He stood at that point and moved to lean on the wall across from her. He waited even though he didn’t expect her to answer.
“Here’s the way I’ve worked it out. You saw me and Lu together and you thought that wouldn’t necessarily be good for my career. So you put another obstacle in our way. How am I doing?”
Caroline stayed quiet and Lex had to admit a grudging respect for her. No self-implication on that front.
“Since you don’t have a whole lot to add, let me tell you where I am. I don’t trust you anymore. And I can’t have someone handling me if I can’t trust them. So, you’re fired.” She flinched almost imperceptibly, but he was watching her so close that he could see the slight movement. “You don’t have to worry. I’ll make sure that my publicist handles the split amicably. I won’t trash-talk—as you know. But I have to say, when I sign my new contract, I imagine it will hurt a bit. You were going to make a lot of money. I’ll see myself out.”
Lex walked to his car, a little lighter. The Caroline thing hadn’t really been an issue until he’d talked to Willa. She told him what had happened—why he’d found out about Nina from Caroline instead of Lu. He’d have fired her just for that, but it was nice to have the other issue as part of the equation too. He didn’t appreciate his agent acting on his behalf without his knowledge. Having that on the record books would make other agents hesitant to think they could get away with it.
He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. It was almost one o’clock in the morning, but that didn’t stop him from making his next move. Putting his earplugs in, he picked up his phone and found the number of the person he needed to talk to.
He answered on the second ring.
“I didn’t think I’d hear from you for a while.”
“Yeah, that was a dick move,” Lex said.
There was a sigh at the other end. “I was worried about you.”
“Which is why I’m letting you get away with it.”
“What’s up, Lex?” Malcolm asked.
“I need a new agent. Can you help me out?”
“I’ll have the names to you in the morning.”
“Thanks,” Lex said as he disconnected.
36
“Are you sure you have everything you need?” Lu asked. Nina took after Willa in her minimalist approach to clothing. Not that any of them could qualify as fashion plates but, Lu definitely had them beat when it came to packing.
“Yes. Dad said they’ll have a washer and dryer wherever we stay, so we can do laundry.”
Lu couldn’t help it. Nina saying the word dad still threw her. She loved it, but it still seemed odd after so much time. Lu often wondered what Mr. P. had done to help Nina accept Lex so easily. She’d have paid untold amounts of money to be a fly on the wall during those conversations. She supposed it helped that Nina had always heard about Lex from the families. But still, she thanked Mr. P. daily for the foresight he’d had to prepare his granddaughter.
“Does your father actually do his own laundry?” she asked somewhat sarcastically.
Nina giggled. “I don’t think so, Mommy.”
“Well, then this should be interesting,” Lu said with a smile. “Why don’t you do a once-over to make sure you aren’t leaving anything. They should be here any moment to pick you up.” It had been three days since Lex had dropped Lu off at her apartment without a backward glance. She tried to talk herself into believing that it didn’t matter that they hadn’t spoken since their conversation, but in the stillness of the night, when lying to yourself seemed foolish, she had to admit that her feelings were hurt. Although she could admit that she hadn’t been completely forthcoming, sometimes even reticent with him, she felt that connection to him. Lex Pellitteri spelled danger for her. Any way she looked at it, she knew she would feel hurt. She could be noble and pretend that the only thing she cared about was Nina’s relationship with her father, but she’d be a liar.
Sending Nina away with him for two weeks, including Christmas, scared the shit out of Lu. Even with all that had happened since May, she’d never been away from her daughter for that long and they’d never been apart at Christmas. While Willa continued to give her shit about her decision to allow Nina to go with him, there hadn’t really been a decision to make. He’d never been able to spend Christmas with her and it didn’t seem very charitable to deny him this request. She and Nina would celebrate Christmas when Nina returned from the trip. Willa had also reluctantly agreed to fly over to spend the holiday with Lu, although she’d conceded that point prior to giving in to her desire for Pete. But she hadn’t tried to renege on the deal and Lu hadn’t offered to let her out of it, which Lu supposed made her selfish, but she wasn’t ready to spend Christmas alone.