I could ask. I could ask, and we could find out the truth and I could give it all to Alicio.
But he’d made the consequences clear.
Keep digging, break the cease and desist, and I’d be cut off. My Ivy League education had cost more than four hundred thousand dollars. That was a lot of student loan debt to suddenly inherit.
But truth was truth.
And Dani was hurting.
And I still cared about that.
I didn’t want to, but I did.
“Dani, were you the one who handled Sasha’s expense account?”
She looked at me funny but then nodded. “Sure.”
“What did that entail?”
She wrinkled her brow. “I sent statements of her account with attached receipts to accounting once a month.”
“So you had access to her actual account?”
She looked at me quizzically but answered anyway. “Yes.”
“Do you think you still have access?”
Her expression clouded. “I doubt it. The system required me to change my password monthly. Even if Sasha didn’t have all of my credentials erased manually, it’s been long enough, it would have already required a password reset.”
I grumbled under my breath. “What about your email? Can you still access it? The messages you sent to accounting would still be in your sent messages, yes?”
She frowned and shook her head. “They would be, but I can’t access my email anymore. I tried a few days ago. It didn’t work.” Nervous energy radiated off of her in waves. “But,” she said, her voice full of sudden excitement. She pulled out her phone and started swiping.
“What?” I asked, my voice impatient.
She shook her head, a gesture willing me to wait a moment longer. Then she looked up, a smile stretched wide across her face, and handed me her phone. “My computer at work kept crashing. The hard drive was faulty or something and I kept losing files. So tech support set up an account in the cloud where things were automatically backed up. It wasn’t standard protocol, so when HR erased me from the system, they probably didn’t know to wipe this.”
I looked at her phone, quickly scrolling down. Dozens and dozens of files were listed, purchase orders, design specs, but I immediately picked out a handful labeled with some variation of monthly statement. It was exactly the information I could have used a year ago when I was trying to incriminate Sasha, but that didn’t matter anymore. I had it now. Matched with the screenshots I’d saved before I left, it might be enough.
“Can I access this from my laptop?” I asked Dani.
She shrugged. “Sure. I can text you the password.”
“Perfect.”
She wrung her hands. “Do you think it’ll be enough?”
“I don’t know. I think so, but I’m following hunches here. I could dig in and find out that I was wrong, and Sasha’s only crime is being a first-class jerk. But if I’m right, I should be able to find the proof in these statements.”
“What exactly do you think she was doing?” Dani asked. “I mean, what is it you’re trying to prove?”
I only hesitated a moment. It wouldn’t take that long to pay for my education. “Company expenditures took a huge climb when Sasha came on board. It was a subtle increase at first, but then over time, the increases became more noticeable. The increases were all categorized as design development. I tried to access the information needed to break down the expenditures further, to see where they were coming from and which designer was responsible for them, but I was shut down and told to back off. I became insistent, called for an internal audit—”
“And then you left.” She interrupted me, finishing my sentence.
I looked up and met her gaze, hurt still visible in her eyes. I squelched a desire to reach out and touch her face. I nodded. “That’s when I left.”
“Because you thought Sasha was stealing from the company and I refused to believe Sasha was anything but my one-way ticket to my dreams.”
We sat in silence, thousands of unspoken words hanging in the air between us. It still hurt to think about those painful days right after I left LeFranc.
“Alex, why didn’t you tell me?”
I moved to the desk, flipping through the letters Dani had left. “I wanted to,” I said, my back to her. I turned around and crossed my arms across my chest. “But I couldn’t tell you specifics. You were still so loyal to Sasha. I couldn’t risk her finding out I was suspicious for fear of her destroying any proof of her activities. To be fair, Dani, you were pretty defensive when I implied anything negative about Sasha. I don’t think you would have taken the details kindly.”
She bit her lip. There were so many emotions behind her eyes, but she didn’t say anything.
“Once I left, I couldn’t say anything because of the cease and desist. They threatened legal action. I had no choice but to back down, especially since I couldn’t prove anything.”
“Except . . .” She paused. “You just did say something.”
I offered her a small smile. “You don’t work for her anymore. And you possibly just gave me the proof I need to convince Alicio she’s been stealing from him.”
“It’s still a risk though, right? For you, personally?”
I couldn’t lie, not when she’d asked me so plainly. “I haven’t been financially dependent on Alicio since I graduated, but he has threatened to retroactively charge me my very expensive education that he paid for.”
Dani shook her head. “That’s a lot of money, Alex. You can’t take that on for me.”
“But I would, Dani. In a minute, I would.” The fire in my gut raged fierce enough, the words I’d spoken had to be true; it was not lost on me that I’d just committed to do the very thing I hadn’t been willing to do before.
I’d been a coward. And it was time to make it right. “Also, it’s the right thing to do. Someone needs to stop her. And I might be the only person who can.”
“Alex, when did your mom die?”
It wasn’t a question I expected. “Why?”
“What year? You were still in school, right?”
“I was almost finished, but yes. She died just after Thanksgiving. Five years ago.”
Her face fell. “So Sasha met Alicio before your Mom died?”
“I’m not sure,” I said, feeling suddenly agitated. “I’ve always suspected—she appeared in his life so soon after Mom was gone—but I don’t have any way to know for sure. Why?”
Dani bit her bottom lip the same way she’d used to when we’d played Scrabble and she’d known she had a word that was going to score big. She’d always tried to play it cool, but she had a terrible poker face. When she knew something—anything—I’d always been able to tell with one look.
“Nothing. I was just curious.”
“Dani. Just tell me.”
She closed her eyes for a moment before locking her gaze with mine. “Sasha told me right before I quit that she and Alicio were going away for the weekend to celebrate the five-year anniversary of when they first had dinner. That was three months ago, which means—”
“Alicio was sleeping with Sasha while Mom was in the hospital.” I dropped into my desk chair and took a deep breath. “Wow.” It was hardly an adequate response, but it was all I could manage. Something fierce and hot roiled inside me; anger at Alicio for cheating on my mother when she was sick, anger at Sasha for taking husbands and money and dresses and ideas without even thinking about the consequences. I had to stop her. For Dani, but for my mom, too.
Dani reached out and curled her hands over my arms, squeezing them gently. “I’m sorry, Alex.”
She dropped her hands, but I wished she’d left them there. I felt untethered, and the contact had felt a little like a lifeline I didn’t know I needed until it was gone.
“About your mom, but also . . .” She looked up, sorrow in her eyes. “I should have listened to you. I’m sorry I didn’t.” She wrapped her arms around herself and I squelched the desire to reach
out and give her a hug. We’d had a pretty profound twenty minutes. I didn’t want to push my luck.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
I willed conviction into my voice. “Do the research, find the evidence, take it to the wedding, steal a dress, and expose Sasha as a thief.”
“You just made that sound really easy.”
“It won’t be easy, but—”
“Wait,” Dani said, cutting me off. “When is the wedding again?”
“New Year’s Eve.”
“So we’ll be finished with the Compassion Experiment by then. That’s good.”
“And we will have plenty of time to fly home and then make it to Islamorada.”
“Isla-where?” Isaac asked from the bedroom doorway. “Sounds tropical. Can I come?”
Dani gave him a quick rundown of everything we’d been discussing. When she got to the part about stealing the wedding dress back, Isaac whooped and hollered like a kid who’d just won a video game tournament. “A legit wedding dress heist. I am so coming with you to Florida. Please tell me you’ll let me put this on the air.”
“Absolutely not,” Dani and I said in tandem. Even the tone we used was identical.
Isaac rolled his eyes. “Come on. Not even highlights? After the fact? And only if everything works just as it should?”
“There’s too much at stake, Isaac,” Dani said. “My career. Alex’s relationship with his stepdad. You can come if you want, but cameras have to stay off.”
I wasn’t sure relationship was the right word for what I had with Alicio. But what Dani said was still true. Odds were against anyone in attendance at a LeFranc wedding also watching Isaac’s YouTube channel, but we couldn’t be too careful. If I found what I hoped to find, I’d be making some pretty hefty criminal accusations that would likely land Sasha in jail. This was about much more than a wedding dress.
“Fine,” Isaac said. “No cameras. But you have to at least let me drive the getaway car.”
This time, Dani rolled her eyes. “Oh my word. Are you seriously twelve years old?” Isaac moved behind us and put an arm around each of our necks, pulling us into an awkward three-way hug. “New Years in the Florida Keys,” he said with a grin. “This is going to be so much fun.”
Later, a text came in from Dani containing the password to access the cloud files I needed. This is awkward, the text read. But I’m afraid to change it in case I get locked out and we can’t get back in. The password is AL3XmyLuV.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dani
I stood at the back of Isaac’s studio watching him wrap up the last of his filming. Mom’s words echoed through my head. It was hard for me to believe that Isaac actually cared about my approval. But Alex had said he did, and so had Mom, two people I trusted.
So I stood in the back. I watched. And much to my surprise, I laughed a lot.
Isaac sat behind a large desk next to Steven, an array of vegan food spread out in front of them. The point of the episode was to taste test vegan foods against their traditional counterparts. Vegan hamburgers. Vegan bacon. Vegan milk. It wasn’t groundbreaking material; there were probably a hundred YouTube videos that attempted the very same thing. But his commentary was roll-on-the-floor funny. I’d always known he was a performer. He’d been showboating his way through life since we’d first learned how to talk. But seeing it translate into an actual job—a thing that people watched and liked and reacted to? It was pretty eye-opening.
Suddenly inspired by a new sense of appreciation, I pulled out my phone and texted Darius. Hey. Any word back from your uncle? We’re nearly out of time.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket but pulled it out again almost immediately to answer a call from Chase. I stepped outside to answer the call but made sure to make eye contact with Isaac before I did. I wanted him to see me standing there. To see me laughing. To see that I appreciated what he did. Mom had been right. I’d never given him enough credit.
“Hey, are you close?” I said to Chase, pulling the studio door closed behind me.
“I’m here,” Chase said. “At least, I think I am. Is there a driveway where you want me to put this trailer, or should I park in the street?”
“No, pull into the driveway. I had everyone else move so there was room for you.” I cut through the garden and down the narrow alleyway separating Isaac’s house from the neighbor’s, hitting the driveway right as Chase cut the ignition. He jumped out of his car and I barreled into him for a hug.
“You’re here!” I said. “How was the drive?”
“So long,” he said. “You better get me to the ocean by nightfall, so I feel like all that time in the car was worth it.”
“Did someone say ocean?” Darius stepped out from behind the trailer. “Sign me up for that.”
“Darius! You came, too?”
He pulled me into a giant hug. I always forgot how giant of a man Darius was until he hugged me. It literally felt like I disappeared into his arms.
“For Thanksgiving dinner with you? Don’t you know it.”
“Truly? What about your Mom?”
“My sister flew in from Chicago to be with her,” Darius said. “She’s staying until next week so I’m all yours.”
“Don’t let him fool you,” Chase said, slipping an arm around Darius’s waist. “When I told him you were cooking a Thanksgiving meal for you, and Alex, and Isaac, all at the same table, he wasn’t about to miss those fireworks.”
Darius shot Chase a wide-eyed look. “That is not what I said.” He looked back at me. “You know we’re here for you, Dani. No matter what.”
I smiled. “I know. And I love you for it. You’re going to be nice to him though, right?”
Chase motioned like he was cleaning out his ears. “I’m sorry, what was that? It sounded like you were expressing concern over whether or not we planned to be nice to Alex Randall.”
“I know. Shocking. I guess seeing him again has maybe made me realize it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. And you guys were his friends, too.”
Darius wiped a fake tear from his eye. “Chase, our baby girl is growing up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously. You guys are the worst.”
Darius grinned. “Alex actually texted me the other day. We’ve been chatting back and forth. It’s cool.”
Chase pouted. “What? He texted you but not me? Why are you always everyone’s favorite?”
“Raw charisma, baby,” Darius said. “Raw charisma.”
“Speaking of texts, I just texted you,” I said, motioning to Darius. “Have you heard back from your uncle?”
Darius grimaced. “About that. I did hear back, but I’m not sure you’re going to be on board with Reggie’s reply.”
“What? Why? Doesn’t he just need to say yes or no?”
“Oh!” Chase said. “I almost forgot! There’s actually another surprise for you in the car.”
Darius motioned to the car with his head. “Go ahead. I’ll fill you in later.”
“What is it?” I asked, peering around Chase’s shoulder toward the car.
“Go open up the passenger side door and see for yourself,” he said with a wide grin.
I ran around Chase’s car and pulled open the door. Paige flung her arms out wide and smiled. “Surprise!”
“Paige!” I pulled her out of the car and into a hug. “What are you doing here?”
“Languishing in the car, apparently.” She shot Chase a dour look.
He mouthed a silent sorry in her direction.
“Are you here for Thanksgiving, too?” I asked her.
“I’m here until the wedding,” she said. “Mom’s been pestering me to come and help her finalize all the plans anyway, and without work to keep me in the city, I figured, why not?”
“What will Reese do without you?” I asked, not that I really cared. Reese was getting her for life. I was thrilled to have my best friend all to myself for another month.
“Oh, he’ll be fine. It’s wha
t, seven weeks until the wedding? Plus, he’s coming down for Christmas and I’m sure I’ll fly back up to New York at least once.” She took my hands, squeezing them in her own. “Now. How are you? How are things with Alex?”
I raised my shoulders in a shrug. “Good, I think? Weird. Awkward. Sometimes I think it’s getting easier to be around him as a friend, but then he’ll walk through the room and I won’t be able to focus on anything other than how good he looks in a pair of jeans.”
“That man looks good in anything he puts on,” Chase said.
“I agree,” Darius added, coming up behind us. “Some people just wear clothes well and he is definitely one of those people.”
“Unfortunately, that does very little to assist my efforts to get over the man,” I said.
Chase pursed his lips. “Yeah. That would be tough. I vote you forget getting over him and get back together.”
“Hold up,” Paige said. “I’m not ready to vote for that yet.”
“Has she been texting you the updates of what’s been happening down here? He’s clearly still in love with her.”
“Then why did he leave?” Paige asked with a smirk.
Chase rolled his eyes. “You’re right. Real people don’t make mistakes. I’m sure Reese has never done anything stupid in your relationship.”
“Uh, nothing that compares to—”
“Hey, hold up,” Darius said, cutting Paige off. “Dani asked us not to choose sides, remember? What we want is for both Dani and Alex to be happy. Whatever that means, whether they are together or apart. Right?”
“Right,” they both mumbled.
“Thank you.” I looked at my three closest friends and almost cried for seeing them all together. “It really is so amazing to have you all here.”
Darius leaned over and pulled me into a half hug, kissing the side of my head. “You know we got you, D.”
Paige’s phone dinged with a text and she pulled it from her bag and glanced at the screen. “That’s my mom. She’ll be here any second to get me.” She looked my way. “I’m doing the family thing for Thanksgiving, but early next week, we’re meeting with the caterer. I guess there’s something they want to change on the menu, and they need me to approve. Want to come?”
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