Caroline walked in holding a bouquet of fruit from Edible Treats. “These are for you.”
He took them and looked for the card. “Do you know who they are from?” he asked.
“I didn’t want to be nosy,” she responded, before walking out of the office.
“Yeah right,” he said, as he opened the card and read the words, “Thank you for a wonderful night. Signed H.”
His clients had sent him thank you gifts in the past but he had never received anything remotely like this from a woman he was dating. He picked up the phone and dialed Hailey’s cell phone. “You got them?” she asked.
“Thank you. That was very sweet of you,” he said.
“I can be sweet when I want to be.” He could tell she was smiling.
“What are you doing for dinner tonight?” he asked, since he had her on the phone.
“You’re taking me out,” she responded.
“I have something even better. I’ll cook for you.”
“Now this I have to see.”
“Just name the place. Your place or mine,” he said.
“I need a change of scenery. I’ll meet you at your place.”
“It’s a date. I’ll be by to pick you up around seven.”
“No need to. I’ll have Brenda drop me off and you can bring me home.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
They continued to talk for a few more minutes. A huge grin was plastered on his face even after Caroline walked back into his office. He took this time to apologize for his behavior earlier. “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “No biggie.”
He reached into his wallet and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. “Have lunch on me.”
“I’ll bring you back your change,” she said.
He shook his hands, “No need to. In fact, you’re welcome to leave early today.”
“I have to get those reports out but if you’ll let me take half a day on Monday, I would appreciate it,” Caroline said.
“Just let the other office assistant know and you got it,” he said, as he took a bite off one of the strawberries from his fruit tree.
“So did you find out who the fruit was from?” she asked.
“Yes and I called to thank them.”
He knew Caroline was waiting on him to elaborate but he didn’t. She stood for a few seconds and when he didn’t reveal to her who sent them, she walked out.
He was enjoying a banana when he received an urgent text message from Brenda. He dialed her number. “I’m sorry to bother you but I will need someone to take my place for the next few days. My father had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.”
“Brenda take as much time as you need. I’ll get someone reassigned don’t worry about things here.”
“I’m about to leave the studio now.”
“You have a lot of time saved up so don’t worry about money. You’ll have time off with pay as long as you need it.”
“Thanks Boss Man. Oh and between you and I, I think this maniac fan has Hailey more on edge than she would like for anyone to believe.”
“Don’t worry about Hailey or anything else. Just go check on your father,” he said, before hanging up with Brenda. He scrolled through his roster of employees and found fault with each one on why they couldn’t protect Hailey. The only person he trusted with Hailey’s safety was himself. It took him over thirty years to fall in love and there was no way in the world he would risk losing her now.
~ 24 ~
Hailey wrapped up another successful show. She removed her microphone and met John in the studio hallway. She didn’t like the look on his face. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Follow me.” He led her to his office. Bach was sitting at the table with a brown envelope and pictures sprayed across the table. She walked up to the table and shrieked at the sight of pictures of her and Garrett leaving her place last night.
Bach handed her a handwritten note in a plastic bag. “We’re hoping to get fingerprints, that’s why I put it in a plastic bag.”
Hailey slid into the chair next to Bach as John took a seat on the opposite end of the table. She read the note out loud. “Your time is running out. Soon you’ll feel the pain I’m feeling.”
“Who is doing this?” she said, barely above a whisper; although she felt like screaming those words.
“I called GT Securities. They are sending someone to pick this up. Hopefully, we can get some prints,” Bach tried to assure her.
John said, “Maybe we should halt production until we can get a better handle on this.”