Shadow of Her: When He Realized Too Late novel · Chapter 9 of 16
Chapter 9: Overnight
I read Jillian's text sitting straight up in bed.
Then I called the foundation's events director.
It was nearly eleven at night.
The director picked up anyway.
"Annabel. I was going to call you in the morning." She sounded tired. "I'm so sorry."
"Is it true?"
"Ms. Pembrook called at six. She's the board liaison for the program. She has the authority." The director hesitated.
"I tried. I said the kids had already bought supplies."
"What did she say?"
"She said the donors didn't pay a thousand dollars a plate to eat something a fifteen-year-old made."
I closed my eyes.
"Thank you for trying," I said.
I didn't sleep that night either.
On Thursday morning I drove to Taylor Street before the bakery opened.
Wesley was already inside, rolling croissant dough under the lights.
I showed him the text.
He read it twice and handed the phone back.
"Okay," he said.
"Okay?"
"She cancelled the foundation's table." He wiped his hands. "She didn't cancel mine."
"What do you mean?"
"Hargrove's is a sponsor. My grandmother signed us up twenty years ago and I never stopped paying."
He nodded at an envelope pinned to the corkboard by the phone.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–8 of Shadow of Her: When He Realized Too Late are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
← Chapter 8 · All chapters · Chapter 10 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend