Page 257 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
I swiped over to the text message I’d missed. It was from Jack. “Meet me at the office in 15 minutes.”
Sorry Jack, I thought. There was no way I’d make it back to the office in his time frame. Besides, part of me wanted to park and go into the deli myself, to scout it out. This had to be a clue to the secret Jansen was keeping. The men in the photograph had to have something to do with this deli, including the councilman.
I sat there, debating on how to proceed. The drizzle suddenly turned into a downpour, raindrops pelting my car, forcing me to turn my wipers on high. As they tapped out their rhythmic beat, I tried to reach a decision.
Should I go inside, see if I could find out where the familiar faced guy had gone, or if there were any other men from the photo on the premise? My pulse rate skidded out of control. It had taken all my reserves of bravery just to follow the guy in the first place. Did I really have the fortitude to go inside?
What if the familiar faced guy was in there, and he recognized me from the mall? I was pretty sure he hadn’t got a glance at me, but I wasn’t exactly trained in espionage.
But I knew someone who was.
Dammit.
Maybe it was better to meet Jack, to tell him what I’d found out. Although it was unlikely, there was a greater than zero chance that I might be recognized if I waltzed into the deli now. And no one knew where I was. I was alone, on a solo mission, no back up.
My reasonable side prevailed. Snapping a picture of the sedan, including the license plate, I drove up the alley to the end of the block. I then turned down the main street again and slowed enough to take a picture of the front of the deli. Then I sped up and started heading in the direction of the office.
I already knew that Jack was going to be spoiling for a fight. He had caught me mid-snoop, and I was sure he was going to assume the worst. I let myself feel a spark of hope. Maybe he would be impressed with me when I shared my discovery.
Maybe he would apologize for telling me to drop the investigation, and that he would say he was proud of me for sticking to the case.
And maybe pigs would fly and Santa would deliver a naked Jack clone into my stocking on Christmas Eve.
I let out a sigh. Jack probably wouldn’t even listen to me when I tried to tell him what had happened. He might even go so far as to call my father and inform him that I’d been playing private detective on the company’s clients.
The spark of hope vanished faster than the spiked eggnog at an office holiday party. This wasn’t going to go easy. As someone who hated confrontation, it took every ounce of my strength to drive directly back to the office.
I told myself I refused to let things go down the way they had last night. If Jack tried to act all high and mighty, this time I would put him in his place instead of slinking off like a dog with my tail between my legs.
I wasn’t the asshole here. I was the one concerned with finding out the truth, with doing my civic duty. I’d given him a chance to do this together, but he’d declined. Now he could either help, or get the hell out of my way.
I psyched myself up as best I could, but my hands were still shaking when I pulled into the office parking lot. It took several deep breaths before I was able to get out of the car and make the walk up to the office door.
It was time to put my new backbone to the test.
CHAPTER 15
JACK
She’s fucking late. Maybe she’s not coming.
I was pacing the office, my temper getting hotter by the minute. Where the fuck was Emma? She’d been following me earlier, but now she disappeared? It didn’t make any sense.
And why the fuck had she been following me in the first place? It seemed so out of character, but how else could she have ended up behind that poster in the mall? Either she was following me, or she’d been following Jansen.
The thought of her tailing Jansen wrenches my anger up to the next level. If she’d thought to do that, even after she’d almost been caught in his hotel room, I didn’t know what I’d do with her. Her safety was paramount, but it seemed like she just didn’t understand that.
The pacing continued, my thoughts ping-ponging back and forth at the same time. I hadn’t stopped thinking about Emma since the moment I’d first seen her again, but now my stomach was all tied up in knots. Whatever had driven Emma to show up to the theater today was an impulse that had to be dealt with, which means further driving a wedge in our relationship.
It has to be done, I told myself. There should be no relationship between you beyond a simple one between fellow employees.
I wished my stupid brain could understand that. Maybe it would release this tightness in my chest that had been there since last night.
Suddenly, I heard the office door open. I spun around, both relieved and infuriated to see Emma standing there. She was wet, but her eyes were shining with an inner light.
I couldn’t let myself be distracted by her beauty. Not now. I strode over to her, stopping inches from her and staring down at her smaller frame. “Just what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
She blinked up at me and for a moment I regretted coming across so harshly. Emma was a delicate thing, one who avoided confrontation. Or so I thought.
