Still I reach out and take his hand in mine. “I’m sorry.”
“Will, it’s not your fault. Geez. I’m just glad you’re okay. I’m also glad Terrence got so wasted and put on that deplorable show for long enough to distract me from eating the rest of the shrimp.”
“Oh, God.” I want to laugh, but it would be inappropriate.
Jamie senses my discomfort and chuckles first. “Imagine that. I was so stunned and unable to look away from that bumbling idiot and his embarrassed bride—not to mention his mother, because honey, I wasn’t the only one frothing at the mouth, I’ll tell you that much!”
And now, we’re both doubling over.
As the laughter dies down, however, the gravity of the situation returns. It makes my stomach feel heavy, queasiness working its way up my throat. Jamie is the first to notice.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s just the stress, the shock. I think it’s all crashing down on me now,” I say, “the seriousness of what you endured, of what almost happened. I just can’t understand who would do such a thing.”
Jamie snorts. “I’m pretty sure it’s got something to do with you and the Morgan brothers.”
“Seriously?”
“What else makes sense to you? What if there’s some angry, jealous ex out there who orchestrated this?”
“It’s insane,” I mutter. “I never hurt anyone.”
“But it was targeted, Will. The only reason you’re still alive is because I ate your frickin’ shrimp, and the only reason I’mstill alive is because Terrence distracted me with his drunken foolishness long enough for the poison I’d already ingested to start kicking in.”
Chills travel through my whole body, though I’ve yet to fully wrap my head around the whole thing. All I can do is shudder and shake the thoughts away as I share a cronut with my best friend.
“I’m just glad you’re okay. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
“Me and you both, sister. I’m just happy to be home,” he says. “We’ve got some damage control to do.”
“I bet Sheila is loving the bad press,” I scoff.
“Regardless of her intention, she did throw her son’s wedding our way, and we did nail it. You said Morgan Enterprises’ PR department is hard at work to keep our agency from kicking the bucket in the public eye, right?”
“They are, yes.”
“That’s really helpful.” He exhales sharply. “I’ll whip up a video of us for social media once I get the official statement from the Morgans.”
“That should be in your inbox already, but for the love of God, Jamie, just sit back and rest for now, will you? There’s enough time for everything else.”
“We need to hire a taste tester for you going forward, or have you come with your own home-cooked meal to any future business lunch. Oh, and covers for your drinks, too. You never know.”
“I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry atthis point.”
There’s a knock at the door, and I get up to see who it is. I find the Morgan brothers standing on the other side. My eyes light up as soon as I see them, and I rush to open the door and hug all three with much warmth and relief.
They follow me back to Jamie’s room and greet him.
“How are you, Jamie?” Cole asks.
“Better than yesterday, for sure,” Jamie replies with a cool grin.
Toby nods. “The cops cleared the catering company, too, so there’s a high probability that the shrimp was poisoned in Thornwood Manor’s kitchen while they were prepping the plates.”
“Did they find that guy yet? Brett whatever?” I ask.
Asher frowns slightly. “No, and he used a fake ID, by the way. The catering company provided all his documentation. NYPD couldn’t find a Social Security number for the guy or anything. They’re interviewing their HR manager as we speak, and they’re also going through Thornwood’s security footage again to try and get a lead on him; retrace his steps maybe.”
