I recognize that voice.
I turn and, just as I suspected, I spot Archie near reception, sprawled across one of the chairs with his backpack at his feet and a tablet balanced on his knee. My smile widens as I make my way over to my sixteen-year-old step-cousin. Tall, lanky, with shaggy blonde hair and glasses perched on his nose, he actually looks like he fits right in here, despite being so young.
“Hey, genius,” I greet him. “Shouldn’t you be out running wild in the streets like all the other teenagers?”
He grins. “Please. This is basically my playground.” He taps his screen. “I’m helping Kevin clean up some projections. For fun.”
“Of course you are.”
He stands, slinging the backpack over one shoulder. “So. Crane Appliances. That’s huge.”
I arch a brow. “You already know?”
“I have ears,” he says innocently. “I knew the meeting was happening, and you look so confident, I can’t imagine it went bad.”
I chuckle and nod. “Yeah, we got it.”
“Nice,” he says, sounding genuinely impressed. “I never doubted you.”
He moves to walk with me, and I ask, “You’re not waiting for Kevin?”
He shakes his head. “Nah, he has another meeting. I was just waiting for you to come down. I wanted to say hi.”
“Ahhhh!” I gush, wrapping my arm around him and giving him a tight hug as he groans. “You’re such a sweetie!”
“Ewww, stop.” He ducks from my hold with a grin.
We walk toward the doors together, and Archie asks about Colorado and Jayce and I answer his questions just enough to satisfy him without getting too personal.
Just as we step out of the building into the afternoon sun, he exclaims, “Oh! That guy Leon has been by a few times in the past week, by the way.”
I freeze in my tracks and look at him with a frown. “Leon? Why?”
He shrugs. “I dunno. He asked for you a few times. I just figured you hadn’t told him you were in Colorado, so I kept my mouth shut.”
He absolutely did know I was in Colorado, because he showed up at Jayce’s fucking building! “Did he talk to my dad?”
Archie frowns, appearing thoughtful for a few seconds. “Actually…no.” He tilts his head. “He always came on days your dad and Kevin were out. Now that I think about it, that’s pretty weird, huh?”
My stomach tightens. As often as Dad and Kevin are here, it’d be pretty difficult to never run into them…unless he was actively avoiding them.
Fuck, that’s not just a coincidence, but I don’t know what he could have been doing hanging around the office when no one was here.
I rest a hand on Archie’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Thanks for telling me.”
“Sure. I gotta get home now. I’ll see you later, Sutt.”
I let him go and watch him make his way down the sidewalk to a parked car waiting for him and watch him get in before I turn to head to my car. As I slide into the driver’s seat, my thoughts are racing with questions about Leon and what he could be up to, but one thought presses its way to the forefront.
I need to tell Jayce.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: ALWAYS THERE
SUTTON
The Bright HeartsBall is as glamorous an event as ever. When Mom, Dad, and I make our way into the Four Seasons’ ballroom, we’re met with crystal chandeliers that scatter light across marble floors and a sea of evening gowns and crisp, black tuxedoes. There’s at least two hundred people here. It’s old money elegance and I move through it with practiced ease, dressed in a shimmering blush gown with a simple swooped neckline, my hair curling around my shoulders. My hand is resting lightly on my mother’s arm. Dad walks on her other side, and as we make our way through the room, people turn to greet my parents and compliment my mother on how lovely the event is.
“Everything seems to be going smoothly so far,” Mom murmurs, looking around, approval in her gaze. “Good. Tonight needs to go perfectly. I’m glad you came home for this.”
