Page 63 of Big & Bossy

“We did, indeed,” she chirped. I could hear the faint clicking of a mouse in the background, fading into near nonexistence as my sister squealed from being hit with a snowball. “It was sent from the Boulder Public Library.”

I lost my grip on the mug. It fell forward, off the edge of the railing and down one story, shattering against the cement floor of the back porch and making Tiana scream. “Surveillance video. We need the surveillance video, Marsha.”

“I know. We’re on it, but you know how government moves, they’re slow as shit. If it was a private business we could have it by tomorrow, but unfortunately, we just have to wait,” she sighed. “But we will get to the bottom of this, Jackson. We’ll find them. There’s a lot more hope now than there was yesterday.”

I simultaneously wanted to scream in frustration and celebrate the breakthrough. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, finding nowhere to run, snaking up my spine instead and making me feel jittery. An overload of nerves and panic mixed with excitement. “Thank you.”

“Of course. We’ll be in touch as soon as we get the video footage.”

She hung up before I did, leaving me in the silent snow, half frozen , and on my way to a panic attack. We would figure this out. We had to. If we couldn’t, if we hit a brick wall, it would all be for nothing. The move to Boulder, getting Mandy back, loving her…all for nothing.

I couldn’t let that happen.

Tiana shouted something up at me as I pulled my phone from my freezing skin, the brightness nearly blinding in the low light. A text from a number I hadn’t saved but still recognized filled my screen, and I stared at it, my eyes barely agreeing to focus through the haze of endorphins.

Unknown Number: You know she deserves better than this.

Unknown Number: You can’t just hurt her again and again and expect it to be okay. I’m not going to let you. Leave her alone for her own sake.

Fucking Harry.

Anger rippled through and joined the goddamn party of stressful emotions tearing me up inside. What authority does he think he has?

I shoved my phone into my pocket, huffing out one final puff of fog. I could put him on the back burner for now.

Chapter 30

Mandy

The builders, painters, and installers I’d hired had started their work a couple of weeks ago, and as I walked through the massive entry hall that smelled of fresh paint, I could tell that things were coming together slower than I wanted.

The tile was laid down, but the grout hadn’t gone in. Some of the so-called finished walls only had one coat of paint. Art was stored alongside used paintbrushes, rollers, and open tins. Everyone was in overdrive, but nothing was finished. The grand opening was three weeks away, and in just two weeks, Jackson’s board of directors would be doing a walk-through. This had to quicken up.

“Can we get guys on caulking, please?” I shouted over the sound of a jackhammer somewhere in the distance. Why the fuck is a jackhammer being used two weeks before the walk-through? “And some on paint? These walls are atrocious.”

“Everyone is busy right now.” Nathan pulled his hard hat down over his brows as another worker walked past, a handful of lumber tucked under his arm, and I genuinely had no idea where he was heading.

“Then get more guys in,” I hissed, grabbing the clipboard from his hand and looking it over. A list of names with duties assigned next to them, each one booked solid. “The budget is whatever you want. Hire more.”

“Yes ma’am,” he grunted.

“At least twenty more,” I insisted, handing him back the clipboard.

I let out a stressful groan as he walked off, wishing Harry had gotten off his damn ass and showed up on time so I wasn’t in this alone, also wishing Jackson had agreed to come with me. He’d been so busy lately that I’d hardly seen him, barely spoken to him. Meeting after meeting, he’d said. I was trying not to let it bother me, but he’d been there before when things were busy. Something was clearly going on behind the scenes, something he didn’t want to talk to me about.

I at least had something to look forward to, though. Jack was taking me out for dinner tonight—an apology for his absence. He was picking me up at seven, and taking me somewhere new; hopefully, if things went well, we’d end up at his house after. I’d get to the bottom of whatever was going on with him. It was all I could think about.

That and the fucking paint.

————

As I walked into the massive room toward the back of the campus that Jack had allocated for shared offices, a familiar face struggled into the room from the opposite set of doors. What I thought was going to be my saving grace morphed into yet another disappointment.

“Where the fuck have you been?” I hissed, taking in every inch of the food-stained clothes and oversized hoodie Harry wore. He looked like a goddamn mess, and with every step I took toward him, he looked even worse. Massive dark circles, unkempt hair, unshaven. He wasn’t even wearing a hard hat or a safety vest.

“Sorry,” he grumbled. He rubbed his eyes, scratched his jaw. “I’ve not been feeling well. I know I’m late.”

“Have you seen a doctor?”

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