Cameron replied, “Yeah, Bradley.”
Amelia asked, “He’s back in the country?”
Cameron replied, “He just got back this morning.”
Amelia was stunned. She thought, ‘Bradley returned this morning? But he told me he was still abroad! So did he not want to see me? Why?”
Cameron didn’t hear Amelia’s stunned silence and added, “Ms. Chapman, I already have plans with Brad. How about we reschedule for tomorrow?”
Amelia bit her lip. “Cameron, would you mind if I tag along tonight?”
Cameron froze, completely thrown by the request. ‘Tag along? She wanted to meet Brad?‘ she wondered.
She knew Amelia had feelings for Bradley. Did that mean she’d be stuck as a chaperone all evening?
Cameron was quick to connect the dots. She instantly guessed why Amelia had called. “Ms. Chapman,” she said, “if you don’t mind my asking, is this
about Brad?”
Amelia’s cheeks flushed, and she stayed quiet.
“Since you’re not denying it,” Cameron pressed, “I’ll take that as a yes. You can come tonight, but I need to run it by Brad first.”
“Wait, Cameron,” Amelia rushed to say, “can you keep it a secret from Bradley? Just for now?”
It was clear Bradley was avoiding her. If Cameron mentioned it, he’d probably say no. Amelia didn’t want to wait anymore. She was willing to set aside her pride and make a move.
If she hesitated, another girl might steal Bradley away once they started college. ‘Better to act bold than regret later,‘ she thought.
“Not tell Brad? But showing up unannounced seems risky, doesn’t it?” Cameron asked.
“Please, Cameron,” Amelia pleaded, “just this once. Will you do this for me?”
Cameron hesitated. She did owe Amelia–twice, in fact. Once for intervening when Tyrell and his men caused trouble, and again for helping expose
Skyler.
Now that Amelia was begging for help, it was hard to refuse. But using Bradley to repay a favor felt unfair to him.
Seeing Cameron remain silent, Amelia asked urgently, “Cameron, is that okay? Can you help me?”
Cameron was silent for a long moment before saying, “Ms. Chapman, can you let me think about it?”
“Alright, I’ll wait for your answer,” Amelia replied.
Cameron ended the call. Standing in the stairwell, she hesitated before sending Bradley a message.
Cameron: [Brad, can I bring a friend to dinner tonight?]
Bradley was driving back to Noble Vista when he got the message. He pulled over to the side of the road to reply: [A friend? What friend? Do I know them?]
Cameron: [You do know them, but can I not say who for now? I’ll surprise you.]
Bradley smiled and replied: [Okay.]
1/2
21:53 Wed, 4 Jun
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