Fucking Ross.”