Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“I’ll go with you.” Daisy got her purse and made sure her cell phone was fully charged. The camera on her cell would have to do for today. She would need to invest in more sophisticated equipment as she moved more heavily into her new career. The good news? Her birthday was coming up.
“You’re a detective?” the young woman asked.
She was now. Besides, this was an easy job, and she was here to make life easy for her bosses. She set the phone system to away mode. At least she thought she did. She was pretty sure. Then she set the alarm system. The light went green. Green was the universal sign for go. Well, at least it was here in America.
“Absolutely. Now let’s go find your fiancé and put your mind at ease.” She followed the woman out, using her keys to lock the door. “I’m sure this is all a misunderstanding. He’s probably not cheating on you.”
He wasn’t. It was far, far worse.
Chapter Two
“Let me get this straight,” Liam O’Donnell began, sitting in the big conference room at his place of business. “I want to make sure I’ve got everything down.”
Daisy O’Donnell had spent her whole life coming up to this building where her da worked. She’d played with her brother in the daycare, and later she’d done her homework in her da’s office while she waited for him to drive her home. She knew this building like the back of her hand. It was practically her second home.
So why did it feel so weird to be sitting in the conference room? It was probably the fact that she wasn’t alone with her da. Her mother was up here, too, looking worried and patting her da’s hand from time to time. The big boss, Ian Taggart, and his wife, Charlotte, were at the head of the table, along with Mitch Bradford. She wasn’t sure why John’s dad was here, but he was a lawyer.
She didn’t need a lawyer. Did she?
“I was helping out a client,” she began.
“Uhm, Mr. Taggart, I would like to make it clear we didn’t hire Daisy as a private investigator.” Her bosses were here, too. Harlow and Ruby sat at the opposite end of the table, and Harlow seemed to be the one who wanted to set the record straight.
“She was supposed to answer the phones.” Ruby frowned her way.
She was going to have to soothe her bosses. Things had done what they so often did in Daisy’s life. They had gone awry.
To top things off, her brother was somewhere in the building. Aidan had been the one to drive her up, and he’d told her he needed to go talk to his newest roommate.
Nathan Carter. Big, gorgeous Nathan Carter, who’d barely known she’d existed past being his friend’s obnoxious sister.
She hadn’t seen Nate in years. Was he still stunning? He probably had a girlfriend.
“Daisy?” Her mother’s voice brought her out of her reverie. “Uncle Ian asked you a question.”
Of all the grave faces around the table, it was her aunt and uncle who broke the mold and looked highly amused.
“I asked how you went from answering the phones to taking down a drug cartel,” Uncle Ian said, his lips curling up. He leaned in like he was ready for this story.
Her da made a sound and held his heart like it was breaking. “My poor girl.”
Her mother got up and moved to the big table where there were drinks and snacks laid out. “I’m going to make you some tea.”
“He’s going to need something stronger,” Aunt Charlotte said. “I brought out the good whiskey.”
“Oh, you know what…” Daisy began, but then the look from her sweet mother could have frozen lava in its tracks. Well, she’d had a rough twenty-four hours, too. Still, when her mom looked like that it was best to follow her lead. And she could hit the bar at The Hideout later on. “Tea sounds great. Now, before I tell the story you should know I took every precaution.”
“Which ones?” Ruby asked, her eyes narrowing. “Like the one where you pushed in the security code and then didn’t ask it to set?”
“There was a green light.” It had been an honest mistake. “And I did lock the doors.”
“Yeah, well, someone broke in and we didn’t get a notification because the light should have been red,” Harlow pointed out. “Now Dad Two thinks we should move the whole office. Well, he thinks we should shut it down. Also, I’m still trying to figure out how he found me at the café. I was almost late for my meeting because I was dealing with my dad. Mr. Taggart, do you have like a wand or something? I think my dad LoJacked me.”
“I do, actually.” Uncle Ian had the biggest smile on his face.