Evan went back to his desk and immediately called Kayla.
“I’m still not telling you anything,” she answered.
“I’m cancelling it.” He pulled the phone away from his ear and forwarded the message from Carla over to her. “Check your texts.”
“What?” Confusion was clearly in her voice. He heard the phone move. “Oh my God,” she whispered.
“I’m on my way over. I haven’t read the whole thing. I’ll call Catherine and meet you at your office.”
“Wh-why? This is on a national site, Evan.”
“I know, Kayla. I’ll be there shortly.”
He grabbed his suit jacket and keys, heading out of his office, when Carla appeared again.
“I called Catherine. She should be calling you,” Carla told him.
He paused long enough to make eye contact with her. “You are a saint.”
“Shoo.” She motioned for him to go.
Carla was always uncomfortable with praise. She claimed she was just doing her job and didn’t need recognition for doing what she was supposed to. In reality, he couldn’t do half of what he did without her anticipating all his needs before he knew them. Well, he could do it, but it would take longer.
The elevator doors closed as his phone rang. “Catherine,” he answered.
“I’ll meet you at the restaurant,” she told him.
“Thank you.” He breathed a sigh of relief. If anyone could help, it would be her.
Catherine didn’t reply and the call ended. What was there even to say at this point? They’d discuss it when they got to the restaurant. He wondered if she was going to be offensive or defensive. Whatever path she chose, he trusted Catherine completely.
This wasn’t the first time she’d had to help with the restaurant with publicity. Catherine was Cade’s sister and the absolute best public relations person he’d ever met, and he’d met more than his fair share in his line of work.
Not that long ago, when Jake and Lauren had first started dating, Lauren’s mother sought to exploit the couple—well, Jake specifically, but through Lauren. When they didn’t cave, she made up a big story about them and the restaurant. Catherine spun it to their advantage, and it was a great success story for Blind Date.
In the end, Lauren’s mother hadn’t been able to get her story off as she wanted because they had beat her to it. Cade and Catherine’s father had been mad about the relationship because it happened to be the same time that Cade had finally stood up to his father and had caused more trouble. It was a long month.
The drive to the restaurant was short as always, but it felt like it took forever. Pulling up, he barely had the car in park before he tossed his keys to the valet, a service he rarely used here, and ran inside.
It wasn’t until he was in the lobby that he remembered his date. He stopped long enough to send her a message.
E: I’m so sorry. I have a work emergency that I can’t put off. I’m going to have to cancel.
E: I would love to reschedule if you’re still up for it. I’ll message you again later.
After sending the last message, he headed for the stairs and Kayla’s office. He hated to cancel on K, but he couldn’t go on a date right now.
She was pacing behind her desk when he walked in. Her white pants suit turned her into a blur as she moved back and forth.
“Kayla?” he asked as he let himself in.
“Evan?” She blew out a breath and stopped walking for a moment. “What the hell is going on? Why is someone doing this?”
“I don’t know. I can promise you, we’ll figure it out.” He went to her and pulled her in for a quick hug. “Catherine is on her way here, too.”
Kayla nodded and then stepped back. “I just don’t understand. Who is this anonymous source? And why are they telling people we don’t do background checks on people? They’re basically implying we let homeless people in for a free meal and a date with a billionaire. We check everyone, Evan.” Deflated, Kayla sat down and dropped her head into her hands.
“Breathe. We will figure this out. Has there been any fallout yet?” Evan asked.