Charlotte scrolled through the contract she had pulled up, highlighting the clause I was looking for.
“Awesome, thanks.” I straightened to go back to my office, but hesitated. “Hey, can I ask you something? Do you like working here?”
She looked up at me with confusion. “Sure.”
My question had been too broad. “I guess what I’m asking is, if you could do whatever you wanted, would you be here working for your dad?”
Watching what Troy had gone through with his mother gave me new perspective. Maybe Charlotte disliked her job and I hadn’t been fair to her. Ardy had a dominating presence, and it wasn’t a stretch to assume he’d encouraged her to work at the business he’d built and ran.
She sat back in her chair and considered my question critically, and then her eyes turned sad. “No.” She made a face. “I mean, maybe? It’s like, when my dad said I was going to get to work at Warbler, I got all excited. I grew up surrounded by music, and I always expected it’d be a part of me.”
I tilted my head in question.
She pivoted in her chair to better face me. “So, I thought I was going to get,” she searched for the right word, “rock n’ roll.” She gestured to the contract on her computer screen. “Instead, I got this. This . . . is not rock n’ roll.”
My laugh was gentle. “No, it’s not.”
“I’m sure it’s not news to you, but I suck at paperwork, and I don’t like doing things I’m not good at.”
There was a twinge inside me because I could absolutely relate. Who would enjoy doing something that made them feel inferior? “Have you told your dad this?”
Charlotte’s pretty face skewed. “I don’t think he’s going to want me to keep working here if I say I don’t like it.”
“I don’t know, your dad’s a smart guy. He might have some ideas that are a better fit for you.” Plus, he loved his daughter. He’d do all he could to make her happy.
Her expression was skeptical at first, but I watched the wheels turning behind her eyes as she began to consider what I’d said.
Her phone was lying face-up on her desk, so when the notification with Troy’s name popped up on the lock screen, my eye went straight to it. “What’s that?”
She picked up her phone and looked embarrassed. “I, um . . . set an alert on Troy’s name.”
Except for Ardy, no one at Warbler knew Troy and I were dating. We’d decided to hold off on revealing it until after Stella’s tour was over. Our relationship had no bearing on him landing the show’s opening spot, but this would keep any rumors of impropriety from circulating.
Charlotte’s embarrassment was harmless. She worried she’d come off as a silly girl with a crush, but if she was, I couldn’t fault her for it. I felt that way around him too.
“What’s the notification?” I asked.
Was it more pictures from last night? He’d been in one Stella had posted to Instagram. But Charlotte’s eyes widened as she stared at the screen, forcing me to step behind her and read over her shoulder.
“I guess that answers the question,” she said flatly, “on whether or not he has a girlfriend.”
My mouth went dry and my body cold as I processed what I was seeing. First, the red logo at the top of the screen caused dread. Nothing good for my clients had ever been posted on TMZ. Second, the headline made my stomach turn.
“Stella Auditions Her New Man!”
I didn’t read the article because there was no point. The photo did all the storytelling.
The picture was grainy and angled from above, probably taken by a drone and then zoomed in. It was the only way to get pictures of her property because the community was gated, and her fence was an impressively high wall, surrounding her estate on all sides. I’d been to her house once with Ardy, and we’d marveled at how far she’d come from the two-bedroom apartment she used to share with her parents and sister.
The image had been captured while Troy was mid-step in the circle drive, walking toward the open door of an SUV. It was likely Stella’s personal car, preparing to take him home after their evening was over.
I didn’t know the circumstances that led to the picture, but several facts were undeniable. He was wearing the same clothes he’d been in Stella’s IG post from earlier in the night.
He’d gone over to her house afterward.
And the sun was up when the picture had been taken, meaning he’d spent the night.
It felt like I was back in that dark hallway, staring at Clark’s office door, knowing everything was about to come apart and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
I straightened so abruptly, it caused alarm in Charlotte. “Are you okay?”