My gut tightens at the prospect of another disaster. “You okay?”
“I have something for you,” she says with a wide smile, then she throws open the door and bounces into my office. Held in her arms is a large bouquet of sunflowers that have been dyed a variety of colors. From pinks and blues to reds and greens, the array of color is stunning on their long, soft petals. Jane walks in and dumps the vase onto my desk. “For you!”
“Me?” I rise in my seat and wrinkle my nose slightly as the sweet floral scent immediately floods my nose. “Oh, wow, these smell amazing. Who are they from?”
“No clue.” Jane grins. “They arrived at reception and I saw them, so I thought I’d bring them up to you. But there is a card.” She leans forward and points one long, manicured finger at a small white envelope nestled between the stalks.
“A card? These must be from a client. Maybe someone really enjoyed the Onyx bracelets.”
“Maybe.” Jane laughs and her eyes flash. “Are you going to open it?”
I know she’s only asking so she can take the gossip back to whoever she sees first, but I’m just as curious so I remove the envelope and open the flap.
Inside is a small black card with elegant silver writing scrawled across it and only a few words.
‘This is me doing things properly. Dinner?’
An uncontrollable smile warms my lips and my heart flutters in my chest like a butterfly has gotten trapped beneath my ribs.
“Is it good?” Jane asks, not-so-subtly trying to peer at the card.
“So good,” I reply softly, clutching the card to my chest. “You’ve no idea.”
Maybe dinner will help me get the answers I need.
21
ELIJAH
I’ve never been this nervous before.
Talking to CEOs, lawyers, and financial advisors would send most scurrying to the sick bucket with nerves, but not me. I’ve always prided myself on nerves of steel when it came to the hard decisions, something I’m sure I got from my father. I’ve had arguments, stood in court and rained down hell on people trying to screw me and my family over, fought tooth and nail for the best gemstones and fair work conditions for miners all around the world.
Tougher men have crumbled but I never once wavered.
Tonight, I might as well be made of wet paper.
My hands tremble as I adjust my tie, loosening it around my throat with one tug. After a pause to see how it feels, I end up removing it entirely and opening the top button of my shirt, then I stuff my tie into my pocket and take a deep, slow breath.
This will be fine.
It’s just dinner.
Calliope said she would be delighted which is hugely promising, but my gut still won’t settle and there’s an off-rhythm patter in my heart that lurches every time the door to the bistro opens. I would have picked her up, but she wanted to come herself, and I respected her choice.
This little bistro is tucked out of the way, but a good crowd still sits around the buffet tables and all along the windows. My table is the most private one I could get, tucked in the back corner near a wall of framed pictures of different modes of transport dating so far back that some of the dates are impossible to read. I study them all while I wait.
By the time I’ve read them all, my heart is beating slower and I’ve drunk two glasses of water. Then my phone rings and with it comes a surge of panic that it’s Calliope calling to cancel.
Thankfully, it’s Buster.
“Hey, stranger,” Buster drawls.
“What do you want?”
“Ouch. Bad time?”
“No, sorry. I’m just sort of in the middle of something.”
