And if that gave her a little thrill to know he was going to be coming by often, that wasn’t something anyone else needed to know.
ChapterNineteen
Mason
While he couldn’t prove Asad wrong yet, Mason now realized that he’d had too high expectations for himself.The subconscious couldn’t be controlled by the conscious mind.Expecting his attraction to Audrey to turn off just because he and Yasmine had ended their engagement had been unrealistic, though he hadn’t realized it at the time.
The fact that he now felt protective of her because of the note that had been left on her bakery was probably part of why he felt so much chemistry with her right before he’d left.Heightened emotions were always going to exacerbate other emotions.And it was only natural to feel protective of her.She was David’s little sister after all, and he liked her as a person.
Plus, she was a complete innocent.If someone was trying to scare her, of course, he was going to feel protective.
Step one—get that camera up.
It was possible Audrey was correct, and it was just kids playing a weird prank for some reason.Stranger things had happened.The camera would help her feel better and him as well.There was every chance that this would be a one-off thing, but just in case, the camera would be there.
Step two—see if any fingerprints showed up on the note.It was unlikely, considering that both he and Audrey had touched it, the surface wasn’t all that large, and it had been in her pocket for most of the day, but he should at least try.
Step two point one was to tell her that if anything else showed up, not to touch it without gloves on.
Step three—dig into Alexis’ background to make sure this note wasn’t aimed at her.He didn’t know anything about Audrey’s employee, and it was possible there was something Audrey didn’t know, either.
The chance that it was connected to Ashley seemed the least likely because he knew the most about her.While she had an enemy in the form of her ex-best friend and current daughter-in-law, Rebecca wasn’t going to make trouble for her and risk being cut off from Lincoln’s money.
Which meant that step four was to do some digging into Audrey’s background.Her parents didn’t want her in Pittsburgh, and from what he knew about them from David, they were used to getting their way.On the other hand, he also knew that they were more than willing to cut their children off if they weren’t getting their way—which was what had happened to David.
Why should Audrey be any different?
But he was still going to dig.
For her safety.
Not for his own interest.
Heading straight for the office, Mason felt a lot more energized than he had this morning.Having a mission, even a small one, could do that to a man.
Walking into the lobby, he was surprised to find David and Lincoln there, chatting.Both of them looked up when the elevator doors opened, and David raised his hand in greeting as Mason stepped off the elevator.Trying not to feel like the note was burning a hole in his pocket, Mason waved back, using his key fob to open the doors.
“What are you doing here?”David asked as he walked in.“I thought you were taking today off.”
“I am, I just was in the neighborhood and decided to swing by to grab a few things.Is something going on?”
David and Lincoln exchanged a glance.
“Has Marshall reached out about trying to hire you away again?”Lincoln asked, a small scowl forming, as it always did when he had to talk about his ex-best friend and business partner.
“What?No.”Mason shook his head.“Not that I would take it even if he did.He doesn’t seriously think any of us are going to jump ship, does he?”Marshall Devlin was smarter than that, surely.Especially since he’d already tried that tactic once.
“Not everyone, but he’s reaching out to a select few,” Lincoln replied grimly.“Zeus and Jensen on our team and Darcie and Jaxon on Harris’.”
Mason let out a low whistle, shaking his head at Marshall’s temerity and persistence.The man did not know the meaning of the word ‘no’.
“I haven’t heard from him, but if he does contact me, you’ll be the first to know.”
“I still think he’s up to something,” David said, shaking his head.“I don’t think he really thought anyone would accept his offer.I just can’t figure out why he’d try again.Jensen said that he was trying to push the idea of being up close and personal with the next governor of Pennsylvania, and he did not appreciate Jensen pointing out that we’ve been hired by the other candidate, and that MacLeod does not have a lock on the race.”
“Maybe he truly doesn’t believe the senator can win,” Mason suggested.“We all know that he’s a misogynist.”
“I am surprised he reached out to Darcie,” Lincoln admitted.
