Page 54 of Love, Rekindled

“Famous last words,” I say under my breath as he walks out. That was what he told me the night he left after I told him I thought I loved him.

* * *

Daythree at Cole Securities has proven to be interesting. Ben hasn’t been back in the office we’re sharing since that first day. I’ve seen him in passing a few times, but he’s on that phone constantly. I’m going to assume it’s about the case, but no one is really saying much.

I’ve learned that they are very tight lipped and very serious. Which is fine by me, but I’m bored as hell. Instead of waiting around for someone to tell me what to do, I took it upon myself to start doing my own research on this kid. Well, he’s not really a kid but whatever.

Thomas McEvoy was born December 23, 1996. He’s spent most of his life traveling with his parents, being tossed from tutor to tutor. No real sense of a home because he’s on number twelve.

He’s done two stints in rehab and now has basically vanished.

Thomas is smart, rich, and has no sense of responsibility. He’s lived his life doing whatever he wants without consequence.

After I learned whatever I could about him, I moved on to his father, Michael. He’s a whole other set of concerns. The amount of money he’s paying Cole Securities is a little insane, considering his country also has supplied security.

I mean, how many people are trying to kill you that you need an army surrounding you?

Now that I know what I can about the people, I need to figure out what exactly I can learn about how this connects to Jackson and this company. I start to review the contract. I’m not sure what exactly it is that Jackson needs me to decipher on a legal standpoint, but I figure that is going to come up at some point.

At first glance I would think it’s a pretty standard contract. It has all the necessary loopholes to keep Cole Security out of any major litigation, but there’s this one clause and I’m not sure how to interpret it.

My eyes read the words again, trying to see it in a new light.

“Anything interesting?” Ben’s deep voice causes me to jump and fall out of my chair.

“Holy shit!” I say as my ass hits the floor.

“You all right?”

“I would’ve been if you’d made a noise.”

Ben chuckles. “I was trained not to.”

“Well, they did a good job,” I note as I push myself up.

“You’re jumpy.”

“No, I just have been working alone the last few days and didn’t expect to have someone sneak up on me.”

His hand wraps around my arm, helping me to my feet. My body feels as though it’s been zapped. Each muscle tightens and my skin tingles from where his skin is against mine. I can’t explain it because it makes no sense, but it happens.

This man who I haven’t seen in forever shouldn’t be making my pulse spike. I should be completely unaffected, especially since it’s been days without a word, but my stomach is in knots as I stare into his brown eyes.

“So...” He clears his throat.

“Right.”

“The...umm…” Ben struggles.

“The contract,” I finish. “I was looking over the contract and there’s something...”

“Yes, the contract. What did you find?”

This is so awkward.

I move across to the other side of the table, needing a little distance because I’m not sure what to make of the moment we just had. This is my job. My only job and I can’t be stupid. Jackson is relying on me and I won’t let him down. If only I knew what the hell I was really doing here it might make this a little easier, but whatever.

I’m always up for a challenge.

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