I had a sick feeling in my gut that it wasn’t. But it was worth the risk.
Quincy was worth the risk.
“Go, then,” Dad said, quietly fuming.
“I will,” I said, then nodded and marched away from him.
I didn’t calm down until I left the room. Even then, my fury only resolved into worry when I didn’t see Quincy anywhere in the busy hallways or lobby of the hotel.
I pulled out my phone and sent him a text.
“Where are you? I’ve just told my dad off, and I’m worried about you.”
I lowered my phone and looked around, like the buzz from Quincy’s phone would alert me to where he was.
Less than thirty seconds later, I had a reply.
“I’m back upstairs in my office. Amelia sent me off for an early lunch.”
My heart beat fast and hard as I texted back.
“Can I come up there and talk to you? Or take you out to lunch?”
Three dots appeared immediately, then, “Take me out. I need some air. Meet me in the park across the street near the fountain.”
I texted back with a thumbs up, then added a heart so Quincy would know what I was feeling. Then I slipped my phone into my suit jacket pocket, checked around to make sure my dad was nowhere in sight, then strode for the hotel’s front door.
The Grand Hotel was in one of the posher neighborhoods of Barrington. It was right on the ocean, and I knew from experience that the rooms on the higher floors had an outstanding view of the coast that the city sat on. The other side of the hotel faced one of Barrington’s sunny, landscaped parks. It ran for several blocks and had everything from cozy cafés to a duck pond and a bandstand.
The fountain where Quincy told me to meet him was in the center of the park, directly across from the hotel. I only had tostand there, nervously watching the families who had come out to enjoy the balmy, spring day, for a few minutes before I spotted Quincy’s pink and purple head among everyone else. It looked like he’d come out from the side of the hotel. He wore a light jacket that he hugged around his slender frame, and he didn’t look happy.
“We should go around the block and out of sight of the hotel,” he said as soon as he reached me. “Your dad is still inside, talking to Amelia, and I don’t want you to get in trouble for him seeing us together.”
My heart ached with those words.
“I’m not embarrassed to be seen with you,” I said, taking his hand and walking boldly across to the other side of the park. There were more restaurants on that side anyhow.
“This isn’t about embarrassment,” Quincy said, still nervously checking the area. “Your dad is a scary son of a bitch. I heard him threatening you.”
I’d hoped my argument with my dad had been quiet enough that no one heard it, but I guess we hadn’t hidden anything.
“He won’t do anything against me,” I said, though I was anything but sure of that. “He needs his happy, perfect family to be intact for the election.”
Quincy glanced up at me like he didn’t believe that was anywhere near enough to keep me safe.
We crossed the street, then walked on to the next block and up around the corner to a gourmet sandwich shop, all in silence. Finally, as we stood in an impressively long line, I asked, “That was Chester?”
Quincy squeezed his eyes shut, like he was fighting tears, and nodded. When he opened them, he sucked in a breath, like he’d had to remind himself to breathe. “I didn’t expect to see him today,” he said, his voice cracking. “I didn’t expect to see him ever again.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. We were in a crowded restaurant, but that didn’t stop me from slipping my arms around Quincy and holding him close while the line inched forward.
A few people smiled at my show of affection. One or two looked sad and concerned.
Quincy took a shaky breath and stood on his own again. “I didn’t expect Chester to be in league with your father,” he said, all the emotion that could possibly be behind that statement and more filling his eyes.
“Neither did I,” I said. “I knew my dad had contacts in the tech world and that he’s been interested in the things MonkSoft has been doing, but I haven’t been paying attention enough to connect that Mr. Monk was Chester.”
Quincy didn’t have anything to say to that. He just shrugged. “Who knows why they’re working together?”
