When she entered the eating area, she halted. The entire room and lobby were packed full of guests. Some were at the front desk where Clyde was manning the reservations, and others were seated at the tables near the empty buffet. Where did they all come from?
She weaved through the small crowd to where she had been sitting with Sebastian and Mabel, looked under her chair, and freaked out.
Her briefcase was gone.
Her crossbody purse slapped against her hip as she rushed to the desk, pushing her way to the front.
“Hey,” a woman said as Jade shoved her aside. “What are you doing?”
“Sorry, it’s an emergency. Where’s Mabel?” she asked Clyde.
“Wish I knew.” His expression was pleasant, but there was a slightly stressed edge to his tone. “Hopefully she went to get Caroline to help us out. We weren’t expecting everyone to show up at once. This has never happened before.” He tapped on the computer and nodded to the gentleman in front of him. “Yes, sir, your reservation is here. Give me just a second—”
“Have you seen a briefcase? Brown with a big gold latch?”
“No,” he said. “Sorry, Mr. Tate. I was saying that to her.” Clyde looked at Jade. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Panic anchored deep inside her. She couldn’t lose her briefcase. She had other work-related papers in there. And if the ledger was gone, how was she going to explain that to Sebastian?
A swarm of people pressed against her, and she managed to slip away and get back to the dining area. When she couldn’t see underneath the chairs, she dropped to the floor and started to crawl.
Logan was suddenly beside her as they avoided getting stepped on. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t find my briefcase.” How could she have been so stupid to leave it unattended? She’d had it close beside her the whole time since she left Atlanta, and that was before she’d taken Sebastian’s file. She started to hyperventilate.
“It’s okay, Jade. I’ll help you find it.”
Her brother’s words calmed her, and they crawled around the dining area for a few minutes.
“This is impossible.” Logan took her arm and brought her to her feet. “There’s too many people here.”
“You don’t understand,” she said. “I have to find it.”
“Find what?” Sebastian asked.
She turned to see him standing behind her. “Nothing—”
“She’s misplaced her briefcase,” Logan said.
“Oh, right. It was by that table over there, wasn’t it?” He looked at Jade. “I’ll help you—”
“No!”
Logan and Sebastian drew back.
“I mean,” she said, an ungainly chuckle escaping, “it’s probably in lost and found by now. When things settle down, I’ll ask Mabel or Clyde to get it for me.”
“Are you sure?” Sebastian said.
“Positive.” She clasped her hands behind her back. “One hundred percent.”
He glanced at the crowd in the lobby. “Looks like I won’t get to talk to Mabel for a while.”
“Then why don’t you and Logan go to your cabin?” She mustered a smile. “You can get him settled.”
“Are you coming with us?” Logan sounded hopeful.
She shook her head. She would continue to look for her briefcase without having to worry about Sebastian finding it first. Just the thought of him picking up the case and the latch opening on its own terrified her. “I’ve got some things to do back in my room.”
