Page 16 of Look for Me

“He’s on his way back. According to his texts, he was thrilled for the new clients he had snapped up. They all wanted souped-up this or that.”

That meant Dad needed Martin back in town to handle some of those accounts. Martin was glad that his days of working as a virtual assistant had worked out. “I’ll call him. See if he needs me to work remotely.”

“That can only mean one thing—you’re not sure when you’ll be back in town.”

“Busted.” Martin thought he might stay an extra week if he could talk to Corinne. “If Corinne won’t talk to me, I’ll be home sooner.”

“I don’t mean to add to your issues, but Dad has been hinting that he wants to retire.”

“He said that?” Martin sat up. “I’m not ready for him to retire.”

“He didn’t say it himself but I get the sense that he’s tired and wants to take it easy.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t want MacMuscles and I’m not moving back to Savannah any time soon,” Tina said. “Byron and I are raising our child here in metro Atlanta.”

MacMuscles Classic Car Restoration belonged to Martin and his father, not to Tina, so Martin did not expect Dad to just hand it over to anyone—even if Tina was a businesswoman herself.

“Pray about it so that you will be ready with an answer if he asks you,” Tina added.

“If?”

“You know how Dad is. He may not want to give it up just yet.”

“He doesn’t have to give up anything.” Martin thought that Dad was more of a control freak than Mom—who had passed away many years ago.

“Even if he retires, he wants to call the shots,” Tina reminded him.

“That, he does. Damaris will keep him in check though.” Their stepmother had a good head on her shoulders.

“However, we know that when he needs help, he wants it at the drop of a hat,” Tina added. “So don’t stay away too long. I’m not going to Savannah to cover for you.”

“I know.” Martin knew he had to tell Dad soon about his supposedly two-week road trip.

Martin wished he had told Dad right away that he was only driving as far as Key Largo. As far as Dad was concerned, Martin could have been multiple states away from Georgia, not only next door.

“Why is it that I have a feeling you didn’t tell him everything?” Tina asked.

“Well, I didn’t know myself what was going to happen when I arrived.” It was the truth.

His first encounter with Corinne had ended abruptly when she passed out right before his eyes without as much as a hello.

Would there be another encounter?

What if Corinne disappeared again?

Chapter Seven

“No, I didn’t get a chance. She was whisked away.” Martin turned up his phone volume so he could hear what Ming would say next. He placed the phone on his armrest. The dashboard was warming up, even with the air-conditioner blasting inside the car.

As he waited, he sipped iced coffee in a giant paper cup. Key Largo was warming up all around the car on this Friday morning, to the point that Martin wondered if the paper cup would hold up with all that condensation. The coffee shop he had gone to didn’t have plastic cups, and their giant-sized mugs were too expensive.

Martin might be the Vice President of MacMuscles, but it didn’t mean he was going to spend twenty dollars on a collector’s mug. Collector cars, maybe.

The road in front of Key Largo Chocolate Shop was busy today, with weekenders pouring into town for a break. Martin’s eyes were on the front door, but Corinne hadn’t come out at all.

“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea for you to sit there waiting for her to show up.” Ming’s voice came through fairly clearly on the phone.

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