"What did Henry say?" Jaqui asked as we headed down the hallway to my office. It was cooler up here today because of the rain. I was glad I had worn long sleeves.
"He just went. I mean, he didn't want to go, but he didn't call his brother or anything. He just left."
I shrugged and pushed open the door to my office and stopped suddenly. Three different flower bouquets sat on my table. Each was a different kind of flower in a rainbow of colors and all of them made my office smell amazing.
"Yeah. These came for you this morning." Jaqui grinned at me and leaned against the door frame. "I had them brought up here for you. Now that I know what happened, I think he feels bad."
"I would agree," I murmured going over to the first bouquet of yellow daffodils. There was no way he could have known that these were my favorite. I fingered a small note tucked in the blossoms.
* * *
Still not as beautiful...
* * *
I smiled and shook my head, going to the next bouquet. This one was white tulips with tips of red and purple. They were stunning. There was another note.
* * *
I'm sorry I left.
* * *
I carried the notes with me as I went to the last bouquet. It was full of different shades of blue and purple hyacinth and the sweet lilac-like scent filled my entire office with the smell of spring. Hyacinth were my second favorite flowers, right after daffodils. There was one last note.
* * *
I'm bringing you lunch.
* * *
I smiled and put all three notes in my pocket.
"According to the internet, yellow flowers mean apology," Jaqui read from her phone as she pointed to the daffodils. "Tulips are also apology flowers. As is hyacinth. Good lord, those smell amazing."
"What about roses?" I asked. "He sent some to my apartment."
"Um..." Jaqui scrolled down her phone. "Here it is: does he have a reason to apologize? Because fifteen roses means ‘I'm sorry.' Your guy knows his flowers."
"Or he looked it up just like you," I told her. I smelled the hyacinth again. He sure did pick my favorites.
"You going to forgive him?" Jaqui asked. "Because four bouquets? I'd at least let him buy me dinner to apologize."
I chuckled. "Yeah. I think I can let him do that."
"You said his name is Henry Prescott, right?" Jaqui asked, tucking her phone back into her back pocket. She frowned slightly as if she were thinking hard. "And he's from Paradisa?"
I nodded. "Yeah. He plays for the Royals. They're a rugby team."
"That explains the killer body," Jaqui agreed. "I swear he reminds me of someone. I just can't place it. It's like I've seen him before."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Like I've seen his picture somewhere. He just looks famous to me," Jaqui tapped her lip with her finger. "It'll come to me. I recognize him from something."
"Jaqui, do you really think a famous guy would be dating me?" I pointed to my rain-wet hair and mud-splattered pants.
"Yeah. Because you freaking rock," Jaqui replied, not even pausing a little. It made me smile.
"Thanks, Jaqui." Despite the cool of the rain in my office, I felt warm all over with her friendship.
"Anyway, you need to get to work. You're all caught up on backlog, right?" Jaqui looked around at the various boxes filling my office. "Because I have news."
I nodded. "I finished yesterday. On to the real stuff today."
"Good. I was told that the Paradisians made a huge trade maneuver last night that is going to affect the negotiations. You'll be getting new boxes by lunch."
I groaned. "More work for me. Yay.
"There's more." Jaqui looked apologetic. "They've asked for it to be sped up. They want the documentation sooner rather than later."
I groaned again. "Which means a lot more work for me."
"Yeah. I'm sorry. But, hey, you got flowers!"
"Not from you," I replied, sticking my tongue out at her.
"Well, at least one Paradisian likes you. And I'm sure the trade negotiation team would too if they knew you."
I smiled and went behind my desk. "You better let me get to work. I suddenly have a lot to do. So much for the ‘easy' job, right?"
"I would hate for you to be bored," Jaqui teased. "Let me know if you need anything."
"Oh, will you let Gus know that Henry is bringing me lunch?" I asked, remembering the note.
"He really does want to apologize." Jaqui grinned. "I'll tell Gus not to throw him out."
"Thanks."
Jaqui gave me a small wave before leaving me to the boxes. I sighed as I looked around, knowing that there were going to be more.
That and my stepmother was going to want to know all of it.
Two hours later and I'd managed to get through at least a couple of boxes. I'd managed to convince myself that they weren't of any use to my stepmother. I had her list of wants memorized, but I hadn't seen anything come up with the information she was looking for yet.
I knew it was only a matter of time, though.
I didn't know what I was going to do.
I still hadn't figured out a way out of our deal. I'd thought about going to Jaqui several times, but I knew how that would end up. If I were fired or let go, my stepmother would release the information on my father. If I were transferred, she would just have me transferred back.
Audrey had me in a bind. If I did anything to compromise her, she would ruin my father and my reputation.
I scanned in another document and bit my lip. This one was on her list. It had to do with the mineral availability in the country. My stomach twisted. I finished the document and set it on the table next to my phone. All I had to do was take a picture of it. That was it. One photo and my father's legacy was safe.
I picked up my phone.
"Aria?" Jaqui knocked on my door. I nearly screamed.
"Jaqui!" I felt physically ill. Two seconds difference and she would have seen me taking a photo of the document. I needed to be more careful.
"You okay?" Jaqui asked, looking concerned.
"You just startled me is all." I set my phone down on the desk, pointedly not looking at the document. "What's up?"
"You have a visitor." Jaqui's mouth pinched. "And not the good kind."
Oh God. The FBI already knew. I hadn't done anything yet, but somehow they knew.
"Who?" I managed to keep my voice from shaking too badly.
"Your stepmom." Jaqui grimaced. "I can't let her up here. Given that she would do just about anything to get at this, I can't trust her in your office. You'll have to go down to her."
"Right. Right." I nodded. "I'll do that."
"Are you sure you're okay? You look really pale."
"I'm fine. I probably just need some coffee or something." I stood up from my desk. "I'll go see what she wants."
"I can't believe she came here," Jaqui said, crossing her arms. "Seriously, don't let her anywhere near your office. I don't trust her an inch."
"Believe me, I won't." Guilt gnawed at my stomach. Jaqui trusted me. She trusted me not to give these documents over to Audrey.
And I was about to betray that trust. It was a good thing I hadn't eaten much breakfast because I felt like throwing it all up.
I hurried down the stairs to find Gus glaring daggers at Audrey. He stood at his desk, looking intimidating and downright fierce. The temperature was at least ten degrees cooler.
Audrey for her part stood like a model in the center of the room. She was poised like a photographer might snap her high-art photo at any moment. Today she wore a dark green pantsuit that accentuated her thin hips and long lines. It was a lovely outfit, even if it was on an unattractive person.
"Audrey." I stopped short of her. "What are you doing here?"
"What? I can't stop by and see my favorite step-daughter at her beloved work?" She smiled, her lips red and flawless.
"What do you want?" I asked, crossing my arms and keeping my distance.
"I haven't heard from you, dear." Her voice was warm but her gaze cold as she took a step toward me. "I've been worried about you."
"I'm fine," I replied. "Just haven't had anything interesting to tell you."
"Are you on break, dear?" she asked, suddenly changing the subject. "I'm afraid I have some family business to discuss with you. Perhaps we can go to your office?"
There was no way in hell I was letting her near my office. And from the look on Gus's face, she wouldn't even make it past the first step if she tried.
"My office is a bit cramped. Perhaps it can wait until later? I can come by your house after work."
Audrey shook her head and sighed. "I'm afraid not. It has to do with your sister and time is important."
I remembered that part of our bargain had been that I would also assist Anastasia in doing my old job. Since I hadn't heard anything, I'd rather hoped that Audrey had just forgotten. Or maybe Anastasia would actually be good at working. It looked like I was wrong.