Drug trafficking—and not just marijuana and cocaine, but heroin and crack. An entire warehouse was seized. Thousands of pounds of drugs intended for distribution would ensure my father and Malik wouldn’t see a life outside bars for a long time.
But that wasn’t even the worst of it.
Sex trafficking charges were filed against both of them and five other men connected to the Galecki family.
Those women whose disappearances had made Tyson tense during our breakfast months ago? They had presumably been taken under orders from Malik…that surely came from my father.
My eyes widened each time a new charge was read until I couldn’t stand the sight of my own father. My gut churned at the mention of the last one. I had always known my father did despicable things. I had assumed drugs and murder would have been included in his charges. But to hear he’d been a part of sex trafficking? I had to choke down my vomit. When that final charge was brought up in the courtroom, Tyson glanced at me with one eyebrow arched.
I looked away and I haven’t seen him since.
I had sat on a wooden bench, watching as piece after piece of evidence piled up against the man who fathered me and the man who had wanted to marry me. My disgust grew with every witness who spoke.
When I later learned a grand jury had formally indicted him, I wasn’t surprised.
My father was more of a monster than I could have ever suspected.
My life had become a flurry of courtroom visits and meetings with attorneys, but after that day, I’d decided I was done with all of it. My father had never once stood by my side, and I would no longer pretend to stand by his.
Despite the paparazzi and media that followed my every move, Simone allowed me to return to work after things calmed down post-indictment.
I could have kissed her.
I might have and just didn’t remember. I was certain that the media fallout would turn her away from me, but so far, she’d been loyal to me and had even brought me on full-time with pay that was more generous than I could have asked for.
Now, I spent my days going to work, busting my ass to continue to keep DPA the top event planner in the city. At night, I returned to my beautiful apartment, only to open a bottle of wine and spend the few remaining hours alone.
With the exception of Thursday night—girls’ night out.
Chelsea, Suzanne, Paige, and Camden had also stood by me, proving that people could be truly genuine. They didn’t pry—often. They had even avoided going to the Fireside Grill because they knew I didn’t want to see Declan or risk running into Tyson. That was, until this particular night.
They insisted I went with them.
Based on the string of texts I had received all day long from all four of them, the last one being from Chelsea insisting they would force me there, hog-tied and handcuffed if they had to, I wasn’t getting out of it.
One Galecki in handcuffs in my lifetime was plenty, thankyouverymuch.
Me: I’m beginning to think you’re not really friends. Just terrorists in skirts.
Chelsea: As long as you’re there.
I sighed and quickly typed out my response that I would meet them at Fireside at seven. I had to get used to the idea of possibly seeing Tyson anyway, and, after three months, the girls were right. It was time to stop wallowing and hiding. It had been three months without a word from him. There was a chance he’d not only moved on by then, but moved away, too. If he was only brought back to Detroit to take down my family, then he had clearly succeeded and he could go back to his real home.
I’d had one visit with my father in jail where he simply told me that while he’d been brought low, there were enough people in his organization remaining who would ensure that what he had created in Detroit would continue.
My lip curled in disgust and I walked away.
I didn’t plan on ever seeing him again.
Brushing the thought of him out of my mind, I dropped my phone into my purse and began shutting down my computer.
“Simone,” I called out as I hitched my purse over my shoulder and rounded the corner of my desk. “I’m outta here.”
“Come here a second,” she replied from deep in her office.
I found her sitting on the floor by her couch, her lap buried in lookbooks of different floral arrangements. When she saw me, she blew a stray strand of blond hair out of her eyes.
“You’ve done it,” she said, and my spine stiffened.
My eyebrows knitted together and I leaned against her doorway. “Done what?”
Her grin stretched wide. “You’ve landed the governor’s daughter’s wedding account.”
My eyes bugged out of my head and I walked into her office. “Are you serious?”
I had feared that when I stayed on with Simone full-time that the messiness surrounding the downfall of the Galecki name would cause blowback for her agency. Apparently, people truly cared enough about my mom to be able to look past it.
“Yup.” She nodded, set a half dozen thick binders on the floor, and pushed to her feet. “Melinda called me just a few hours ago. Said she got engaged last week and wants you to plan her wedding.”
“You,” I clarified.
She shook her head. “Nope. Melinda has been so impressed with you that she insists she doesn’t want anyone else handling her wedding except Gabriella Blue.”
My lips twitched with a smile at the name. I had legally dropped Galecki from my name, just days after the last visit to my father. Then I mailed him the paperwork to show him I wanted absolutely nothing to do with him again. I almost chose my mother’s maiden name as my new last name, but decided against it.
“Wow.” I was stunned the governor’s daughter would ask this of Simone. I still wasn’t even a planner…just an assistant. “Have you set up an appointment with her or anything?” I asked, my gears already turning.
“I have. It’s next week, but before you do that, there are a few other things I need you to handle tomorrow.”
She headed toward her desk and I followed, sidestepping binders and fabric swatches all over her floor. She was an incredible event planner, but she was also a slob.
I’d gotten used to it.
“What’s this?” I asked when she handed me a business card and then an envelope with my name printed on it.
“That is the number for the hiring agency that will need to find me a new assistant,” she said, and my jaw dropped. “And the envelope has your new salary and benefits package for your new position.”
I frowned and looked at her. “I don’t understand.”
“You can’t plan the governor’s daughter’s wedding and be an assistant. You’re now an Associate Event Planner.”
Tingles slid up my arms and then down my spine as my eyes widened further. “Are you serious?”
“I am.” She nodded once and walked toward me, her hand wrapping around my arm when she got close. Then she smiled, her light green eyes shining with amusement. “Congratulations on your promotion. Now go home and celebrate.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this.”
“You’ve done an incredible job and you’ve earned it.”
Her confidence made me smile. “Thank you. For everything, Simone.”
“I told you the day you walked in here that you got the job because of your dad, but you’d have to work hard to keep it. You’ve exceeded my every expectation and impressed me with the dignity with which you’ve carried yourself for the last few months. You may have been born a Galecki, Gabriella, but you are also wholly and uniquely you. And I’m honored to be not only your boss, but also your friend.”
I blinked rapidly, the sudden onslaught of emotion catching me by surprise.
She laughed and tugged me toward the door of the office. “Now get out of here and go celebrate. But not too much, I can’t have my new associate planner showing up for her first day of work with a hangover.”
I allowed her to lead me out of her office, my smile growing with every step as my shock decreased. And suddenly, a few of the best margaritas in the Detroit area didn’t sound like such a bad thing.
It sounded wonderful.
Because along with my new name, I was gaining a new life—with great friends and a wonderful career.
If only the black hole in my heart caused by losing Tyson would disappear, I’d have everything I had always wanted.
—
“Drink.”
Suzanne pointed to my refilled glass and glared.
I pressed it to my lips and sipped. Then I flashed her a cocky grin. “Happy now?”
“I will be when you’re drunk.”
Around us, the girls laughed while Camden and Chelsea raised their margarita glasses in the air. We’d been celebrating my new position for the last hour. I was on my second margarita and my stomach was stuffed full of nacho chips and queso dip. I was still waiting on my buffalo cheeseburger that I had ordered a little while ago.
I should have been having a blast.
I was. My cheeks hurt from laughing so much.
Yet with every sip of a drink, with every laugh, with every glance over my shoulder, I felt nervous.
Unsettled.
At any moment, Tyson could walk through those doors.
That one of his college teammates owned the place made it seem so much more likely than it did at any other restaurant in the area.
With my back to the bar, I was facing the doors that led to the kitchen. Every time a server moved in and out of the doors, my breath lodged in my throat as I wondered if Tyson would appear in the doorway like he did the first time we came here.