Page 111 of Protecting Love

“It’s London,” he heard. “Let me in.”

He let go of Paris’s hands and opened the door.

“Are you as confused as me?” she asked him.

“I’m not letting myself be one way or another. I’m going to go down and talk to the front desk.”

“They said a courier brought it over twenty minutes before we got here. We were later than normal today.”

“If they can’t get past the lobby it wouldn’t have mattered,” he said. “You would have just been called down.”

“Maybe they would have waited,” she argued. “Then we could have asked them questions.”

“I can do that myself with access to the cameras. Do you think they will let me see them?”

“You can try,” Paris said. “I’ll have to come down with you for that.”

“You can sweet talk anyone,” London said. “You do that and I’m ordering dinner. What does everyone want?”

“Dessert,” she said. “Chocolate.”

The two of them left and rode the elevator down in silence.

Fletcher reached for her hand, held it slightly, giving her a nice reassuring squeeze.

“We’ll figure it out,” he said. “It’s not as threatening.”

“No. I think that is why I’m more worked up. I just don’t know what the hell they are talking about. What I’m supposed to stop and start looking at. So all my past jobs are out.”

It was his first thought. “You don’t know that.”

Because he never wanted to close a door without facts.

The elevator dinged, the metal slid open, they walked out. Not holding hands this time.

Not smiling, nor frowning.

Just walked with purpose.

“Hi,” she said. “That letter that I just picked up. I don’t suppose I can look at the cameras and see who might have dropped it off. It was just within the last hour.”

The woman behind the counter hesitated. “I’m not supposed to do that without getting approval.”

“I understand,” she said, leaning closer and glancing around. Letting it be known she didn’t want to be overheard. “But this guy, he’s my bodyguard. He needs to see it.”

The woman’s eyes lit up as if Paris was yanking her chain. “Really?”

He looked at Paris, then the woman. “We’d like to see the video. If you need to call for approval, we can wait.”

“I suppose it wouldn’t be that big of a deal,” the woman said. “I’ve been here the whole time, so I know you’re not seeing anything that I haven’t.”

“Exactly,” she said. “We’d really appreciate it.”

The woman pulled the keyboard forward, then typed into the computer and scrolled while they waited.

“Right here,” the woman said. “This is him walking in, then handing it over on the counter. He didn’t talk to me. I was on the phone. He held it up and left it, then waved, and walked away.”

Fletcher leaned over and looked at the footage, saw exactly what the woman said. “Can you freeze it right there? Nope, go back, get a good look at his face and freeze it.”