a wreck than I’d suspected. It had taken me several minutes to clean up the black tear tracks from my cheeks. Once I was good as new and there was no chance of more tears, I left the restroom, eager to find Elliot. Hopefully, he was finished with security. I didn’t think I’d properly thanked him for the name of the building. Then again, the way I wanted to thank him was better left behind doors.
My dress swished around my legs as I strode down the hall. The clinking of glasses and din of conversation swirling with the music from the string quartet grew louder with each step, but as soon as I reached the mouth of the hallway, a man stepped in front of me, stopping me dead in my tracks.
“Hello, Kit.”
The last time I saw Gavin, he’d been making a scene in front of LD. We hadn’t heard from him since, so I’d assumed he’d slinked back into the slimy hole he’d come from.
Apparently not.
“Gavin, you shouldn’t be here. Elliot told you—”
“Oh, but I’m not here for Elliot. It’s you.” He wagged a finger at me. “When we met, there was something familiar about you I couldn’t place. I thought about it and thought about it. Then I remembered you said you’re from Philadelphia, and that’s when it clicked. During my internship at Warner Properties, I’d see the Warner family portrait hanging in the lobby every day. Ostentatious as fuck, but the cute, red-haired daughter in the center never failed to catch my eye.”
My stomach plummeted to my feet, and my head went fuzzy. Gavin failed to notice, continuing with his discovery like he’d found Atlantis.
“I called a college buddy who works at Warner to ask him about the portrait. He told me the girl was the ‘lost Warner daughter.’ That’s what everyone calls her because she ran away from home and poor Samson Warner had no idea what had happened to his daughter.”
That wasn’t remotely true, but I couldn’t get my mouth to work to tell him that.
Gavin placed his sweaty hand on my shoulder, sending shivers down my spine. “Don’t worry, kitten, I arranged for a family reunion.”
He moved to the side, revealing my father only a few feet away, coming toward us. It hadn’t even been ten years since I’d last seen him, but he appeared to have aged two decades. His formerly salt-and-pepper hair was mostly salt now, and the bags under his eyes had their own carry-ons.
The part of me that had always wanted to be a daddy’s girl, that had longed for his approval and unconditional affection, yearned for him, even after he’d let me down again and again.
“Kit.” His rich, authoritative voice hadn’t changed, and the way he barked my name still sent shivers down my spine. “It’s really you.”
“Dad,” I squeezed out. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I’m here to see you.” His heavy brow furrowed, and he turned to Gavin. “You said she was expecting me.”
Gavin raised his hands, playacting his innocence. “I might have forgotten to mention your visit to Kit. But aren’t surprises fun? I think so.”
My feet became unstuck, and I slid to the side so I was fully out of the hallway and could be seen by others. Not that I thought either of them would physically harm me, but I didn’t want to be trapped.
“This isn’t the right time for this kind of surprise. It’s an important night for Elliot,” I hedged. “We could set up a call and—”
“Now, listen here.” My dad charged right through my protests. That hadn’t changed in all the years apart. “Your mother and I have been looking for you for years. I’ve flown across the country for you. I will not set up an appointment to see my own daughter.”
Gavin rocked back on his heels, a pleased smile lighting up his features. “I’m happy I could be the one to facilitate this father-daughter meeting. Family really is the most important thing there is.”
I gasped at him, incensed. “What is in this for you? Is this supposed to be some kind of payback to Elliot? I promise you, he’s not going to be hurt by this. I am.”
Dad’s brows winged in the middle, and his cheeks flushed crimson. I’d gotten that very annoying trait directly from him.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Kit. I’m here to see you. You disappeared from Mexico, and we had no idea where you went.”
“I won’t hurt you either, kitten,” Gavin drawled. “That’s not the kind of guy I am.”
“Good. I’m glad we have that settled. Now, let’s go find Elliot and we can all talk.” I tried to edge past them, but Gavin put himself in my way. With the wall behind me and the two of them in front of me, I felt like a trapped rabbit. “Excuse me, I don’t like being blocked in like this.”
My father, for his part, seemed to realize what they were doing and backed off, giving me some space. But Gavin stayed where he was, trying to intimidate me with his height and proximity.
“I don’t think we need to involve Levy,” Gavin said smoothly. “The three of us are getting along so well.”
“This doesn’t involve you anymore either,” my father told him. “I’d like to speak to my daughter in private.”
Gavin swiveled to look at him. “That’s fine, as long as you remember what we discussed. I found her for you and brought you here. It’s time for you to keep your end of the bargain. I expect to have a new lease in hand on Monday.”
Dad straightened his spine and tugged on his starched cuffs. Gavin obviously didn’t know who he was messing with. While Elliot Levy could be intimidating as hell, Samson Warner had the capacity to be a soulless villain without breaking a sweat.
“It’s become clear to me you deal in deception, young man. I see now why you haven’t been able to find office space, and it has nothing to do with being wrongly blacklisted. I don’t make it a habit to do business with anyone who isn’t completely aboveboard.”
I almost laughed at my father’s claim. It was so ridiculously untrue, but I wasn’t really in the laughing mood. All I wanted was to get to Elliot without making a scene and ruining his party. Once I was with Elliot, we could face…whatever this was together.
“Kit? What’s shakin’ over here?” Miles appeared out of nowhere, putting himself between me, my father and Gavin. “This little trio is not matching the party vibe.”
I hooked my arm through his, relieved he’d found me. “Walk with me to find Elliot, please.”
Miles’s expression grew serious as he looked me over. “Are you okay?”
“I’m…I don’t know.”
My father reached out for me. “Wait a second, Kit. You’re not going anywhere until we talk.”
Miles maneuvered us away from the wall and my father’s grasping hand. “How about you don’t touch her? She’s clearly uncomfortable with you, so we’re going to walk away and you’re going to leave her alone.”
He puffed up his chest with his own overinflated importance. “I’m her father. I have every right to touch her or talk to her.”
Miles raised a brow at me. “You want him to touch or talk to you?”
“I don’t. Not without Elliot.”
“Then he’s not going to.” He winked and shot me a sparkling smile. “I’ve got you, Kit.”
With my arm hooked in his and his hand over mine, he wove us through the crowd. My father was hot on our heels, muttering his protests, with Gavin simpering beside him, but I didn’t look back.
Like the Red Sea, the bodies of partygoers and servers moved aside, giving us a path that led straight to Elliot. He was by the bar with West, Luca, Elise, and Saoirse, but he wasn’t paying them any attention. His head was swiveling left and right, and my stomach panged at his worried expression. He was waiting for me, undoubtedly concerned I hadn’t shown up yet.
Breathless seconds passed, and our eyes finally met. I saw him taking the situation in. Me holding on to Miles for dear life. The two men right behind us. Miles’s determination to get me away from them.
Without me saying a word, Elliot lifted his hand to signal to the security guards standing sentinel nearby.
Then he came for me.
