Chapter Twenty-Two

Monday, September 19, 2022

"So, how was the wedding?" Paige asked as they opened the trunk of her car to get to the equipment she'd brought with her. "You didn't emerge from Violet's until…?"

"No comment," Simon told her, as he always did when she started to pry.

"Oh, come on. I know you don't kiss and tell, but is it serious? I mean, it has to be, right? You stayed over Friday and Saturday and … last night ."

The way she paused and exaggerated the last words was for dramatic effect. As usual, Simon found himself laughing at her antics.

"Yes," he answered. "It's serious."

Paige put her palms together and smiled at him. "That's just so stinkin' sweet."

"Shut up," he said without heat. "Let's get this stuff up the stairs so we can set it up."

"When you were at the wedding, did it give you any ideas?"

Simon ignored her.

"Like for your own wedding?"

He still ignored her.

"To Violet?"

Simon shook his head as he walked up the steps, his arms full.

"When did you say that was gonna happen again?"

She would go on like this all day if he didn't give her something else to talk about, so he said, "Archer told me about Brian."

Paige huffed. "Yep. It is what it is. I'm done this time. For real. He's stringin' me along. I'm sure he broke up with me because he wanted to go on a date, and he's a nice enough guy that he won't cheat."

Simon wasn't a fan of Paige's recent boyfriend, so it didn't hurt his feelings that she kicked him to the curb.

"Holt said I could set up in here," he told her as they walked into the apartment.

"This should work." Paige studied the space, her attention going to the windows. "Unless it's loud, but we won't know until we try. We'll get the mic set up on the desk. Might want to change the angle first."

Simon didn't care which way the desk faced, but he knew Paige preferred to have a view of the door at all times, so it was her natural instinct to want to move it.

"Since you won't tell me about potential wedding plans, at least tell me about your girl," Paige said, a teasing note in her voice. "I'm not sure I've seen you quite so … glowy before."

"Fuck off," he said without heat. "I'm not glowing."

Paige set her case on the desk. "Are you sure about that?"

To be honest, no, he wasn't. He couldn't remember a woman from his past who made him feel the way Violet made him feel. Just thinking about her had the ability to sway his mood.

"You gonna see her after we leave?"

Simon walked to the windows, peered out at Walker Park. "I'd like to."

"How's that work? You're gone more than you're home, Simon. You'd have to shift your focus to local stories just to be in the same state."

He'd thought about that already. Simon wasn't worried about where his stories came from. There was more than enough to report on that would keep him closer to Violet.

"Or maybe you're thinking about doing something different altogether?"

Simon shook his head. "No. This is what I'm meant to do." Of that, he was certain.

"You sure this is what you wanna do?" Paige asked, opening the case that held the microphone. "This story, I mean."

"You don't?"

"I think it'll be interesting. Maybe. I'm not sure how keen I am on interacting with the Adorites. If you haven't noticed, people who hang around them too long tend to die. I mean, come on. The media refers to them as mafia. "

"In the technical sense, they are," Simon told her. "An organized group that engages in criminal activities."

He watched as a couple of squirrels chased each other through a patch of grass.

"I know what it means," Paige said defensively. "I also know that Max Adorite was looking to go legit. Now, he's not. I'm not sure it's in our best interest to get caught up in some kinda turf war."

"I don't plan on it," he assured her, turning away from the windows and grabbing the bag he'd brought up.

He set it on the desk, unzipped it, and pulled out the notepads he carried with him everywhere. While his episodes weren't scripted, he took notes and used those notes to spur and steer the conversation.

"What if the story leads you there?"

"Where?"

"To the turf war. What if you get caught up in it?"

"That's not the plan."

"What if Archer gets caught up in it? Will you be able to live with yourself if something happens to him?"

Simon stopped what he was doing and looked at the woman who'd worked at his side for the past few years. "Do you not trust me, Paige?"

"I do. Of course I do. It's just … we haven't done anything like this yet. I'm not sure what to expect, so I'm…" She shrugged.

"You're scared."

Her eyes widened. "Yeah. A little bit. Can you blame me?"

No, he couldn't. Not when he looked at it rationally. This story could very well take them down a dark, winding road. One that might lead to far more danger. Simon knew how to maneuver in Max Adorite's world because he knew where the line was. He could keep it in his sights at all times and never cross it.

No, he wasn't planning to get on Max's bad side.

He did worry, but his concerns had to do with the FBI and what they might be doing. If they had rogue officers doing shady shit, they might not see it coming.

·····

As soon as Violet saw Simon and Paige walking toward the shop, she started to smile. Simon had told her they were going to be setting up in the apartment today. She wanted to get a behind-the-scenes look, and he'd promised—after she sweet-talked him with a blowjob—that she could come up there anytime to check it out.

No better time than the present.

Since she rarely saw many customers at this time of the afternoon, she waited a few minutes for them to get upstairs, then hurried over and flipped the sign on the door before locking it. She slipped out the back door, tiptoeing up the stairs, though she wasn't sure why. Maybe it had to do with the giddy feeling she got whenever she thought about Simon.

And yeah, she knew it was coming to an end at the end of the week, but she decided to set all that aside and enjoy the time she had with him. There was nothing to say he wouldn't come back one day. Maybe then the timing would be better for a real relationship to transpire. And his absence didn't mean they couldn't be friends.

She walked down the second-floor walkway at the back of the building, slowing when she heard voices coming from inside. They'd left the door open.

"You're scared," Simon said, his tone was calm.

"Yeah. A little bit. Can you blame me?"

"Not really, no."

Violet stood against the wall, eavesdropping. She knew she should just walk inside, but they were in the middle of a conversation, so she didn't want to interrupt. At least, that was what she told herself.

"And what about Violet? Are you ready to deal with that ?"

"No, of course not. But she knows what's coming. We've talked about it."

"Have you?"

"Yeah," he said hotly. "Can we drop it? I'll take care of it when the time comes."

"Like on Friday?"

Simon sighed. "Just drop it, please. I'm done talkin' about it."

The giddiness in her belly turned sour, twisting as it shifted to her chest. He wasn't ready to deal with her? He would take care of it? Meaning what? Dumping her like she was yesterday's garbage?

Not wanting to hear more, Violet raced back down the stairs, fighting the tears that threatened. She was not going to cry over a man. Never ever ever. If she meant that little to him, he could go back to Dallas and forget she even existed.

"Hey, girl."

Violet nearly ran into Archer, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"You good?" he asked.

She nodded, refusing to meet his gaze as she sidestepped him. "Excuse me."

Before he could say another word, she hurried to the rear door of the bookstore and let herself in, locking it behind her just in case. She didn't expect Archer to come after her. Why would he? He probably pitied her. How many women had Simon done this to? Was this a trend for him? Go to a new town, work on a new story, meet a new woman and hook up, then leave when he was done.

God. How could she have been so stupid? She knew he was leaving, but she at least thought he might give her a second thought once he drove past the town limits.

Then again, he was a nice guy.

A nice guy she never should've gotten mixed up with.

"Stupid curse," she muttered, grabbing her keys and her phone so she could go home and drown her sorrows in a pint of ice cream.

After she packed his crap and set it at the curb.

·····

"Somethin' wrong with Violet?" Archer asked when he walked into the apartment to find Paige and Simon setting up.

Simon glared at him. "What?"

Archer gestured toward the door. "I just ran into her. Almost literally."

Simon frowned.

"She looked upset."

"Did you ask her what was wrong?" Paige prompted.

"I tried. She ran off before I could. Did you?"

Paige put her hands on her hips. "I didn't see her, or I would've."

"Uh-huh. She was comin' down the stairs. Had to be comin' from here, right?"

Paige's eyes widened as she looked at Simon. "You think she heard us talking?"

Archer moved deeper into the room. "What were you talkin' about?"

"Mafia bosses and the danger this story presents," Paige quipped.

Archer looked at Simon. "I thought you said you talked to her about it."

"I did. She's not thrilled with the idea, but I think she gets it."

"So why would she run outta here like her ass was on fire?"

Simon exhaled. "I don't know."

"You should go talk to her," Paige told him. "Better to nip it in the bud now."

"Nip what in the bud?" Simon asked. "She has no reason to be mad at me. Maybe she had somethin' else to do."

Archer looked at his friend. They both knew that was bullshit. What little Simon had shared about Violet, Archer had gathered that whatever was going on between them was more serious than a couple of weeks could allow for. It obviously meant something since Simon kept coming up with more excuses to stay in town when what came next could easily be done back in Dallas. Archer had never seen the man want to extend a trip. He was always eager to go home.

Then again, maybe this was Simon's new home, the place he belonged. Not some cold, lonely apartment that spent more time with the housekeeper than the guy who rented it.

"Go talk to her," Paige encouraged. "Seriously, Simon. All three of us know you're never leaving this town again. From the moment you met that woman, your fate was sealed."

Archer chuckled. "She's not wrong."

"I have to go home," Simon stated, although there wasn't an ounce of conviction behind it.

"Why?" Paige huffed a laugh. "Because you need to water your nonexistent plants? You could walk away from that apartment tomorrow and not miss a damn thing."

"It's like she knows you or somethin'," Archer joked.

"And what am I supposed to say to her?"

"Well, you could start by telling her you're in love with her."

Simon's head snapped to the left, his eyes slamming into Paige.

"Oh, come on," Archer said. "Like she just told you somethin' you didn't already know."

"I … I…"

"Save it for when you find her," Paige told him, pointing toward the door. "Go. Find her. We'll take care of this. When you get back, we'll lay out the rough draft outline for the season. Because if we don't start this up soon, I'm gonna have to look for a real job."

Laughing, Archer added, "Me, too. Steady income is a necessity."

It was a discussion they'd all had numerous times. While the podcast made money from sponsors, the downtime caused problems. And since Simon seemed to be waffling on whether he wanted to do this story, they were already behind. Archer tended to get antsy when he didn't have something to do. Hence, the reason he'd gotten his private investigator license last year.

"Fine," Simon said. "But if she tells me to take a hike…"

"We'll pack it all up and head back to Dallas tonight," Paige said.

Archer saw the fear that flashed in Simon's eyes. The fear of walking away from something important could mess a man up.

As soon as Simon closed the door behind him, Archer turned to Paige. "You know we're not leavin' this town, right?"

She nodded, smiled. "I've known it from the moment we got here. The second I looked at him, I knew something was different."

Archer moved the empty bag and case off the desk and onto the floor. "You okay with that?"

"More than I thought I would be. You?"

Archer thought about Spencer Elliott. He smiled. "Yeah. I think it might be a good thing."

Not just for Simon.