Page 4 of The Beachside Cafe
With a pounding heart, Jaymee reached in and pulled the note off. She closed her eyes, held the note in front of her and then opened them.
She sighed. The note meant nothing to her. Just like the stocks and bonds. It was just a bunch of numbers. Probably something that got shoved to where it was an unintentionally stuck.
She turned to the drawers on the right side of the desk and had her hand wrapped around the handle of the top one when the doorbell rang.
Jaymee looked up sharply, then shot to her feet. She hurried out of the study, hoping it was the police with news. Or maybe one of their friends had heard from him.
She got to the door and yanked it open without looking through one of the side windows like she usually did.
Her heart sank as she stared up into the eyes of a stranger.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hello,” she replied. “Can I help you?”
“I hope so. I’m looking for Douglas Lent?”
Jaymee dropped her eyes to the ground briefly before looking up at him again. “I’m afraid he’s not here at the moment. Can I help you with anything? I’m his wife, Jaymee.” She held out her hand to him. For some reason, she felt comfortable with the man and she didn’t even know his name. He gave off an easy-going vibe that she liked.
“Cameron,” the man replied, shaking her hand. “Cameron Smith. I’m not sure if you can help me. You can tell me, though, if Mr. Lent makes a habit of shirking his appointments? I’m not used to that.”
Jaymee’s heart squeezed. She shook her head, vigorously. “No, no. He is a very professional man. I’m sorry, I… I don’t know why he’s not here. Can I take a message?”
“Please tell him that if this is the way he handles his business, he can find someone else to fund his café.”
Jaymee sucked in a sharp breath. She held out one hand. “Wait. Please. Come in. If this is about the café, I would like to discuss it with you. The café is actually mine. My husband finances it.”
Cameron gave her a close look before nodding. “All right. I’ll come in but I really cannot be expected to wait. I have a time schedule, as well.”
Jaymee stood back, allowing him to cross in front of her. He was half a foot taller than her, with brown hair swept back and bright blue eyes. She wondered how old he was. Probably too old for Cheyenne. Too bad. He was a handsome man.
She took him to the study and offered him a chair and a drink. He accepted the first, declined the second.
“I keep odd working hours,” he said.
Jaymee nodded. “That must be why you’re here at 7:30 in the evening.”
Cameron sat down, settling in the chair comfortably. He looked around the room, taking in the décor. “Yes, exactly. I find it’s a lot easier to find people home when you have evening appointments.”
“Do you make a lot of house calls?”
He grinned at her. “I guess you could say that. I don’t have an office, per say, so I go where other people are to conduct my business.”
“And what is that business?” Jaymee asked and then flushed. She might be getting too personal. She took the seat behind her desk to put some distance between herself and the stranger she’d invited into their home.
“Right now investments,” he replied. He paused a moment, looking around. “You have excellent taste. I’m assuming you did all this work, putting all this together.” He lifted a hand and circled his finger around to take in the entire room.
Jaymee looked around. She would have nodded and gotten great pleasure out of admitting she’d decorated the study. But right then, all she saw was memories of a husband that had gone missing.
“Yes, I did the work. Thank you for the compliment.”
She didn’t say anything else and after a moment, turned her eyes to look at Cameron. He was staring at her. She blinked at him.
“What is it?” she asked.
He sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “This may be none of my business. And you don’t have to answer my questions. You don’t know me from Adam. But I must say it looks like you have gotten devastating news. And seeing as how your husband isn’t here when – I’ll be honest – I’ve always found him to be a highly efficient and punctual man, never one to miss his appointments, I’m going to have to assume something has happened. Is this true?”
Jaymee stared at him. She swallowed hard, feeling the tears rising to her eyes. She nodded slowly.
