Meredith made quite a show of hemming and hawing before she said, “I think we should stack all of them in the conference room. That way, we won’t risk knocking anything over.”
The story was flimsy, but Meredith had a reputation for being a force of nature. She’d decided the police station needed to be redone and had it finished in less than a month. It was town lore, so no one would find this suspicious. At least, he hoped they wouldn’t.
He and Meredith took the framed prints and photos to the conference room.
When they returned to the office, it took Meredith less than thirty seconds to devise a reason to remove a lamp that held one of the listening devices. The other two would be harder to clear out,given that one was on a bookshelf and the other under Bronwyn’s desk. But they’d find a way.
For now, Mo sat down at the computer and did what he needed to do to clone the hard drive while Meredith and Bronwyn chatted about paint colors, the power outage, how the guests had reacted this morning, and the surprising news that one of them thought Bronwyn should offer an unplugged experience—tent camping, not glamping.
Mo kept one ear on their conversation while he searched the computer system for hidden files and malware.
It took him almost thirty minutes to be satisfied that he had everything he needed. By then, the new paint color had been chosen, and plans had been made to remove everything from the office because Meredith had walked around the room a few times and said, “Bronwyn, don’t hate me, but what’s under this carpet?”
It turned out to be a hardwood floor.
Meredith and Bronwyn stared at each other in delight and then talked over each other in a swirl of wonder.
“These floors—”
“Could be gorgeous.”
“We have to pull up all the carpet—”
“We need Cal...”
“Mo will help us.” That last came from Meredith, and it was those words that finally forced Mo to spin around in the chair he’d commandeered.
He leaned back, laced his fingers across his chest, and tapped his thumbs together. “What’s in it for me?”
“The delight of knowing you’ve brought beauty to Bronwyn’s office.”
“What if the floors were covered up for a reason? They might be ugly. Stained. Beyond redemption.”
“What if they just need a little TLC to be glorious?” Meredith countered.
Mo rose from the chair. “Show me.”
“We need to move this bookcase to get a good pull on the carpet.” Meredith patted the sturdy piece of furniture like it was a pet. “This right here is gorgeous. I hate to move him out of his home, but he will have to go for us to get to the floors. He will come back.” She pointed to a small table that held a barely alive plant. “That, however, is gone. Forever. And good riddance.”
Bronwyn coughed a little. “Um, my grandmother...”
“Your grandmother would be horrified that you’ve kept such a gaudy piece here. You’re the CEO of The Haven, Bronwyn. Your office should reflect that. I can’t believe I haven’t thought of this sooner. But now that I have, consider it done. Your space will be your own private haven at The Haven.”
She grinned at them, gave a small bow, and patted herself on the back. “Thank you. Thank you.”
Bronwyn made the briefest eye contact with Mo before she offered up a pitiful golf clap. Mo joined in.
Meredith lifted her nose into the air. “Mock me if you will. I’m not wrong. That actress who was in here earlier? She was probably horrified by the condition of this room.”
Mo ignored Meredith’s dramatics and pulled books off the shelf. “We need to empty this before we try to move it or none of us will be doing anything for the next month after we throw out our backs.”
Bronwyn didn’t respond but joined Mo in the effort while Meredith, now in full character, continued to discuss the horrors of the office.
She’d loved drama in school, while Bronwyn had avoided anything theater related.
She’d always said that was a world she had no interest in becomingpart of—until she left town for Hollywood. Supposedly to learn the ins and outs of the business and become a producer.
Mo had never bought it. Still didn’t. But he’d lost the right to ask her about it years ago.
