you like it, Cleo. I'd hate
for you to put in all this work for something you hated." The
microwave beeped and she took out the plate but didn't let go when
I grabbed it. She searched my face. "You wouldn't stick with a job
you hated just for the money, right? You'd tell me if we were
having financial problems."
"Of course."
She let go and I sat on a stool at the bench.
"I do like the job." That at least wasn't a lie. "I've been given a
lot of leeway to make it my own." Reece had left me largely up to
my own devices, something I was grateful for. It meant I could
snoop around and find out as much as I could about the Serendipity
Bend project. So far I'd learned very little. He had preliminary
plans drawn up for a boutique hotel on the site, and a contractor
ready to go whenever they were approved.
There was nothing underhanded that I could
see. No rushing through of the plans, which ordinarily indicated a
secret payment had been made to the planning department, and the
sale had been straightforward. He'd paid Cassie's brother a lot of
money for the house so I couldn't even claim Reece had strong-armed
him into the sale.
What did strike me as weird was that it was
right next door to his parents' house where he'd grown up. Surely
they didn't want their son to build a hotel so close to their
family home. Although their land was extensive enough that any kind
of development wouldn't overshadow the house and immediate
surrounds, it would bring down the neighborhood. The old money
people who lived in The Bend wouldn't want a modern eyesore in
their midst.
One day I would ask Reece what his family
thought, but not yet. As far as he was concerned, I didn't know
where he had been brought up.
"How's Cassie?" I asked. "Has she made any
progress on stopping Reece Kavanagh's plans?"
Becky leaned her elbows on the kitchen bench,
a cool glass of water in hand. "Nope. He's not returning her
calls."
I frowned. I hadn't put through any calls
from Cassie. She must have dialed his cell phone or another private
number. She had admitted that they knew each other, and it seemed
they'd grown up as neighbors, so it was no surprise that she didn't
contact him via the office.
"I don't get him," Becky said with a shake of
her head. "Cassie said he never used to be such an asshole, but he
changed."
"What changed him?"
"She wouldn't say, but I think she
knows."
"Secrets," I muttered, scooping up some rice
on my fork. "Everyone has them."
***
"You've been working hard," Reece said on my
third Thursday morning at RK. He sat on the corner of my desk, his
arms folded over his chest. He'd removed his tie and jacket and had
his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. All his meetings were finished
for the day and his calendar was free for the rest of the
afternoon, as it was every Thursday. He'd made it clear when I
started that nothing was ever to be organized for Thursdays after
one. "You deserve a break."
I eyed him carefully. He seemed too cheerful.
"You're not going to make me join you in a round of corporate paint
ball, are you?"
He laughed. "No, but I'll keep it in
mind."
I laughed too. Reece seemed to have relaxed a
little in the past few days. He'd fired Austin the morning after
we'd discovered his deception and brooded about it for more than a
week. He felt the betrayal deeply, and I noticed the change in the
way he treated all his staff from that moment. He no longer joked
with them or asked after their families. He kept his distance with
everyone.
Everyone except me.
The more he pushed them away, the closer he
drew me in. He asked me about Becky, but I told him as little as
possible. I kept her health scare to myself. He never asked about
my parents and I never mentioned them. I desperately wanted to find
out about his past, but I didn't want to seem too interested. He
did speak fondly about his brothers a few times, but the topic of
his parents never arose. As far as I could tell, he did not visit
them and I received no calls from them
for you to put in all this work for something you hated." The
microwave beeped and she took out the plate but didn't let go when
I grabbed it. She searched my face. "You wouldn't stick with a job
you hated just for the money, right? You'd tell me if we were
having financial problems."
"Of course."
She let go and I sat on a stool at the bench.
"I do like the job." That at least wasn't a lie. "I've been given a
lot of leeway to make it my own." Reece had left me largely up to
my own devices, something I was grateful for. It meant I could
snoop around and find out as much as I could about the Serendipity
Bend project. So far I'd learned very little. He had preliminary
plans drawn up for a boutique hotel on the site, and a contractor
ready to go whenever they were approved.
There was nothing underhanded that I could
see. No rushing through of the plans, which ordinarily indicated a
secret payment had been made to the planning department, and the
sale had been straightforward. He'd paid Cassie's brother a lot of
money for the house so I couldn't even claim Reece had strong-armed
him into the sale.
What did strike me as weird was that it was
right next door to his parents' house where he'd grown up. Surely
they didn't want their son to build a hotel so close to their
family home. Although their land was extensive enough that any kind
of development wouldn't overshadow the house and immediate
surrounds, it would bring down the neighborhood. The old money
people who lived in The Bend wouldn't want a modern eyesore in
their midst.
One day I would ask Reece what his family
thought, but not yet. As far as he was concerned, I didn't know
where he had been brought up.
"How's Cassie?" I asked. "Has she made any
progress on stopping Reece Kavanagh's plans?"
Becky leaned her elbows on the kitchen bench,
a cool glass of water in hand. "Nope. He's not returning her
calls."
I frowned. I hadn't put through any calls
from Cassie. She must have dialed his cell phone or another private
number. She had admitted that they knew each other, and it seemed
they'd grown up as neighbors, so it was no surprise that she didn't
contact him via the office.
"I don't get him," Becky said with a shake of
her head. "Cassie said he never used to be such an asshole, but he
changed."
"What changed him?"
"She wouldn't say, but I think she
knows."
"Secrets," I muttered, scooping up some rice
on my fork. "Everyone has them."
***
"You've been working hard," Reece said on my
third Thursday morning at RK. He sat on the corner of my desk, his
arms folded over his chest. He'd removed his tie and jacket and had
his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. All his meetings were finished
for the day and his calendar was free for the rest of the
afternoon, as it was every Thursday. He'd made it clear when I
started that nothing was ever to be organized for Thursdays after
one. "You deserve a break."
I eyed him carefully. He seemed too cheerful.
"You're not going to make me join you in a round of corporate paint
ball, are you?"
He laughed. "No, but I'll keep it in
mind."
I laughed too. Reece seemed to have relaxed a
little in the past few days. He'd fired Austin the morning after
we'd discovered his deception and brooded about it for more than a
week. He felt the betrayal deeply, and I noticed the change in the
way he treated all his staff from that moment. He no longer joked
with them or asked after their families. He kept his distance with
everyone.
Everyone except me.
The more he pushed them away, the closer he
drew me in. He asked me about Becky, but I told him as little as
possible. I kept her health scare to myself. He never asked about
my parents and I never mentioned them. I desperately wanted to find
out about his past, but I didn't want to seem too interested. He
did speak fondly about his brothers a few times, but the topic of
his parents never arose. As far as I could tell, he did not visit
them and I received no calls from them
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