“Talk about stubborn.”
“Quinn women are always stubborn. This is a documented fact.”
“Fine. That red thing, as you put it, tells me that money is moving in a way that is not normal. There are algorithms that can predict this stuff. Sometimes they’re wrong. But when there’s more uncertainty, the feedback is in orange or yellow. I’ve never seen a red report that didn’t indicate some form of tampering. Now, I need you to go home and let me find out what it is.” He pointed to the chair. “Or you can stay here. But if you stay, you have to stop looking over my shoulder and commenting on everything.”
She gave him a watery smile. “I’ll go home, but only if you promise to tell me if you find something big.”
“I promise.”
He watched until Meredith walked into her tiny house. She blew him a kiss from her window, then let the curtain fall. She would probably call Gray and talk to him for the next hour. He didn’tmind. He liked living close enough that he could hear her when Gray said something that made her laugh.
He hadn’t lied. Much. He liked Gray. And Meredith was one of those people who was meant to be married, have several kids, probably foster a few more, then adopt them and need to build onto her house. She would have dogs, cats, and maybe a ferret because she wouldn’t be able to say no. Her life would be chaotic and happy, and he couldn’t wait to see it play out. She deserved every bit of it.
But he was lonelier than he’d fessed up to. And sometimes, when she was with Gray, and Cal and Landry were at their house, and he was alone by the firepit? Yeah.
He wished things were different.
But for now, he had a trail to follow that would keep his mind too occupied to dwell on what could have been.
He sat back down at the computer and dove in.
But before he did, he considered Meredith’s words.
Then he remembered Meredith and Landry having a chat with Bronwyn in the bedroom. A chat that Meredith had yet to share with him. And he remembered how Bronwyn had looked at him today.
And he wondered if there was a way he could win his friend back after all.
At 7:30 p.m., Bronwyn looked up to see June standing in the doorway of the small conference room. They’d managed to move most of her things in and turn it into a functional office during the remodel of her old, and forever in her mind contaminated, office.
“Ms. Pierce?”
“Yes?”
“This was delivered for you.” June stepped inside and placed a room service tray in front of her. “I received a call from Chef Cassie. She told me it was coming and that I should bring it to you and tell you that her cousin said for you to eat it because you haven’t eaten anything all day.”
Bronwyn lifted the lid and found a bowl of decadently creamy pasta. She could tell from the scent of garlic and rosemary that it would be heavenly. “Which one?”
“Which one what?”
“Which of Cassie’s cousins?”
“She didn’t say, ma’am. I’d be happy to call her back an—”
“No.” Bronwyn waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter.”
It does so matter.
That annoying inner voice was getting louder by the minute. It didn’t help that the inner voice was currently behaving like a toddler.
Possibly because she, the adult-Bronwyn in charge of her own self, thank you very much, was starving, hangry, emotional, and wanted nothing more than to crawl into something fluffy and go to sleep.
She unrolled the silverware that rested on the tray as fast as she could. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was. But now, she was fighting the temptation to go for it face-first.
“If you don’t need anything else...” June’s voice trailed off as Bronwyn crammed a bite into her mouth and moaned.
She held her free hand over her face and spoke around the food. “Sorry.”
June smiled.
