Chapter 73 The Hint
THEODORE
I went in search of Granny as soon as I had the chance to.
I couldn't believe this. I couldn't believe she did this to me.
It didn't take me all that long to find her because she was in the same spot as earlier surrounded by her usual group of friends. She had this mischievous glint in her eyes as I approached her, and I knew right away that she'd planned this down to the last detail.
I'd already greeted her friends, so I didn't bother saying anything to them this time. But there was someone else in the group that I recognized, and anger surged through me. This was the guy who had his hand on Alice's shoulder the other night. I wouldn't forget his face.
We made eye contact for several seconds. He didn't look away, and I wasn't sure that I liked what I saw on his face. Fuck, I didn't have time for him. Alice was somewhere around here and I had to get to the bottom of this quickly.
I stopped in front of her and said, "Granny, could we have a word?"
"Of course! Excuse me, everyone. I'll be right back. Oh, Freddie, darling, I believe you should return to your date. She's likely waiting for you."
I narrowed my eyes at her as she approached me. Freddie turned on his heel and walked away from the group.
"So, what is it you wanted to say to me?"
Her innocent smile didn't fool me for a second. "What're you doing? Why are you doing this when I've asked you a million times not to?"
"Oh, Theo. Not everything is about you, darling. Alice is my employee and I like her. I think she's a strong woman with a lot of character."
"Granny."
"If you're threatened, Theo, then this should be a sign for you to do something about it."
"That's not—"
Her hand went to my shoulder and her features softened. "I can't force you into anything. I can only guide you to make the right decision. I can see you're suffering."
"What right decision?"
"I can see that you're suffering, Theo, so don't you dare insult my intelligence! I had a talk with her, too. I won't get into the details, but I think this could all be easily resolved."
It took me a few seconds to understand what she'd just told me. "What? What kind of talk?"
"Just focus on resolving this situation between the two of you once and for all, Theo!" she insisted. "Don't bother asking me what we spoke about because I won't tell you."
I ran a hand down my face and looked around briefly. Just then, I saw Mom heading toward us. Felix was right behind her.
Fuck. What now?
"Francesca," she began, looking away from me, "I hope you're enjoying your party. We put so much effort into making sure everything was perfect!"
Granny sounded polite when she said, "Yes, it's a wonderful party. You really shouldn't have."
"No, we should have. You also have Carmella to thank. She took care of all the little details. She has an eye for beauty. The cake was her idea, too. I can't wait for you to see it."
"I can't wait, either."
Mom looked at me and her smile faltered. I kept my eyes on her face and not on Felix. We hadn't spoken since I asked him to leave the office, and strangely enough, Mom hadn't said a thing about it. What did that mean? That he didn't run to her?
What kind of game was he trying to play this time?
Unfortunately for him, I didn't have much time for anything, much less him. Plus, right now, I had to figure out what I was going to do about the Alice situation. I knew Granny wanted me to talk to her, but what if this alleged conversation they had was made up? What if we ended up just fighting all over again?
Seeing her earlier came as a shock to me and I could see she was surprised, too, but I didn't know what to expect beyond that.
What were her thoughts? I saw her disappear out of sight, but I had no idea where she'd gone.
I looked around covertly, making the most of the silence that fell upon our little group, and that was when I saw Todd. He was talking to a woman I'd never seen before. Her hand was in his and he was kissing the top of it.
What the fuck was he doing here?
I had to find Alice. Now.
"Granny, I have to go."
"Of course," she replied with a wink. "You do what you have to do, Theo."
I ignored Mom and Felix, walking past them without saying a single word. I dodged Todd because I didn't want to have any conversation with him right now, and started looking around. I saw that the guy she was with, Freddie, was near the bar, so she had to be close by, right? I had to reach her before he did.
She definitely wasn't indoors. I knew this place like the back of my hand and I knew where to look, too. I headed back into the main room and decided to search for her in the garden instead.
I saw her right away, but she was flanked by two guards who were dragging her toward the other side of the estate—where the cars were, and essentially, where the main gates were.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, hurrying toward them. "What're you doing?"
The security guards turned to look at me, and she managed to free herself. Her brows were drawn together. She definitely looked angry. We made brief eye contact but I had to deal with these guys first.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I asked loudly.
"We're only following orders, sir," one of them answered.
"Orders? What fucking orders?"
They kept their mouths shut. Alice held her clutch between her hands so tightly that her knuckles went white. Someone gave the order for her to be escorted out, and I imagined who, but I would deal with that later.
"Get out of my sight," I spat. "If you approach this lady again, you're both fucking fired."
They nodded and went away, and then the two of us were alone.