Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
I withheld my sigh. “Fine. Nine, then.”
He hung up.
I had a feeling it was going to be a long day.
The car was there at nine, and aside from a brief hello, we were both silent during the ride. I stared out the window, feeling his glance on occasion but ignoring it. At the airport, we went to separate kiosks, and I was ahead of him in security. I went to get a coffee when he appeared at my side.
“The first-class lounge is open.”
“Enjoy it,” I replied, keeping my eyes focused frontward.
“You have a first-class ticket,” he replied. “You can join me.”
I had been surprised to discover that. I also knew I could go to the lounge and that it would be far more comfortable, but I didn’t want to sit with him.
“No thank you.”
He scrubbed his jaw in vexation. “I want to discuss Helen and the best approach, Grace. I need you with me on this.”
“Business,” I stated flatly.
“Business,” he agreed.
“Fine.”
I hesitated outside the elevator door. It was a very short trip up to the mezzanine and I could do it, but still, the fear trembled within me.
“I’m here, Grace,” Jaxson said quietly. He stepped in beside me, closer than we had been in days, his warmth familiar and needed. “I’m right here.”
I had to turn away, blinking at the tears that gathered. How could anyone be so cruel and still be so kind?
He looked at me as the doors slid open. “Sometimes, we don’t have a choice,” he uttered then stepped out, holding the door.
I had no idea what that meant.
We sat in the lounge, which was surprisingly quiet. Jaxson made several trips to the buffet of snacks, helping himself to coffee, ordering a drink, sipping water, seemingly at ease. I was barely able to choke down a croissant, although I did have water and coffee.
He frowned at one point. “You’ve barely eaten. Let me get you something.”
“No.”
“Don’t be stubborn.”
“Don’t tell me what to do. When I’m hungry, I will eat. Once I’m out of your company, I’m sure my appetite will return.”
He glanced over my shoulder, his jaw working. He swallowed deeply then met my gaze. There was a sheen to his eyes that disappeared when he blinked that I must have imagined. He cleared his throat as if to speak, then shook his head. He picked up his coffee cup and finished it off. His phone rang, and he answered it, rising and heading to the coffee station to set down his empty cup. He wandered to the window, looking out over the runways as he spoke. The muted lighting from the outside filtered in, mixing with the overhead lights, casting him in brilliance. His dark hair gleamed. His broad shoulders stretched the fabric of his dress shirt. He rested one hand on the plate glass, the other wrapped around his phone. I recalled how those hands felt on my body. The pleasure they gave. The gentleness with which they touched me. All of it in direct contrast to the words he’d flung at me. I had to look away for a moment as memories swamped me.
Jaxson’s voice, risen with satisfaction, drifted to me, and I glanced up again. “I was right? You’re certain?” He fist-pumped the air, glanced my way then turned his back and finished his call.
He came back to the seating area, looking satisfied.
“Good news?” I had to ask.
“It could be,” he murmured, then flipped open the file, changing the subject. “I’m going to let you lead with Helen. You’ve built a rapport with her. I need to know what she has, Grace. The documents she claims to have in her possession. If she has what we need to prove that what the family did predates everything before this woman came into Brian’s life, then we can nail this shut.” He sighed. “And then I can get to work to properly document everything. What a holy mess it is.”
“I wonder what broke up the family?”
“According to the younger sister, Gloria, they had a falling-out over one of the inventions. It got ugly, and they bought Helen out of the company at her insistence. She moved away and has refused to talk to them ever since.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Gloria told me the sister-in-law was part of the disagreement. Brian was the only sibling ever to marry, and it wasn’t a happy union after a while. Gloria thinks she stayed because of the money.”
“And now she’s fighting for it.”
He nodded. “She’s banking on the fact that their records are incomplete and they were sloppy about it for so long.”
“I can’t believe how long they coasted. This was a disaster waiting to happen.”
Our flight was called, and Jaxson stood. “I am hoping we put a stop to the disaster now.”
I picked up my case and followed him. I hoped so as well.