Like Holden, Presley had never been a fan of my boss, but she was even less a fan of her own boss. Hers was an insecure, pompous ass who’d gotten where he was by performing well, but what the powers that be had failed to consider was that he had zero management or leadership skills. Presley put up with him because their firm was the best in Nashville and, as she said, he’d shoot himself in the foot one of these days and the problem would take care of itself. I wasn’t as sure about that, since he’d been in his position for a few years already, but I understood why Presley stuck it out.

We hit the restaurant next, then the spa area and the indoor pool, and I continued to document with photos and send them on to Angelica. After showing Presley one of the guest suites, which she oohed and ahhed over and swore she wanted to move into, we went back to pick up our breakfast, then headed out to the sprawling southern-style covered porch that stretched along half the main building and looked out over the lake.

Presley’s reaction was an intake of breath and a hand to her chest. “This is going to be incredible, Chloe.”

The furniture wasn’t in yet, so we set up folding chairs along the low railing that afforded the best view. The lake was stunning today, with the sunshine sparkling off the calm waters and the sky bright blue over the spring green of the trees all around.

Before we could get settled, my phone rang. I took it out and read the name, raising my brows at Presley as I answered.

“Angelica,” I said.

“Chloe Henry?” she said without preamble.

“Well, yes—”

“So you’ve gone further with this farce. You’ve never been a halfway person.” Her voice wasn’t especially cold, more conversational, if raspier than usual.

She must have received my email and noticed I’d changed my name there, so it came from Chloe Henry instead of Chloe Abrams.

“Holden and I are married. No farce. What can I do for you, Angelica?” I dug deep for patience, reminding myself she was in a bad place.

“Thank you for sending new photos. The floors look phenomenal. Sabrina agrees. It’s just what we envisioned all those months ago.”

“They’re perfect,” I said easily. “I’m glad you’re happy with them. Your vision is really coming to life.”

“Yes, well… I don’t know what you’re doing with your personal life or how you got your friend to marry you, but I do appreciate the job you’re doing for Marks International.”

I bit down on my tongue to let the personal comments go, then I said, “I love this job, as you know.”

“Very well.” Her voice had become fatigued over the course of our short conversation. “I’ll be in touch soon.”