Alyvia’s bright blue eyes widened. “That’s incredible news. I mean, if he’s half as impressive in person as he is on paper…”Alyvia raised her mug in a mock toast. “We might’ve just hit the jackpot.”
“Between the final inspections being nearly clear, the furniture almost all moved in, and now getting Dr. Lockland to join the team, I might actually sleep a full five hours tonight.”
Alyvia laughed. “You won’t. But I like your optimism. Oh! And before I forget, this is for you,” she said, handing an envelope in the stack of papers she was holding to Charley.
“What’s this?” Charley asked.
Alyvia shrugged her shoulders. “Beats me. When I came back from lunch earlier, some guy stopped me in the parking lot and asked me to give it to you.”
“Me?” Charley asked. “Did he say who he was?”
Alyvia shook her head. “No. He just asked me if I could give that to you.” Alyvia chuckled. “He actually made sure to repeat your name twice.”
The hair on the back of Charley’s neck stood at attention as she thought about the encounter she had had with the stranger last week—the one who had left her with that odd warning about the building.
“What did he look like?” Charley asked, keeping her voice steady.
Alyvia appeared to think. “Tall. Slim. Maybe late fifties? His face was scruffy. He was also wearing a hat, so I couldn’t really see his hair or eyes.”
That definitely sounded like the guy. Charley’s fingers trembled slightly as she looked down at the envelope. There was no name or markings on it.
She slid her finger beneath the flap and pulled the paper out. Her heart was pounding as she unfolded it.
Charley scrunched her eyebrows together as she looked over the paper. There were only three names written, scrawled insharp, uneven handwriting—Calvin Henderson, James Davis, and Rodney Butler.
Alyvia leaned in a little, looking at the paper. “What is that?”
Charley swallowed, forcing herself to keep her expression neutral. “Looks like just a list of names,” she said softly as she studied the names.
“Do you recognize any of them?”
Charley shook her head. “No. I have no clue who they are.” She looked at Alyvia. “Did the guy say anything else when he gave you this?”
“No. In fact, he seemed pretty antsy, like he didn’t want to be there. As soon as he handed me the envelope, he bolted.”
Charley wasn’t sure what to think. First, this guy just shows up out of nowhere and spouts off some random comments about how their building should have been demolished years ago. And then, a little over a week later, presumably the same guy leaves an envelope for her with three names on a piece of paper, and she has no idea who they are.
She debated telling Alyvia about the weird encounter with the stranger, but decided to hold off for now. She wanted to see if she could find any information before she sounded any alarms.
Charley set the paper aside, face down on her desk before looking at Alyvia. “I’ll do a little research and see if I can find anything out on those names.”
Alyvia nodded, then changed the subject. “All that is left to be done in the exam rooms is to stock the cabinets, which we have a few volunteers coming in this weekend to help with.”
“Perfect! After that is done, all that is left are some small tasks,” Charley said, excitement building in her voice.
“You’ve done a great job, Charley.”
“Hey, I couldn’t have gotten through the last couple of weeks without you. We make a good team.”
Alyvia smiled. “Alright. If you don’t need anything else today, I think I’m going to head out.”
Charley shook her head. “I think I’m good. Any fun plans this evening? Maybe a date with that doctor you met a few weeks ago?”
Alyvia’s smile quickly disappeared. “No. I’ve got too much on my plate to even think about dating.”
“Seriously? You even said that the doctor was hot. You could have your very ownDr. McDreamy.” Charley said, wiggling her eyebrows.”
Alyvia was gorgeous, with her long, beautiful brown hair and caramel highlights. She was about five-eight and very fit. The woman loved working out and competing in obstacle course races.
