‘I’ll—’
‘Get your affairs in order?’ Fletcher’s voice was more encouraging than dogmatic.
He was right, of course he was. Uncle Fletcher always knew best.
‘I will,’ replied Jasper firmly.
Later that evening, his mind kept going over what Fletcher had said. Jasper had every intention of contacting Adira, but it was too late to do it then. It did puzzle him though, why she hadn’t returned a message, especially at remembering how upset she was when they’d parted. He stared for a moment at his phone on the glass coffee table. Then he pictured it on his desk a couple of weeks ago, when Zara was hovering over it. That familiar sense of foreboding began to rise up him.
He grabbed the phone off the table and searched his contacts. Adira was the first name to come up. His eyes narrowed, as his thumb pressed away at the touchscreen to reveal that Adira had been blocked. Zara had blocked Adira from his phone. But why? Because she happened to be the first female name she’d come across? This was outrageous!
He unblocked her and searched the text blocked history for any possible messages that he hadn’t seen. There was one, sent days ago. He held his thumb down to restore it, then up it came:
Hi, made it to Scotland, in a beautiful coastal village in Dumfries. Enjoying the sun, sea, sand and Sheila.
He beamed. Shehadcontacted him. Then his smile faded at the thought of what Zara had done. Once again, she had acted appallingly by meddling with his phone. The woman knew no boundaries. Well, that was it. Enough was enough.
The next morning, he strode into the office, stopping at Zara’s desk.
‘Did you send that parcel?’ His voice had a steely edge to it.
Zara looked up sharply. ‘Yes,’ she lied.
‘It hasn’t arrived.’ He stared at her evenly.
‘I’ll chase it up,’ she replied in a small voice.
‘You’d better.’ He then turned on his heel and went to Abbas’s office. He tapped on his door and was called in.
‘Good morning, Jasper.’
‘Abbas,’ he nodded back. ‘Can I speak to you, in confidence?’
‘Of course.’ Abbas cleared the papers he’d been reading to the side of his desk. ‘Is there a problem?’
‘Yes,’ Jasper answered directly, making Abbas sit up, ‘but it’s more of a personal nature, than business.’ Jasper then outlined Zara’s unprofessional behaviour. Abbas’s eyes widened in shock as he listened. This was grave indeed. Zara was the daughter of a very prominent member of the board. The situation had to be handled with care and extreme discretion. ‘I have a copy of the CCTV footage, if needed,’ Jasper told Abbas.
‘Yes, I think you’d better leave that with me.’ He was absolutely staggered by what he’d heard. ‘In the meantime, I’m removing her from your office.’
‘Yes. I think that’s for the best,’ agreed Jasper.
Adira was sat at the bar with Cassie. They were enjoying a break from a hectic morning.
‘The Bath House is the best thing that’s happened to this place,’ Cassie told her. ‘I can’t believe how well it’s taken off.’
‘It certainly has.’ Adira sipped her fresh orange juice. She loved being back at the Inn. At one time, she’d have needed a glass of wine in her lunch break to see her through a working afternoon. How things had changed.
There was just one nagging doubt that troubled her. Jasper.
‘Penny for them?’ Cassie eyed her thoughtfully.
Adira looked at her. Why not confide in Cassie? It may make her feel better and Cassie was fast becoming one of Adira’s closest friends as they spent more and more time together.
Sighing, she answered. ‘It’s Jasper. He hasn’t been in touch. Only once, to say he’d arrived in Dubai safely.’
‘Really?’ frowned Cassie. ‘Have you not contacted him?’
‘Yes, but the message came back undelivered.’
