Chapter 108: BONUS - : DO NOT CALL US UNLESS SOMETHING IS ACTUALLY ON FIRE

Chapter 108: BONUS Chapter: DO NOT CALL US UNLESS SOMETHING IS ACTUALLY ON FIRE

THURSDAY

9:14 A.M. — CROFT ESTATE

ALLISON’S POV

At 9:14 on Thursday morning, Allison Croft decided four women who had spent far too much time dealing with dangerous men, complicated men, overprotective men, recovering men, federal investigators, corporate disasters and one particularly exhausting extended family deserved to do something radical.

Absolutely nothing useful.

No evidence.

No lawyers.

No financial records.

No security meetings.

No conversations beginning with we need to tell you something.

For one entire day, nobody was allowed to uncover a conspiracy, solve a corporate problem, revisit an old file or make a life-changing discovery.

Allison wanted a massage.

Preferably one strong enough to remove the last six months from her shoulders.

She picked up her phone.

ALLISON: Emergency.

Simone answered immediately.

SIMONE: Who died?

Allison stared at the screen.

That, right there, proved her point.

ALLISON: Nobody. That’s why we’re going to a spa.

SIMONE: That was emotional manipulation.

ALLISON: Did it work?

A pause.

SIMONE: What time?

Allison smiled.

Much better.

Lucian walked out of the bathroom adjusting his watch.

"What have you done?"

"Why do you assume I’ve done something?"

"You have that expression."

"I’m going to a spa."

He relaxed.

"That sounds significantly safer than what I expected."

"Simone’s coming. I’m inviting Mom and Elena too."

"Good."

Allison studied him.

"You’re taking this surprisingly well."

"It’s a spa, Allison. Not a covert operation."

"Give our family time."

His mouth twitched.

She texted Susanna.

ALLISON: Spa. Massage. Nails. Lunch. No lawyers.

The answer came almost immediately.

SUSANNA: I’m in.

Elena required slightly more information.

ELENA: What exactly happens at a spa?

Allison considered several answers before settling on:

ALLISON: Ideally? Nothing important.

Lucian kissed her forehead.

"Have fun."

"Wait. Rules."

He sighed.

"I knew there would be rules."

"No calling unless something is actually wrong."

"What qualifies as actually wrong?"

"Significant blood. Fire. Federal agents. Structural collapse."

"What if I miss you?"

She considered.

"One text."

"Generous."

"I thought so."

He kissed her.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

At the door, Allison remembered one last thing.

"And keep an eye on my father."

Lucian stopped.

"Adrian?"

"How many fathers do you think I have?"

"I wanted to be certain before accepting responsibility."

"Don’t let him buy anything."

Lucian’s expression became unexpectedly grave.

"That is a much more difficult assignment."

"Dad gets bored, sees something expensive and decides the family needs it."

"I once watched him purchase a boat because someone said the word marina."

"He doesn’t even like boats."

"I know."

Allison pointed at him.

"Stay vigilant."

Lucian left looking like a man who had just been given an impossible mission.

Allison smiled.

Her day off had officially begun.

⸻

10:41 A.M. — MERIDIAN SPA

SIMONE’S POV

Simone had expected Allison.

She had not expected Susanna.

She definitely had not expected Elena.

"This became a summit."

Susanna glanced around the lobby.

"I was promised there would be no meetings."

"There aren’t."

Elena, meanwhile, had become absorbed in the treatment menu.

"What’s a Himalayan salt cocoon?"

Simone looked over her shoulder.

"I think they season you."

Allison laughed.

Susanna took the menu from Elena, read the description and handed it back.

"You know what? Try it."

Elena looked surprised.

"Really?"

"I want to know what happens."

Simone nodded approvingly.

"Excellent. She’s our test subject."

Elena gave them both a long look.

"I’ve made a mistake coming here."

They checked their phones into lockers.

Simone’s screen lit just before she put hers away.

Theo.

She turned it facedown.

Allison saw.

Thankfully, she only smiled.

That was somehow worse.

For the next hour, the four women separated into treatment rooms and did exactly what Allison had promised Elena.

Nothing important.

Simone’s massage was so good she briefly reconsidered every life decision that had prevented her from booking one sooner.

Elena fell asleep during her facial and later insisted she’d merely been "resting her eyes."

Susanna became so relaxed that she stopped checking the time.

Allison bought a candle that cost enough to require its own financial disclosure.

By lunchtime, they had solved no mysteries.

Nobody had been arrested.

Nothing had exploded.

They considered the morning a success.

⸻

12:27 P.M. — SPA CAFÉ

ALLISON’S POV

The spa attempted to serve them lunch.

Simone examined the tiny sandwiches.

"Are these samples?"

"They’re apparently the meal," Allison said.

Simone looked personally offended.

Susanna picked one up.

"I think you’re supposed to eat twelve."

Elena was already reaching for the regular menu.

"I’m ordering a burger."

"Thank God," Simone said.

Ten minutes later, four orders of fries occupied most of the table.

Peace was restored.

Allison’s emergency pouch buzzed.

She ignored it.

Simone leaned across the table.

"Your husband has used his one text."

"I know."

"Aren’t you curious?"

"I’ve been married long enough to know it’s probably three subjects disguised as one message."

That made Susanna laugh.

Allison checked.

LUCIAN: Elias says the corrected pension model is finally done. Samuel found another assumption the consultants missed. Also I miss you. This counts as one text.

She turned the screen toward Simone.

Simone read it.

"I hate that this is clever."

"He’s adapting."

The mention of Elias caught Susanna’s attention.

"I’ve been meaning to ask about him. We barely see him anymore."

Simone pointed a fry at Allison.

"Actually, yes. At the beginning, I thought Elias lived somewhere behind Lucian’s office wall and emerged when summoned."

Elena looked between them.

"Who is Elias?"

"Lucian’s aide," Allison said. "Although at this point ’executive operations’ is probably more accurate."

"What happened to him?"

"Nothing."

Allison set her phone aside.

"When the family situation got worse, Lucian had plenty of people helping with the personal side and not enough experienced people keeping Calloway running. Elias asked to move back toward company operations."

Susanna nodded.

"That makes sense."

"He’s been coordinating transition work, helping with the employee council and cleaning up old reporting structures."

Simone frowned.

"So he chose compliance reports over all of you?"

"He told Lucian, ’You have six relatives willing to break into a building for you. You have one person willing to read fourteen hundred pages of compliance reports.’"

Elena laughed first.

Simone raised her drink.

"I respect a man who knows his escape route."

"He didn’t escape," Allison said. "He’s still Lucian’s right hand. He’s just doing the part of the job that doesn’t involve standing in our kitchen at midnight."

"Good for him," Susanna said.

They drank to that.

Then Simone stole one of Allison’s fries, and the conversation moved on before Elias could accidentally become the subject of a memorial service despite being perfectly alive.

⸻

1:19 P.M. — MANICURE ROOM

SIMONE’S POV

Allison chose a soft neutral.

Susanna chose burgundy.

Elena chose red.

Simone watched Allison notice the red.

Allison’s mouth twitched.

Elena caught it immediately.

"Whatever you’re thinking, keep it."

"I haven’t said anything."

"You don’t need to."

Simone looked between them.

Then understanding arrived.

"Oh, Roman."

Elena sighed.

Susanna became very interested in choosing between two nearly identical bottles of topcoat.

Simone leaned toward Elena.

"Does he like red?"

"Apparently."

That one word carried enough warning that even Simone knew when to retreat.

For almost five minutes.

Then the conversation wandered elsewhere.

Restaurants.

A terrible movie Simone had watched the night before.

Whether Allison’s absurdly expensive candle actually smelled different from a normal candle.

It was easier than Simone expected to sit there and talk about nothing.

Until someone mentioned dinner.

Her dinner.

With Theo.

She went quiet.

Allison noticed.

Of course she did.

"Nervous?"

"A little."

No denial this time.

That alone felt like progress.

Simone watched the technician paint her thumbnail.

"Theo and I are very good at not taking each other seriously."

"You take him seriously."

"That’s the problem."

Allison waited.

Simone sighed.

"We’ve already done the kissing part. We’ve done the admitting-we-like-each-other part. I don’t want tonight to turn into some huge definition of my future."

"Then don’t let it."

Simone glanced at her.

Allison shrugged.

"Tell him what you actually want now."

"What if I don’t know?"

"Tell him that."

Simone frowned.

"That sounds irritatingly reasonable."

"I’m learning accounting. It’s affecting me."

That made Simone laugh.

Then her expression softened.

"I just don’t want to disappear into someone else’s life."

Allison understood.

"Then don’t."

Simple.

Not dismissive.

Just true.

Simone nodded.

Across the table, Elena looked up from her red nails.

"For what it’s worth, anyone who expects you to disappear has clearly never met you."

Simone stared at her.

"That was almost sweet."

"Don’t spread it around."

Susanna smiled.

The subject changed.

Simone was grateful for that too.

⸻

2:16 P.M. — SPA TERRACE

SUSANNA’S POV

By midafternoon, the four of them had settled beneath a white umbrella overlooking the garden.

Allison and Simone went inside to retrieve their bags.

Susanna remained with Elena.

For a while, neither spoke.

Elena stretched her fingers into the sunlight.

The red was unapologetically bright.

Susanna approved.

"You seem happy," she said.

Elena considered the garden.

"Sometimes."

"That’s a good answer."

"What about you?"

Susanna smiled faintly.

"Sometimes."

Elena nodded.

No comparison.

No inventory of reasons.

Just two women sitting in the sun.

After a moment, Elena said, "Roman has another therapy appointment tomorrow."

"He told you?"

"Eventually."

Susanna smiled.

"He complains about going?"

"Constantly."

"But goes."

"Yes."

There was something quietly satisfying about that.

Elena looked down at her hands.

"He’s trying."

"So are you."

"I know."

Susanna smiled.

Elena caught it.

"Don’t."

"What?"

"You’re about to get maternal."

"I am not."

"You have a face."

"Apparently everyone thinks I have a face."

"You do."

Allison and Simone returned before Susanna could defend herself.

Simone dropped into her chair.

"We’re doing this again."

"Eventually," Susanna said.

"Monthly."

"Absolutely not."

"Every six weeks," Elena suggested.

Allison sat down.

"That sounds reasonable."

Simone looked betrayed.

"I thought you were my best friend."

"I am. I’m also paying for my own candle addiction now."

That ended the scheduling dispute.

Then Simone’s phone buzzed.

She checked it.

Her expression softened before she could control it.

Allison noticed.

So did Elena.

Susanna decided to be merciful and reached for her tea.

Simone looked around suspiciously.

"Why is everyone suddenly quiet?"

"No reason," Susanna said.

Simone narrowed her eyes.

Then read the messages.

THEO: Are we still on for 7?

THEO: This is logistical confirmation, not clinginess.

THEO: Actually don’t answer that part.

A reluctant smile returned.

This time nobody teased her.

That somehow made her blush more.

⸻

4:06 P.M. — CROFT ESTATE

ALLISON’S POV

When they returned to the estate, Allison heard male voices from the library.

Lucian.

Adrian.

Roman.

All together.

And strangely calm.

She appeared in the doorway.

"Should I be concerned?"

Roman looked up.

"Why does everyone assume we’re incapable of occupying a room without disaster?"

Adrian held up a folder.

"We’re reviewing insurance."

Allison squinted.

"Actual insurance?"

"Property insurance," Lucian confirmed.

She relaxed.

"Okay. Continue being boring."

Lucian crossed the room to meet her.

"How was the spa?"

"Wonderful."

His gaze dropped to her hands.

"Pretty."

"You noticed."

"I usually notice your hands."

That answer was so casually sincere that Allison momentarily forgot to tease him.

Behind her, Elena entered.

Roman looked over.

His eyes caught on the red polish.

He smiled.

Nothing dramatic.

Just enough.

Elena saw it.

Her own expression softened.

"Hi."

"Hi."

That was all they needed.

Susanna came in behind her.

Adrian noticed her burgundy nails.

"I like those."

"Thank you."

"I ordered dinner."

Susanna stopped removing her coat.

Allison immediately looked at Lucian.

Lucian lifted both hands.

"I tried."

"How much did he order?"

Roman answered.

"Enough for a minor diplomatic summit."

"Italian," Adrian said defensively.

Susanna stared at him.

"Adrian."

"There were too many choices."

Allison started laughing.

"My father was your one assignment."

Lucian lowered his voice.

"I stopped him from buying the restaurant."

She stopped laughing.

"What?"

From across the room Adrian said, "That conversation has been badly misrepresented."

Susanna looked at her husband.

"You asked whether the owner was interested in selling."

"I was making conversation."

"You asked for revenue numbers."

Roman leaned back on the sofa.

"In fairness, the restaurant is apparently performing well."

Everyone turned toward him.

Roman shrugged.

"He showed me the numbers."

Elena shook her head and stole his drink.

The room dissolved into overlapping conversation.

Nothing serious.

Nothing urgent.

Just dinner arriving, Adrian defending himself and Susanna discovering he’d ordered six desserts.

Lucian picked up Allison’s shoes from where she’d abandoned them.

She watched him carry them toward the stairs.

Then followed and kissed him.

Quick.

Soft.

He looked pleasantly surprised.

"What was that for?"

"No reason."

His smile came easily.

"I like no reason."

Her phone buzzed.

Rachel.

Allison glanced at the name.

Then silenced it.

Lucian noticed.

"You can answer."

"Later."

"You’re sure?"

Allison looked toward the library.

Her father was trying to explain why six desserts constituted "reasonable variety."

Susanna was unconvinced.

Roman wanted the tiramisu.

Elena had apparently decided Roman’s drink belonged to her permanently.

Nothing needed Allison.

Not this minute.

"I’m off today."

And for once, she meant it.

⸻

6:43 P.M. — SIMONE’S APARTMENT

SIMONE’S POV

Simone rejected the black dress.

Too serious.

Jeans.

Too casual.

The green dress survived.

Barely.

Her phone rang while she was choosing earrings.

Allison.

"Gold," Allison said as soon as Simone answered.

Simone stared at the phone.

"You can’t see me."

"I don’t need to."

"That’s unsettling."

"Gold."

Simone switched to video.

Allison appeared wearing pajamas.

"You’re already dressed for bed?"

"I’m married."

"Those two facts are unrelated."

"You’ll understand someday."

"Don’t get smug."

Allison smiled.

Simone put on the gold earrings.

Then stared at herself.

The nerves returned.

Allison noticed.

"You don’t need to decide your whole future tonight."

"I know."

"Just—"

"Careful. That sounded like the beginning of a speech."

Allison considered.

Then tried again.

"Don’t chicken out."

Simone smiled.

"Perfect."

A knock sounded.

Both of them looked toward Simone’s door.

"He’s early."

"How early?"

"Two minutes."

Allison frowned.

"That is concerning."

Simone laughed.

"Goodbye."

"Call me later."

"No."

"Have fun."

"That I can do."

She ended the call.

Then stood still for one second.

All afternoon she’d been surrounded by women whose lives were changing in completely different ways.

Allison was figuring out who she wanted to become beyond being protected.

Susanna was building ordinary days again.

Elena was discovering that independence didn’t require isolation.

None of them had handed Simone a blueprint.

That was probably why the day had helped.

She didn’t need one.

Simone picked up her purse and opened the door.

Theo stood in the hallway.

For once, he didn’t arrive performing.

He simply looked at her.

"You look beautiful."

The sincerity caught her harder than any joke could have.

Simone recovered first.

"You clean up okay."

His smile appeared.

"There she is."

They started toward the elevator.

Theo offered his hand.

Simone looked at it for a moment.

Then took it.

Halfway down the hall, she said, "I have questions."

Theo glanced sideways.

"How worried should I be?"

"Moderately."

"That’s manageable."

The elevator opened.

They stepped inside.

Simone turned toward him.

"I’m serious, Theo."

His expression changed.

Not dramatically.

He simply stopped trying to make the moment lighter.

"I know."

The doors closed.

And Simone realized that maybe the first answer had already arrived.