“I’m guessing after everything you told me that Trey won’t be coming to the office anymore.” Louise’s voice roused Sage from her thoughts.
“No. He got all of the information he needed.”
“Do you really think he voted against you?”
“A week ago, I’d have said no, but now I’m not sure.” She recalled the way he’d taken to the office and how he’d worked so hard to get her a star-studded lineup for the upcoming year. “But then I messed everything up. And now I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t want any reminders of me.”
Louise frowned. “I don’t think he’s vindictive. He struck me as a man with integrity and a solid head on his shoulders.”
The dog started to squirm and so Sage set him on the floor. “I hope you’re right because it’s not just the magazine. It’s your job and everyone else that works here.”
“And no matter what, we all know that you did your best.”
Sage’s phone rang. In all honesty, she didn’t want to talk to anyone else. She was more than willing to call it a day. But it could be the board with a decision about the magazine’s future. When she checked the caller ID, it was someone totally unexpected.
CHAPTER TWENTY
TREY HAD BEEN avoiding Sage.
He didn’t think he could face her again until he had everything sorted out. He’d been extremely busy since returning from France.
Ever since he’d walked away from Sage that night at the château, he’d felt as though he’d lost a piece of himself. Sure, he was upset that she’d interfered in his life and brought his father to see him. It was wrong and for a while he’d been really upset with her.
His father had followed him to the States. They’d had another talk. This time his father did most of the talking and Trey did more listening. In the end, his father told him to give Sage another chance. In the little bit of time that his father had seen them together, he said he could tell they had something special.
Trey left that meeting anxious to talk to Sage about what had just gone on between him and his father—their first meaningful conversation. But she wasn’t waiting for him at home. She wasn’t waiting for him. Period.
And he had no one to blame but himself. She had drawn his father back into his life out of the goodness of her heart. If there was one thing about Sage that was undeniable, it was her desire for others to be happy—even if she wasn’t.
And now it was time they talked. He hoped that she would hear him out and, in the end, she’d be happy. He’d hired a team of private investigators to work through the information his hacker friends had uncovered about Elsa’s dealings. And he now had incriminating proof that Elsa had stolen Sage’s legacy.
And with the board meeting concluded and the official vote taken, Trey jumped in his sleek black sports car and raced across town to the headquarters of QTR Magazine. He maneuvered the car through the parking lot. Just as a black town car pulled out from in front of the building, he slipped his car into the vacant spot.
Not so long ago, he would have thought of this as his father’s building, but now when he looked at the building, he thought of it as Sage’s domain. She’d done miracles with this magazine. He was proud of her.
He rushed to the glass doors and, once inside the lobby, he came to a stop. There was Louise and Happy. He glanced around for Sage, but she was nowhere in sight.
Arf! Arf!
Trey said hi to Louise and then knelt down to pet Happy. Even though the dog was cute, he never would have considered keeping him if it weren’t for Sage’s fondness for Happy. Keeping a dog was a life-changing event for him. It meant scheduling his life around someone else—putting Happy’s needs ahead of Trey’s hectic schedule. He wouldn’t do something like that for just anyone. But he had to admit he’d grown quite attached to the dog and the woman who’d convinced him to keep Happy.
Trey lifted his head to Louise. “Is Sage in her office?”
“No. She just left.”
He straightened. “Left?”
Louise nodded.
Trey felt as though the rug had been pulled out from under him. He thought this was his chance to fix everything and now she’d taken off in the middle of a workday. Was she that upset with him?
Louise looked at him. “Are you just going to stand there?”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to...” She glanced down at the file folder in her hand. When her gaze met his again there was a twinkle in her eyes as though she had all the answers to the world’s problems. “Do you remember when you said that you would owe me a favor for watching Happy while you were in France?”
He clearly remembered. And he knew one day that favor was going to cost him dearly. It appeared that day had arrived. “I remember.”