He dipped his head, his smile widening. “I’m happy I was in the area.”
“Yeah, about that… Why do you keep showing up around here?” My eyes widened after a moment of thinking. “Are you a detective?”
A deep chuckle shook his broad shoulders. “Not at all, Miss Sharpe. My name is Nigel.”
My eyes widened. “Nigel.”
“Two months ago I placed a very important,” he looked around the restaurant before continuing, “packageinside your truck.” He gave an apologetic shrug. “A mistake, you see. I’m hoping to retrieve it. Would you have any idea where I may find it?”
Jasper
“I have the best news!”
I moved away from the treadmill Quinn had purchased a few days ago and glanced up upon hearing Quinn’s shout from the top of the stairs. An excited grin lit her face. “Look who I found!”
“Hello, sir.” The man walked into the room, wearing his usual serene smile.
My eyes widened, mouth dropping open. “Nigel? You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Nigel walked into the room, taking a seat next to me on the bed as I stared at him, wondering if this was all real. “Well, you don’t seem any worse for wear.” He frowned, his eyes scanning me. “In fact, you look quite well, sir.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Quinn and her family have been taking good care of me. How did you find me?”
Quinn chuckled from the doorway. “I forgot to tell you. He’s been hanging around the restaurant quite a bit. I thought he was trying to steal my car.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Nigel said to her. “Hopefully, I’ve redeemed myself in your eyes after that incident earlier.”
I frowned, looking between them. “Incident?”
“A rather inebriated customer overstepped his bounds, and I was happy to assist in removing him from the premises.”
Glancing at Quinn, I scanned her entire body for injury. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
She rolled her eyes. “I could have handled it.”
Nigel and I both nodded. “Of course.”
Quinn smirked, waving us off. “I’ve got to get back upstairs. One of my employees mentioned that there will be another press conference by your lawyer, and I want to see it.”
“Babe, don’t watch that garbage. It will only darken your mood with worry again.”
“I promise my mood won’t change,” she told me and then turned to Nigel. “It was great to finally meet you, Nigel. You two catch up. I’ll be back soon.”
Nigel cleared his throat after she left, a knowing smile on his face. “I see that you’ve been in good hands,” he quipped.
“She’s been a good friend to me.” I cleared my throat, ignoring his smug expression. “What happened, Nigel? I called the manor and Cheryl told me you’d been fired.”
The older man nodded, smoothing a hand over his head. “When I returned to the parking lot and found the truck gone, I immediately began searching for you. I borrowed one of your cars and drove around for hours, looking for the truck. I’d hoped that when I returned to work the next day, you would be there. However, Mr. Jeffries immediately terminated my employment. He was incensed that I had lost his most valuable client, and he was convinced that I’d abducted you or had someone else do it. Then he accused me of stealing the borrowed car and demanded I leave.”
I closed my eyes, guilt weighing heavy on me. “Nigel, I’m so sorry. I’ll be reinstating you the second I get back home, and you’ll receive your lost wages. Plus, a generous incentive to not ditch your hopeless client.” We both chuckled. “I know you’re not a thief, Nigel. I can’t believe Eddie would think that.”
“Well, he’s never been a fan of me,” Nigel muttered. “And I feel the same about him. But, hey, we’ve got more pressing matters to talk about. I’ve rented a cabin for you to stay in and we can leave as soon as possible–”
“What?” I shook my head quickly. “No! I mean–Thank you, Nigel, but I can’t leave Quinn. I won’t.”
“But Mr. King–”
“I won’t,” I repeated with a sigh. “I’ll have to make my appearances soon, I know. While using Quinn’s laptop earlier, I read that Eddie has been in court fighting against the King board of directors for control of King Industries while I’m still missing. I’m going to have to leave this haven soon in order to regain control of my life, but first, I need time to talk things over with Quinn and tell her about—”
