Briefly, Elise thought of dealing with the incident immediately then quickly dismissed the idea. There was no need to create a scene by putting Rose in her place in front of everyone. No, she’d wait and speak to her privately.
Kane pushed off from the doorframe. “Well, I’m going in search of food. How about you, Elise?” With another thoughtful look at Rose, Elise nodded and followed Kane upstairs into the kitchen.
*****
“It will only take a few minutes to heat up the pasta.” She peered into the fridge and pulled out the food while Kane took plates from the cupboard and set them on the table.
“All right. Do you want me to make a salad?” Kane inquired while getting out the cutlery.
“No, I can do it.”
“Okay, then while dinner’s heating, I’m going to check on something in the office.” Kane headed down the hallway and Elise nodded absentmindedly as she pressed the appropriate buttons on the microwave. Once it was on, she pulled out a head of lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes in order to make a quick salad.
Marla wandered through while she was working and snatched a cucumber slice out of the bowl. Casually leaning a hip against the counter, she munched on the veggie, then grabbed a piece of tomato. “So, how did it go? Did the perfume work?”
Elise nervously glanced down the hall to ensure that Kane wasn’t within earshot. “It was fine, but I still don’t feel right about this. I’m going to tell him the truth as soon as I get a chance.”
Marla shook her head. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea...”
“If what’s a good idea?” Kane walked into the kitchen frowning.
“Er... Elise and I going shopping tomorrow. I think next week would be better.” Marla made a quick recovery.
“Oh, that’s nice.” Kane seemed distracted and Elise asked him what was wrong. “Nothing, really. I’ve misplaced a report that was on my desk. It was the one from Chloe and her university friends, about the negative environmental impact of drilling for oil on our land. I was sending it to our lawyers tomorrow.”
“I didn’t know you’d had a study done on that.” Marla looked mildly interested.
“It wasn’t general knowledge. Only those in the Alpha house really knew about it.” Kane ran his hand through his hair distractedly. “Was anyone in the office today moving things about? That room is supposed to be off limits if I’m not there but...”
The microwave signalled their food was ready and Kane, being the closest, stopped mid-sentence and removed the steaming bowl of pasta. While his back was turned, Elise stared at Marla. The blonde woman had been leaving Kane’s office when she’d arrived home that afternoon. Did Marla know where the report was?
Opening her mouth to ask, Elise saw Marla making a pleading gesture and shaking her head. Elise hesitated, but then sighed. Marla had been trying to be helpful this afternoon, in her own twisted way, so she supposed she could return the favour. Mouthing the words ‘you’d better tell me what’s going on later’ and giving Marla a scowl, Elise schooled her face into a pleasant expression before Kane turned around.
Marla wandered off, ostensibly to make a phone call, while Kane and Elise ate, but returned before they were finished. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down to visit, idly chatting about her day. Kane was done eating first and started to gather up the dishes, while Elise finished her meal. He spoke over his shoulder as he placed the items in the sink. “Oh, Marla. I almost forgot. I didn’t make it into town today, but Rose was going in, so I asked her to stop by the Gallery to get that package for you.”
“Really? That’s interesting. Rose was in town, but you weren’t. Hmm, I wonder...” Marla’s voice trailed off.
Elise looked up from her plate. “What do you wonder?”
“Nothing—just wondering if she got the package or not. She didn’t give it to me, so maybe it wasn’t even in, after all. I’ll have to ask her later.” Smiling, Marla glanced at her two companions. “I’ll clean up, if you two want to take a walk or something,”
Elise raised questioning brows and looked at Kane who nodded in agreement. “All right. I’ll tell the others we’re going in case anyone wants to tag along.”
As soon as Kane disappeared from sight, Elise turned to Marla and questioned her sternly. “Why were you in Kane’s office this afternoon if it was off limits? And what did you do with that report?”
“I didn’t do anything with the report—at least not on purpose. Kane’s computer has the fastest processor in the house so I was using it to do some research on the collector who bought that photograph. I must have scooped the report up with my stuff by accident.”