I look back at Brian, who looks like he’s about to rip his head off. “He was right there, but I went to the door without thinking. He hasn’t even let me workout by myself,” I defend him. “This has nothing to do with Brian.”
“Well, he should have been the one who answered the door,” he says, and now I get angry, but I don’t have time to say anything because the phone is taken out of my hands.
“There is no way in hell you are blaming this on me. You said you had the hotels covered,” he hisses. I look at him now and see that he’s not just pissed. He’s past pissed. “From now on, I choose where we stay, and I also get to decide who gets that info, and right now, I don’t trust anyone but my team.”
“There is no way anyone from my side leaked this information or took the information,” Tommy snarls. “I’m getting on a plane in an hour.”
“For what?” he asks. “To make yourself feel better for putting her in danger?”
“That is enough,” I say softly and walk over to him, grabbing the phone back. “Tommy, I’m fine. There is no reason for you to come. If I feel at any time I need you, I will let you know.”
“Okay, sweetheart, but I’m just a phone call away,” he tells me. “You call me whenever you want.”
“I will.” I hang up and then turn back to Brian. “What was all that?” I say, holding the phone up in my hand. “Where I stay is not a secret. You know this. The hotel people could have leaked the information to get free press. This is just the way things work.” I walk to him and put my hands on his hips. “I shouldn’t have opened the door.” He puts his hands on my hips, pulling me into a hug. I raise my head and kiss his neck. “I promise to let you do what you need to do.”
“I don’t care if you let me or not. It’s happening.” He wraps his arms around me. “Now, let’s eat. We need to talk.” The words “we need to talk” don’t sit well with me for some reason, but I just nod. Walking over to the kitchen, I open the cabinets until I find the plates and then take one to him. There is a tray with pancakes and waffles, one with eggs, another one with chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and also mashed sweet potatoes.
“Great, what every girl wants to hear. Let’s talk,” I tell him and then walk to the table with my plate half full and a pit in my stomach.
Chapter Twenty
Brian
“Great, what every girl wants to hear. Let’s talk,” she says to me, filling up her plate but not as much as she should be. I look over at her as she sits down at the table in the corner.
What started as one of the best mornings I’ve had has turned into a shitshow. The minute the knock came on the door, the hair on my neck stood up. I knew it wasn’t good. Watching her walk in with the brown box in her hand screamed bad news, and I was pissed at myself for letting her answer the door. I was pissed at myself for letting my guard down. I was pissed I let Tommy talk me into hotels and didn’t follow my gut and just rent houses for the tour. This stops here. I sit in the chair next to her and watch her push around her food, nibbling on a couple of pieces.
“Babe,” I say, grabbing a forkful of chicken fried steak, “relax.” She looks up at me, grabbing a piece of waffle. “For the rest of the tour, my team and I are going to handle where we’ll be staying, and it’s on a need to know basis.”
She looks at me. “And who is on a need to know basis?” she asks me while I chew.
“Me,” I tell her honestly, “and maybe Cori but so far just me.”
She throws her fork down on the plate, and it clatters with a clank. “What do you mean maybe Cori?” Leaning back in her chair, she says, “She has been with me since the beginning. If there is anyone out there who can be trusted, it’s Cori.”
“I’ll have a chat with Cori,” I tell her and then look at her, pointing at her plate with my fork. “Eat.”
She glares at me but picks up her fork and cuts a piece of chicken fried steak. “Where I go, she goes,” she says, “so you need to tell her. She has to organize things for me.” I get up, grab a bottle of water, and then go back to the table. “Now that we’ve settled that, how about we talk about this?” she says, gesturing between us.