“Who canceled it?”
“The email came from Ms. Ellis.”
His stomach dropped.
“When?”
“Yesterday afternoon.”
Darius gripped the phone.
“What exactly did she ask?”
“She requested information about recovering the deposit if the event were canceled before the sixty-day deadline.”
“Did she actually cancel?”
“No, sir.”
Darius exhaled.
“Not yet. She asked us to prepare the cancellation paperwork.”
The room seemed smaller.
“Did she say why?”
Lauren hesitated.
“I probably shouldn’t speculate.”
“I’m the other person on the contract.”
“Yes.”
Darius waited.
“She said there might be a change in circumstances.”
Darius looked through the conference room glass toward his employees working outside.
“Send me the email.”
“Of course.”
Thirty seconds later it arrived.
He read Simone’s words.
Please send the cancellation procedure and clarify whether the deposit can be returned to the original payment source or issued separately. I need to understand my options before making a final decision. Please do not contact Darius yet. I want to discuss everything with him myself.
Darius read the last sentence repeatedly.
Please do not contact Darius yet.
Something inside him became strangely calm.
The panic disappeared.
So did confusion.
Simone was not merely hiding messages.
She was already preparing for something.
He left work.
He did not tell anyone where he was going.
When Darius entered the house, Simone was sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop.
She looked surprised.
“You’re home early.”
“Yes.”
“Everything okay?”
“No.”
The single word changed her expression.
Darius placed his keys on the counter.
Simone closed her laptop.
“What happened?”
He pulled out a chair and sat across from her.
“Who is Pizza Hut?”
Every trace of color disappeared from her face.
Darius watched.
He did not need an answer anymore.
The expression was enough.
Still, he waited.
Simone’s mouth opened.
Then closed.
“What?”
“Pizza Hut.”
She looked away.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Darius almost laughed.
“Don’t.”
“Darius.”
“Do not insult me.”
Her eyes filled with panic.
“What did you see?”
He leaned back.
“So there was something to see.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Who is Pizza Hut?”
Simone stood.
“I need a second.”
“No.”
“I just…”
She rubbed both hands over her face.
Darius remained seated.
“Sit down.”
She looked at him.
“I am not trying to control you.”
His voice shook.
“But if you walk out of this room before answering me, I’m done asking.”
Simone slowly sat.
Darius looked directly at her.
“Saturday morning, your phone lit up beside me.”
She closed her eyes.
“I saw the message.”
“Darius.”
“‘Hey sexy, your man gone yet?’”
Tears appeared immediately.
Darius stared.
“That’s a very strange pizza promotion.”
“It isn’t what you think.”
He laughed once.
The sound was bitter.
“I was waiting for that one.”
“I mean it.”
“Then explain.”
Simone looked down.
Darius waited.
“His name is Devon.”
The name meant nothing to him.
“Who is Devon?”
“Someone I know.”
Darius stared at her.