Something About Lorelei(49)
“Thank you. We’ll be arriving shortly.” Click.
“I’m all packed,” Hope said as she emerged from her room holding her pink bag and a rag doll.
I grabbed her bag and we went down to the limo. As we were on our way to my penthouse, I looked at Hope’s doll.
“What’s her name?” I asked.
“Luna. I’ve had her since I was a baby. My mommy said it was a gift from my daddy and that he’ll always be with me.”
“She’s a special doll.” I smiled and she hugged her.
When we arrived at the penthouse, Hope’s eye widened as soon as we stepped off the elevator. Madeline walked into the foyer and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Hope.
“Hope, this is my maid, Madeline. Madeline, this is our house guest, Hope. She’s Lorelei’s daughter.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Hope.”
“It’s nice to meet you too.” She giggled.
“Why don’t you show Hope to her room?”
They walked up the stairs and I poured myself a drink. Hope would be okay here with Madeline. She knew a thing or two about kids, so she’d be the perfect babysitter for her. As I walked into the kitchen, Madeline followed me in.
“She’s adorable. But I’m really confused, Jack.”
“Lorelei is in the hospital with pneumonia. She’ll be there for a few days, so I need you to look after Hope for me.”
“Umm. Have you forgotten that I’m leaving tomorrow morning to go visit my sister in New Orleans? I’ve had this vacation planned for two months, Jack.”
“For fuck sake. I did forget. Can’t you change it? Please, Madeline. I need you.”
“Sorry, but no. You know she’s not doing well. We talked about this and you said it was okay for me to go.”
“What the hell is with everyone not feeling well? I’m sorry, Madeline. You’re right. You go visit your sister. I’ll call Coco to help out.”
She laughed. “I’m not sure she’ll be any better than you. Listen, Jack, it’s instincts. You can do this. It’s not like she’s a baby. Hell, that little girl could probably take better care of you.”
“Very funny. Could you at least look after her while I go into the office for a couple of hours?”
“Of course.” She smiled.
Hope came into the kitchen and I knelt down in front of her.
“I have to go to work for a while, but Madeline is going to look after you.”
“Okay. Will you be back later?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” She smiled.
Just as I was about to walk out of the kitchen, Hope called my name.
“Mr. Sutton?”
“Yes.” I turned and looked at her.
“I don’t think you’re mean at all.”
I gave her a small smile and left for the office.
****
I walked into Coco’s office and shut the door.
“Hey, how’s Lorelei?” she asked with concern.#p#分页标题#e#
“She has pneumonia. She’s going to be in the hospital for a few days.”
“She’s going to be okay, right?”
“Yeah. They’re taking good care of her. Listen, I need to talk to you about Bradley.”
“Has he been found?”
“No. Not yet. But Ron has a lead. Bradley wasn’t the one who was stealing the money from the company.”
She looked at me in confusion as she tilted her head to the side.
“He was putting it in offshore accounts for our mother.”
“What? That’s absurd.”
“I saw the accounts, Coco. They’re in her name.”
“Why would she have him do that?”
“I think she’s running this company into the ground for some reason.”
“Have you confronted her about this yet?”
“No. I’m waiting until Ron finds Bradley and we talk to him. I want you with me when I confront her.”
“This doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know. But we’ll get to the bottom of it. On another matter, I have Lorelei’s daughter, Hope, staying with me while she’s in the hospital.”
Coco busted into laughter. “Yeah, right. You and a kid? I find that hard to believe.”
“I had no choice. Both of Lorelei’s parents and best friend are out of the state. There was nobody else to take care of her.”
“You don’t know how to take care of a kid, Jack. Shit. You hate kids.”
“I guess I’m going to have to wing it the next few days. Would you like to come over and help?” I grinned.
“Umm. No. I’m leaving for LA tomorrow. Did you forget?”
“Damn it. I did. What the hell is with everyone leaving town but me?”