Page 21 of Head Over Heels

"If the pieces are authentic, then potentially, yes." She continues flipping through the photos while she talks. "You can't even conceive of money like that." She glances up. "Did your lawyer give you any information on the insurance coverage your grandfather had?"

"I don't think so. I'll need to look through the paperwork more carefully."

"If I were you, I'd let your grandfather's estate lawyer help with the big picture, but I'd use the auction house lawyers for the valuables. You don't have to sell them, but you should know what you have."

"Okay." That makes sense. "I imagine he had paperwork somewhere that inventories most of it. Any suggestions on where to look for that?"

She bites her lip thoughtfully. "People with collections like this usually have appraisals and inventory lists in multiple places. At least one or two at home. Any insurance policies would have copies of official appraisals. I'd bet money there's a list in a safe deposit box as well. You might even find other valuables there."

She pauses. "Virtually everyone keeps records online now. How old was your grandfather?"

"One hundred and one. I don't think he had any presence online. From what I can tell, he didn't even own a computer."

She stops on another photo—a large painting.

"If this is authentic, you could live off the proceeds of its sale for the rest of your life." She keeps flipping, murmuring occasionally. "I can't speak for the other departments of the auction house, but we would definitely be interested in the paint—"

She breaks off mid-sentence, flipping back to the previous painting.

"This…"

She scratches her head.

It's a simple landscape—rolling hills, lines of cypress trees, and olive groves. The winding footpath through the hills disappears into the grove. There's a unique turn in it—almost like the artist changed their mind mid-brushstroke.

I almost didn't bother photographing it when I was going through the penthouse. It looks amateur. But I snapped a picture instead of thinking about it and moved on.

She frowns.

"I think I've seen something like this before. I don't recognize the artist or the style, but something about it feels familiar. I want to show this to the rest of my team. Someone will be able to place it."

"I can upload all of these to a shared folder if that makes it easier for your team. You think a lot of this stuff has value, then."

"Definitely." She nods. "Assuming it's authentic, we should have no problem finding enough for you to pay off that judgment on the penthouse."

9

Florence

I pull Marin up on my phone and hit the call button before pulling out of the parking lot. "This woman won't work," I tell her. "As soon as she saw I had money, she started digging about my finances, planning shopping trips. There's no way I can trust someone like that. She'd sell my secrets to the highest bidder."

This is the fourth woman I've met since Josie walked out on me last week, and I'm getting frustrated. I haven't even talked to any of the others about what I'm really looking for. I haven't felt safe divulging that information to any of them.

"Maybe you shouldn't have pissed off your doctor friend," she teases. "I saw sparks flying when you were talking to her. You should call her back."

"You embarrassed me." I grind my teeth. "I should let you go for that." There's no excuse for the way she behaved that night. She's never pushed the line like that before.

"Did it ever occur to you that I was happy you found a match?" Her voice softens. "You're going to end up an old, lonely spinster lady at this rate, Florence."

"I'm happy with my life the way it is, thank you very much. Except for this asshole who seems to think he can get away with the shit he's pulling at work."

"We'll find someone."

"We don't have time," I argue through clenched teeth.

The rumor mill online has been growing. It's just a matter of time before it all blows up in my face.

"Have you thought of calling her back? She seemed sympathetic to your situation, and I could feel the chemistry between the two of you."

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