I accept his hand, fighting to ignore how my heart flutters once more as his warm palm envelopes mine. “Calliope Locke. Thank you, by the way, for saving me.”
Elijah squeezes my hand and smiles warmly. “You did more than I would have done, that’s for sure. With your quick thinking, getting several of those boxes on top of the filing cabinet, I think you saved quite a lot of stock. Granted, there’s irreversible damage, but without you, that entire room would have to be written off.”
I sink my teeth into my cheek and smile, fighting the sudden warmth that sweeps up my neck. “It’s nothing.”
“You should be proud,” he says, and he finally releases my hand. “Not how I wanted to introduce myself, but I suppose it’s memorable.”
“You said you were from Amber Limited?” I set down my coffee. “I’ve heard of you. What are you doing here? I thought Amber Limited was all about gemstone acquisition and supply. That’s not something we typically deal in.”
“We don’t have to talk about that now,” Jimmy interrupts, but Elijah brushes him off and takes the seat across from me.
“We’re doing some check-ups on stone quality and how it survives from source to sale. We’ve had an uptick in complaints, and I wouldn’t be a very good CEO if I ignored something like that. I know this place doesn’t deal directly in gem acquisition, but we often stone the jewelry you sell, so I’m doing the rounds.”
Despite the honesty in Elijah’s voice, the look of relief on Jimmy’s face tells me I’m not getting the whole story. Is Amber Ltd. here to buy us out? I can’t work out why they’d even be interested in a business like us since last I checked, theyoperate out of New York and, as Elijah says, they deal solely in gemstones.
So why is he here?
I’m burning to ask, fueled by the chill resting in my bones, but I can’t ask anything more direct without revealing I overheard the phone call. That’s the only ammo I have, and I’m not revealing it just yet.
“And that’s something the CEO does personally?” I ask, daring to push the issue a little further.
“I’m a hands-on CEO,” Elijah says, giving me the same charming smile that caught my eye six years ago.
It’s distracting, and I force myself to look back at my coffee, trapping the dwindling warmth between my hands. Mistakes were made six years ago, and I’m not falling for the same smile twice. “So, you came to check on stone quality and instead found a burst pipe destroying some of our stock.”
“Ironically, it will be a testament to how the stones survive. None of that stock can be sold, but the stones can indeed be salvaged and the precious metals melted back down. That wouldn’t be something we’re in charge of, though, but it’s something I will be monitoring closely.”
Elijah talks with a quiet smoothness that keeps the conversation going, preventing Jimmy from jumping in no matter how often he steps forward with something to say. It’s an enviable talent since I know he’d cut me off the second I spoke for too long.
“Well,” I reply with a dry laugh. “If you truly wanted to check out stock, then you’d be better off at the warehouses than here at the office. That’s such a small sample size.”
“No,” Jimmy jumps in finally. “There’s no need for that.”
“Actually,” Elijah replies, “that’s exactly what I wanted to do, but you” —he turns to Jimmy— “told me all the stock was moved here for the holidays.”
“Well…” Jimmy scoffs, sniffing deeply. “What I meant is that all the important stuff is here.”
“All of it is important.” There’s an edge to Elijah’s voice that’s so subtle, but it makes Jimmy recoil. Elijah swivels back to me. “How familiar are you with the warehouse?”
I lock eyes with him, surprised. “Fairly. I mean, I spend maybe two-thirds of my time there.”
“Excellent. Can you give me a tour?”
My mouth hangs open and I glance between him and my boss, unsure of what to say. Ideally, spending more time with Elijah opens me up to a whole host of memories I’d rather avoid. But if I want to know more about their secret deal, then this would be the perfect opportunity to get him alone and ask.
“I don’t think—” Jimmy starts to say, and it’s finally my time to cut in.
“Yes. I can do that. I can tell youeverythingyou want to know.”
Jimmy’s face darkens with anger as Elijah smiles and stands. “Excellent. I’ll see you in a couple of days once you’ve had time to recover. I trust Jimmy will be giving you some time off to do just that.”
“Sure,” Jimmy chokes out. “Without question.”
As much as this secret acquisition could spell the end of my job, it’s almost worth it just to watch Jimmy squirm in the face of a man he can’t bully.
7
ELIJAH
