Leo stared at his phone, as he had been trying to get ahold of Carly since last night. She hadn't called back or replied to his messages. He now started to worry, wondering what could be the reason. He then remembered that Carly had gone to the beach yesterday and must be exhausted. Still. Leo looked at the time on his phone. It was ten in the morning. Could she really have been that tired? Leo could only groan silently. It had been a tiring night for him too, but here he was, seated out on the patio at the back, overlooking the garden.
He was fortunate not to have drunk so much alcohol last night, or else he would have had a massive hangover. His body still felt a little tired, but somehow, he found himself fully awake at nine and decided to get out of bed and do something. He thought of making himself a cup of coffee and found Mandy in the kitchen, who happened to make him some. After this, he thought it would be better to take a walk around. The tent and the tables and chairs used for the birthday party were cleared out of the garden. Everything was back to the way it was.
Pushing the thought of Carly not answering his calls aside, Leo looked through his phone as birthday messages from last night kept flooding his inbox. The number of messages bothered him a little, and he knew he couldn't answer all of them right away. He soon remembered what Eric told him about his birthday trending on social media last night and decided to have a look.
He first checked on Instagram, and there were many pictures and videos posted by his family members, friends, and colleagues who had attended the party. A few pictures of himself popped up, and he was surprised to see that while he had been enjoying the party without a care in the world, some people had actually taken pictures of him.
He continued to look through, and many photos of Angel started to show up. Similar to his pictures, Angel had no idea that she was being captured on people's cameras. However, he couldn't help but admit that she looked fairly gorgeous. In the comment section on one of the photos, people couldn't help but ask who she was. It won't be long until they do. It was easy for anyone to find someone nowadays if he or she had a social media account. Leo had no doubt in his mind that Angel might as well have many followers after this.
As Leo continued to look through the pictures, everything about last night started to come back to him. How everyone had surprised him in the garden, how the party had gone on after that, the fun games he had played, and the birthday cake. So much had gone on last night, and when he soon stumbled upon the video of him dancing with Angel, his heart couldn't help but flutter as he watched it. Wow, he thought. Did I really dance like this with Angel? He couldn't believe it.
"Hey? What are you watching?"
Leo almost jumped with fright as he turned to see Angel in her white pajamas and wearing a white sleeping gown. For someone who had had a long week preparing his party, she seemed well rested as she smiled at him. Leo concluded that her face must be deceiving since she always looks so good. Her face seemed radiant this morning, and Leo couldn't help but wonder why that was so.
Angel continued to look down at Leo's phone and realized that he was watching the ballroom dance from last night. Leo noticed how Angel's eyes grew larger as she continued to watch the video, and he could tell that she was just as surprised as he was when he first watched the video.
"Is that really us?" Angel asked.
"Yeah," Leo answered as he went back to watching the video. "I couldn't believe it myself either."
"I almost didn't recognize myself." Angel pulled back a chair and sat next to Leo. Leo couldn't help but feel Angel's body warmth radiate out to him even when their bodies weren't touching each other. To him, it felt comforting in a weird way.
Angel continued to watch the video, and a smile came across her face. "I need to watch the full video of this," she said. She turned to look at Leo. "We danced really well, didn't we?"
Leo didn't know how to answer that as he quickly turned to look at the video. Angel's question started to make him blush.
"We did," he answered, with much difficulty. If Angel hadn't noticed how Leo had struggled to get the words out, then she might not have been paying attention or didn't want to address it. The cameraman at the party must have taken a video of the whole thing," Leo continued. "So I wouldn't worry much."
"I bet you're right." Angel stretched out her hands in the air, careful enough not to hit Leo. "Gosh, I still feel like I need some sleep." She dropped her arms and looked at Leo. "Did you sleep well yourself? For someone who had a party yesterday, you look well-rested."
"I couldn't sleep anymore and just decided to move around a bit."
Angel smiled as she looked towards the green lawn where the tent had been. "Seems pretty quiet after last night," she said.
"Yeah, but it was fun. Thanks for making it a great birthday party."
Angel turned to look at Leo, and Leo felt like biting his tongue after saying that. Yet he felt he shouldn't be ashamed whatsoever. Deep down, he meant it.
"You're welcome," said Angel. She was just about to turn her head to look elsewhere when something came to mind, and she quickly had to ask. "Have you talked to Carly today?"
Leo shook his head. "No, I haven't. I tried calling a few minutes ago, but there was no answer. I'm guessing she had a busy day at the beach."
"She does tire out easily. I tried calling her last night, but her phone didn't seem to be going through. I left her a message, but still no reply."
Leo's eyes focused on in front of him, his mind elsewhere. "I'm not going to lie," he started to say, "I'm starting to get worried."
Angel looked at Leo, and for once, she didn't question him. "I get what you mean," she said. "Sometimes, I feel the same way when I notice there's something off with her."
Angel's last statement triggered her memory, taking her back to when she discovered that Carly had two phones and the letter that she found under her pillows last night. Could something have happened in Mexico for Carly not to call back? As much as Angel tried to rub off the thought, her intuition told her that something wasn't right.
Leo withdrew from his thoughts and turned to look at Angel, who also had her head in the clouds. No doubt, she's thinking about Carly, Leo thought. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. If Carly is alright, then I would have made Angel worry over nothing.
"Like you said, she's probably tired," said Leo, trying to think of a way to change the topic. "We'll give her until the end of the day."
"Yeah. All we can do now is wait," said Angel.
"There have been photos of you online," said Leo, looking through his phone and showing it to Angel. "Everyone seems to be asking who you are."
Angel focused her eyes on Leo's phone as she looked through the pictures. She also couldn't believe herself that there were this many photos of her. A smile came on her face as she saw a photo of herself walking towards the person taking the photo of her, but she seemed to be looking elsewhere, unaware of her picture being taken. As she looked through the photos of herself, it almost seemed unreal that the woman in the flowery, peach-colored dress was her. Now that she was seeing the photos for herself, she now understood why everyone at the party complimented her.
"Is this really me?" Angel asked as she looked at the photo. "Seems so unreal."
"Yeah, it is you," said Leo as he looked at the photo. "People aren't going to get over the party for a week, especially about you. Once people get to know who you are, you'll have your inboxes flooding with messages from admirers."
"Or haters." Angel looked at Leo with a smirk on her face.
Leo hadn't noticed it, but Angel's face was a lot closer to his now. Since they were both looking at his phone, Angel had leaned in a little closer, their shoulders touching. Now that they were facing each other, Leo's cheeks started to heat up. The look on Angel's face was something he had never seen before. He doubted if he had ever seen her smirk like that. In a way, that excited him as he felt a chill down his spine.
The smirk on Angel's face quickly dropped when she noticed how close she was to Leo's face. She thought of turning away, but she couldn't even move. Her eyes grew a little wider in shock, and she started to blush.
"If you were going to receive messages from haters, then they are probably jealous of how beautiful you are," Leo said. He couldn't understand how he managed to get those words out of his mouth, but he did. His eyes continued to look at Angel. Even without makeup, she still looks beautiful, he concluded in his thoughts.
Angel gulped, her eyes falling to turn away from Leo's gaze. His words and his gaze sent her heart fluttering. Did Leo just say that I am beautiful? she asked herself. Leo did compliment her last night, but that was only for the occasion. Did he really mean it? she wondered.
Leo cleared his throat, spoiling the mood for the two of them. He shifted a little in his seat, drawing himself away from Angel. Angel wondered what could have happened, but it didn't take her a minute to realize it.
Someone had just appeared on the patio, and Leo was quick to see who it was and draw himself away. Angel quickly turned to see Mrs. McDonell dressed in a silk navy blue sleeping robe, standing on the patio with a glass of water in her hand, and eyes towards the garden. She didn't notice Angel and Leo seated on one side of the patio. It took a few seconds to realize that they were even there.
"Morning, you two," said Mrs. McDonell as she fully turned to face them.
"Morning," Angel greeted her, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Did you sleep well, Mum?" Leo asked, turning to look at his mother.
"Yes, I did," Mrs. McDonell answered as she approached the table. Angel and Leo couldn't help but grow tense as though she would discover something that they were hiding, when there was literally nothing to hide. "What are the two of you doing out here?"
"Just taking in the morning fresh air," Angel answered. "I found Leo here looking at some pictures from last night."
"Oh, I see." Mrs. McDonell had wondered why the two of them sat so close. "I was also looking through my phone when I woke up. You were the main topic of the night, Angel. Even Leo didn't get as much attention as you did."
"Well, I guess these things happen." Angel shrugged her shoulders.
"I noticed that Kim's car is still parked outside." Mrs. McDonell looked at Leo. "Didn't anyone come take her home?"
Leo shook his head. "I thought you would call someone from her home to come pick her up," said Leo. "She was knocked out cold, and I bet she still is."
"Well, Leo, I thought you would take that up and ensure that she reached home safe and sound."
"I don't want to sound rude or anything, but you invited Kim here, so it was supposed to be your responsibility."
"Leo, you don't seem to get it. Kim needed—"
Angel quickly stood from her seat, cutting Mrs. McDonell off from finishing her sentence.
"Kim needs a nice, hot cup of coffee, and the two of you arguing won't help," said Angel as she looked at Bertha, then at Leo. "If you ask me, she was better off spending the night here. Let's forget about it, alright?"
Leo looked up at Angel, and for once, he felt grateful for calming things before the conversation went too far. He turned to look at his mother, who didn't like the fact that Angel put things as plainly as she did. A funny thought about last night soon came to mind, and as much as he wanted to address it, he held his tongue for now.
"Make sure Kim gets her coffee, Angel," said Mrs. McDonell, giving Leo a stern look before turning around and going back inside the house.
Angel sighed in relief. That was a close one. It was too early for mother and son to be arguing in the morning. As much as someone like Amanda would have loved to see them argue, Angel wasn't in the mood for drama.
"I better go make coffee," said Angel as she looked at Leo. "Would you want some more? It seems you already had a cup." Angel looked down at the cup on the table.
Leo gave Angel a thin-lipped smile. "Sure, thanks," he said.
Angel started to make her way inside when Leo held her arm to stop her from leaving. Angel turned to look at him.
"What is it?" she asked.
"This is going to sound ridiculous," said Leo as he looked up at Angel. "But did my Mum plan that we have the ballroom dance so that I should dance with Kim?"
Angel sighed. "Yeah, she did," she answered. "Diana and I tried to talk her out of it. If anything, you should thank Eric for being sharp enough to try and turn things around."
"Yeah, I really should." Leo looked off in the distance, then he quickly turned back to look at Angel. "And I should thank you too."
"For dancing with you?" Angel looked confused.
"I wouldn't have known that you are a great dancer, now, would I?" This time Leo smirked.
Angel blushed at the comment and quickly looked away. "I'll go and make that coffee."
She quickly took Leo's cup and rushed back inside the house. Leo watched her go. A smile fell on his face, and he found himself unlocking his phone. And a picture of Angel in her lovely, peach dress was staring back at him.
Kim groaned as she moved under the bedcovers. Her head was pounding as if she had been hit with a hammer. Did I drink too much last night? She asked herself. She wondered how this could've happened as she slowly propped herself up on her elbows. She slowly tried to open her eyes to gather her surroundings, but her pounding head wasn't giving her a chance. She had to force herself to sit up, and she looked around the dark room.
The door to the room slowly flew open, and Kim, still holding her pounding head, turned towards the door. Someone had walked in and approached the bed. Who it was, Kim couldn't tell. It was until the person spoke that Kim realized that it was Angel.
"Hey, Kim." Kim could soon smell the strong smell of coffee in the air. "I made you a cup of coffee. Here, take it."
Kim turned to look at Angel standing beside her, and now that she gathered her thoughts, she knew where she was. She sniffed as she slowly took the cup of coffee on the saucer. Angel warned her that it was hot and she had to be careful. Kim took a sip of coffee and realized how strong it was. It made her mind go wide-awake. Her head still ached like hell, though.
Angel approached the window and slowly drew aside the curtain to let in the sunlight. Kim almost hissed like a vampire, trying to shield her eyes from the light. After her eyes adjusted a little, it didn't seem all that bad.
Angel turned to look at Kim. "You should wash up afterwards and come down for breakfast," she said. "Coffee might not be so helpful in curing hangovers."
Kim looked up at Angel. "Yeah, I will, thanks," said Kim groggily. "I think I left my other set of clothes in the guest room downstairs."
"I'll bring them up for you. There will be no need to go downstairs."
Angel was just about to make her way out of the room when Kim called out to her.
"Angel," said Kim. Angel stopped and looked at her. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure. What is it?"
Kim looked towards the open door, and Angel knew she had to close it. Angel did likewise and approached the bed Kim was sleeping on. Kim winced as she felt her head pound a little before looking up at Angel.
"After I passed out last night, did anything happen during the party?" Kim asked.
"Not anything special that you might have missed out on," Angel answered.
Kim scoffed as she squinted her eyes. "I am such an idiot to have gotten myself so drunk. I thought I had things under control. But clearly, I was wrong."
Angel pressed her lips together. "Kim, what's done is done. If you think you embarrassed yourself in front of everyone, you didn't."
"I embarrassed myself in front of Leo, though." Kim groaned. "And last night I thought I would be the one dancing with him, but it didn't happen. Moreover, when I thought I could come here and talk to him about his girlfriend, I passed out. Of course, I embarrassed myself!"
Angel sighed. "Feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to get you anywhere, Kim."
"Maybe I shouldn't have come to the party at all."
"Maybe. But we would never know that for sure now."
"Does Leo hate me? Be honest with me, Angel." Kim looked at her with a certain pain in her eyes.
Angel shook her head. "He doesn't. If he did, you wouldn't have slept in this house after you passed out like that."
Kim laughed a little. "I guess so." She took a huge gulp of her coffee and placed the cup on the bedside table. "I better be up on my feet. I don't want to take advantage of your hospitality any longer."
Kim drew aside the bedcovers, and in the process, she knocked over some of the pillows on the bed. After putting her feet on the floor, she tried to stand, and Angel happened to be right beside her in case she fell back down on the floor. However, Kim managed to steady her shaky knees and stood upright.
"I'm alright," she said, smiling at Angel. "This isn't my first hangover. I'll go take a quick shower."
"You do that," said Angel. "I'll go get your clothes."
Kim slowly walked over to the bathroom, and Angel watched her until she entered and locked the door behind her. Angel turned around and thought of making the bed first before heading downstairs to get Kim's things. She started to pick up the pillows that had fallen to the floor to place them on the chair next to the window. As soon as she picked them up, she noticed the white envelope on the floor. Angel had almost forgotten that she had actually seen it yesterday. She bent down to pick it up and turned it to look at Carly's name written on it.
The feeling Angel had last night about the letter came back to her in an instant. And with Carly not answering her phone from last night and her recent suspicions, Angel was more than convinced that there was something her sister was hiding from her.
Angel heard Kim turn on the shower in the bathroom, knowing that she would be in there for quite a while. It wasn't right for Angel to be poking around in Carly's business, but she couldn't take it. What if her sister was in trouble, she thought.
Without giving it a second thought, Angel opened the envelope. It wasn't sealed, so if Carly were to see it, she wouldn't know somebody had tampered with it. Angel removed the neatly folded paper inside and slowly started to unfold it. Her hands trembled with each second that passed. There was writing on the paper in red ink, and the note was surprisingly short. All of a sudden, a knock came at the door, startling Angel that she almost dropped the paper on the floor.
"Excuse me, Angel? Are you in there?" came the voice of Mandy.
Angel quickly folded the paper, put it back in the envelope, and placed it in the pocket of her robe. "Yes, I'm in here, Mandy," she said. "Please, come in."
Mandy came in the room and found Angel making the bed. "Mrs. McDonell wanted me to check on Kim and see if she got the coffee you said you would make for her," said Mandy.
"Yes, I did, as you can see," said Angel as she turned to look towards the cup on the bedside drawer. "Um… can you do me a favor and go bring Kim's clothes from one of the guest rooms downstairs? She'll need a change of clothes."
Mandy agreed and made her way out of the room. Angel had just finished spreading the bed cover and had put the pillows back in place. She removed the envelope from her pocket and looked at it one last time before placing it back under the pillows. Without looking back, Angel quickly made her way out of Carly's room, closing the door behind her.
***
Carly spent her whole Sunday with Andre after he had magically appeared at her door around one in the morning. She didn't care that her disappearance back at the other hotel would raise some suspicion. She would have to come up with a reasonable excuse, especially for Robin, who would be worried about her after not seeing her the whole day.
She and Andre had spent the entire day together, rarely leaving the bed and staying in their bathrobes. They ordered their food through room service, and they would spend hours talking and then later on make love to each other. The two of them couldn't even count how many times they did that. Nevertheless, they enjoyed themselves and couldn't get enough of each other.
Early on in the evening, Andre had to leave, telling Loren that he had to go back home and sort some things. Loren growled as she turned around in her bathrobe as she lay on the bed. She didn't like the fact that Andre had to leave.
"Aw, do you really have to go?" Loren asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Yeah, it pains me to leave you," said Andre as he put his jacket on. "I really enjoyed this, but I have some work to do."
Loren tugged at the warm blanket as her legs slowly moved about in the air. "Why can't I come with you?"
Andre looked at Loren, surprised at the question. Then he smiled. "You want to come with me?" he asked.
"Well, yeah. If I let you walk out that door, you're just going to abandon me again."
"I'm not going to abandon you, Loren." Andre came to sit right beside her on the bed. His hand stroked her black hair. "You've become too valuable to me."
"Then take me with you. If you and I are going to make this work, then I have to be your partner in crime, don't you think?"
Andre playfully scoffed as he bent his head to kiss Loren on her forehead. "Now that I think about it, I do remember when I wanted you to come over to my place. We can start from there."
"Really?" Loren propped herself a little higher on her elbows. "I will get to see your estate. Or your hacienda, as you like to put it."
"Yes, I would like to take you there. But…."
Loren growled again. "Now what?" she asked, looking annoyed.
"I need to prepare the place for you first when you come over. This will be the perfect time to do so. I'd send someone to come and get you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? You're sure?" Loren raised an eyebrow at him.
Andre bent down to give a little smooch on her lips. "Of course, I'm sure. I'm going to make your stay in Mexico memorable."
Loren bit her lower lip as she smiled at Andre. "Ooh, you better."
"I better be off." Andre stood up from the bed and started to make his way to the door. "I'll call you."
Loren waved at him and blew him a kiss. Andre took hold of her invisible kiss and placed it on his lips. He smiled as he turned around and went for the door. Loren heard the door open and close. She quickly got out of bed in her bathrobe and went over to check that Andre had indeed walked out of the room.
Carly went back to the bedroom area and went for her bedside drawer, where her phone was. She took it, and the first person she called was Veronica.
"Evening, Veronica," Carly greeted her.
"Evening, Carly," said Veronica as she yawned. "I heard Andre showed up when I woke up this morning. I couldn't believe it until I saw him walking out right now. You were right. He did show."
Carly scoffed. "Yeah, I was just as surprised when he showed up so late. You can call Red Lion and tell him we're back on schedule. I might go to Andre's place no later than tomorrow."
"Trust me, when I saw Andre walking out of your room with a smile on his face, I knew. He would be thrilled to hear."
"Great. I need to take a shower."
"Will you be going back to the other hotel afterwards?"
"Yeah, maybe a little later. I still need to make an appearance. But I would like to come back here early tomorrow if that's okay."
"Sure, no problem. Won't it be better to call Red Lion instead and let him know?"
Carly paused for a bit before answering, "No. You tell him."
"Alright, then." Veronica could already feel the tension in Carly's voice. "You'll let me know when you're ready to leave."
Carly cut the call and placed her phone back on the bedside drawer. She took a minute to take a breather as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and out. Her little gamble had saved her, and she would live to see another day. But for how long? And will there be situations where she would have to rely on her intuition to get out of trouble? Most likely.
A vibration coming from the drawer brought Carly back down to earth. She looked towards her phone on the drawer, and to her surprise, it wasn't the one ringing. She hid her personal phone in the drawer, and she drew open the top drawer and found it still vibrating. Someone was calling her, and when she checked the caller ID, she was surprised to see it was Leo.
Carly picked up the phone and thought of sliding the call button to answer him. She stopped short as she looked at the phone. She sighed as she changed her mind and turned the phone upside down to stop it from ringing as she placed it back in the drawer. Holding her head in frustration, she knew she made a mistake by not answering Leo's call. Right now, she didn't feel like talking to him. She didn't feel like talking to anyone, for that matter. She was going through a roller coaster of dull, sinking emotions, and all she wanted was to be alone. If anything, she didn't feel human anymore.
***
Red Lion was scrolling through his phone as he sat behind a desk when a call suddenly came through his phone. It was Veronica. He answered the call.
"Any new developments, Veronica?" Red Lion asked.
"Well, Carly is back at the hotel now as requested," said Veronica. "Once Andre calls her to his estate, we'll be prepped and ready."
"Good. Now that everything is going accordingly, why are you calling me?"
Veronica hesitated for a bit when she said, "It's Carly."
Red Lion shifted uneasily in his seat. "What about her?"
"Well, to be honest, no one thought she was going to be able to bring Andre back here, but she did. Which is a good thing. I just feel after this little bump in the road, we may want to watch over her."
"Watch over her as in—?" Red Lion raised an eyebrow, confused with what Veronica was trying to say.
"Her state of mind. Carly might have done some bad stuff, but she's no criminal like we are. What if she won't be able to perform the task at hand?"
"Don't try to take pity on her, Veronica. With one bump in the road, there will be much more to come. But I know she'll handle it. That is how she will learn."
"You can't be too sure about that. One day she'll have to make a life-changing decision, and I don't think she's up for it."
Red Lion scoffed as he stood up from his chair. "If that happens, I know what to do. I feel you're worrying about Carly over nothing. She might not look like it, but she's a tough one. If you're that worried about her, you might take on the role of babysitting her. But I would much prefer you watch over your post."
"As you wish. Goodnight." Veronica soon cut the call.
Red Lion sighed as he put the phone on the wooden desk. He stood and walked towards the window, looking over the night sky and the beautiful lights of Mexico City below him. He went through the conversation with Veronica, and he couldn't help but wonder if she was right. Carly might have gone through a scare, but she produced the results that he needed. Once she gets a hang of this, she'll get by with ease, Red Lion thought to himself. He needed to keep his eye on her, and he thought he knew just what to do.
A knock soon came at the door, and Red Lion turned around to tell the person to come in. Hugo walked in, and in an instant, Red Lion knew something was wrong. He raised an eyebrow at Hugo.
"It's Matilda," said Hugo. "She's outside, and she's mad."
Red Lion sighed. Of course, it had to be her. "Tell her to come in," he said as he sat back down on his black swivel chair. "We don't want her punching my men like last time."
Hugo gave a nod of his head and walked out of the room. A few seconds later, the door quickly flew open, and Matilda, in a white blouse, black jeans, and matching black high-heeled boots, walked in. She looked upset, and Red Lion couldn't help but smile at how sassy she looked. He had to reserve his comment for later. Something told him he was yet to receive a punch in the face.
"What brings you here, Matilda?" Red Lion asked, his smile slowly fading away from his face.
"I want you to drop whatever you're doing," said Matilda, after banging the door shut behind her.
"Drop what?" Red Lion asked as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Your plans of trying to bring down Andre." Matilda walked over to his desk with big strides. She looked like a wildcat ready to pounce on him.
"I thought you liked the idea. You said it yourself that I would have your full support. What's changed?"
Matilda huffed. "You told me your plans, but it seems like always, you never let me in on everything. I just found out what you're really up to. You're playing a risky game here."
"In life you've got to take risks. And you know that better than anyone."
Matilda banged her hands on the desk, and that didn't startle Red Lion at all. He had gotten so used to her tantrums over the years that all he did was smile.
"This isn't a joking matter anymore," said Matilda. "Now I realize why you went back to New York. How many lives are you going to ruin because of your selfish ego?"
Red Lion smirked. "I know what I'm doing, Matilda. Once everything goes according to plan, we will forget that we even had this conversation."
Matilda laughed as she continued to look at Red Lion. "Not everything will go as you want it to, dear, especially with the game you're playing."
"I'll make sure that everything will go on smoothly. Don't you trust me anymore, Matilda?"
"I used to. But now it seems to me I don't know who you are anymore. I can't seem to understand why you're doing this."
Matilda straightened herself up from the desk and started to make her way out of the door. She held the doorknob and turned to look at Red Lion.
"It won't be long until the authorities start to ask questions about you," she said. "This is just a heads-up. You might have dodged them for a long time, but it won't be long until they put the pieces together."
Red Lion gave a nod. "Noted," he said.
Matilda looked away, opened the door, and walked out of the door. Red Lion continued to look at the door until he took his phone from the table and turned around in his chair to look out the window. He went on ahead to make a call. The ringing went on for quite a while until the person on the other end picked up.
"Hello," came a woman's voice on the other side. "I didn't think you would call. Did she reach out to you?"
"No," Red Lion answered, after clearing his throat. "That's something I would like to talk to you about. And also, I would like you to do me a favor."