“So where are you off to today?” Luke poured himself a cup of coffee from the state-of-the-art coffeemaker on the counter.
“Nowhere special,” she said. He motioned toward her with the coffeepot and she shook her head. After her England trip, she’d been a faithful tea convert and had never grown re-accustomed to the bitter taste of coffee. Unless it was packed with milk and sugar, of course.
Luke apparently didn’t have the same aversion as he poured his cup and brought the coffee straight to his lips, no sweetener necessary. After he drank, he said, “I can have my driver take you.”
“Are you going into the office today?”
“It’s Tuesday. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Then I’m not using your driver.” Not that she wanted someone reporting her every move to Luke anyway. “The doorman can get me a car in no time downstairs, so don’t worry about me.” She checked the time on her phone. Forty minutes until her meeting with Jace. Traffic would be bad, but the coffee shop was only two miles away. The day was nice enough, she might even walk back afterwards—depending on her mood, of course. If Jace turned her down flat, she doubted she’d feel like a leisurely stroll back to the apartment.
“So you’re really not telling me where you’re going?”
“It’s not all that interesting. I’m going to grab some tea down the street and then I might swing by Joslyn’s apartment,” said Emma carefully. She’d prefer not to lie to Luke, but if he was going to be an ass about her sister, she’d do what she had to do. Besides, he couldn’t get mad at her for stopping by Joslyn’s secret apartment. As Joslyn’s only living immediate family, Emma needed to clear her sister’s stuff out before the landlord threw everything away.
“Michael and I can help with the apartment,” said Luke. “I already have a list of storage rentals where we can store things.”
“Thanks for the offer, Luke, but this feels like something I have to do alone.” Actually, it felt like something she didn’t want to do at all, but it would be great for her investigation into Joslyn’s psyche. Emma looked down at her phone again. She really needed to get going. “I have to run. Have a nice day, Luke!” She slid out the door before he had a chance to ask why she was rushing off.
Once she was downstairs, it only took a few minutes for a doorman to get her a car and then she had a chance to relax and prepare herself for what she would say to Jace. She was half surprised he even agreed to meet with her, but it was a good sign. At least he had enough loyalty to his former employer that he didn’t want her being bothered by Emma. That loyalty would be great on her side.
As far as how she could convince him to take her seriously, she had one major factor on her side. Money. Whatever his normal rate was, she could double, even triple it. It wasn’t as if Emma threw money around left and right, and with her inheritance, she could afford to throw gobs and gobs of money at a man who was actually there when Joslyn was arrested.
The only thing she tended to waste money on was school. For most people, getting a college education wasn’t a waste of money. But Emma firmly considered herself in the wasteful category right around the time she got her third bachelor’s degree.
The driver dropped her off with a few minutes to spare. Emma tipped him and stepped onto the street. She eyed the quaint coffee shop in front of her. Through the windows, she could see the long line of New Yorkers eager to get their morning caffeine fix. She scanned the tables she could make out, but there was no familiar blond waiting for her. She kept thinking back to how reluctant he’d been to meet. What if he didn’t show? He’d probably be screening calls for the rest of the day after her threats. She’d have no way of getting hold of him or finding him if he didn’t show up now.
She supposed she’d have to make good on what she said. If Jace stood her up, she’d have to barge into Hunt Tower and demand to see Victoria. Sure, security could pull her away, but there was a chance, albeit a slim one, that she could get in to see the CEO.
But hopefully Jace would appear and save her the trouble. Emma tried to remain optimistic as she pulled the door open and stood in line. Whatever was going down once Jace got there, she’d feel much better if she was fortified with tea.
Right when she was next in line, her phone went off. Even though it was an unknown number, she had a feeling she knew who it was. “Jace?”
“When you get up to the counter, tell them you’re here to see Phillip Smith.”
She frowned and glanced around her, trying to catch a glimpse of the man. “Are you playing a joke on me?”
“You want my help. We’re doing things my way. You’re up.”
The customer in front of her moved aside and the barista looked expectantly at Emma. Damn it, Jace was definitely watching her somehow. This wasn’t creepy at all. Emma stepped up and took a nervous swallow. “Um, I’m here for Phillip Smith.”
The barista didn’t look confused at all. She just reached under the counter and pulled out a key. “Here you go. The door to the stairs is to the left of the restrooms.”
“Thanks,” murmured Emma as she stepped aside and stared down at the key. Did this guy really have to make things so difficult? She started to bring the phone back up to her ear but saw that Jace had already disconnected. They were supposed to talk normally over coffee, not exchange nuclear codes.
But desperate times called for desperate measures, thought Emma as she maneuvered her way through the crowd to the back corner. Three doors lined the far wall: the women’s room, the men’s room, and an unmarked door.
Emma glanced over her shoulder once more, hoping Jace would hop out and say he was just playing some sort of stupid joke, but nothing happened. She took a deep breath. Was this really important enough to risk going into a strange room with some man she knew nothing about while no one knew where she was?
“Damn it,” she muttered as she stepped forward and turned the key in the knob. The door easily opened to a dimly lit staircase, but due to the angle and the walls that surrounded the entire staircase, she couldn’t tell what was at the bottom. Maybe it wasn’t worth it...
“If you stand there, you’re going to draw attention,” said Jace’s voice from the basement. “Come on down.”
Emma quickly closed the door and started down the stairs. “Why would I want to avoid attention?” she asked as she reached the bottom.
“Why would you want strangers to know your business?” he countered.
Emma’s eyes widened as she saw the room they were in. Even though the stairs didn’t look all that classy, she and Jace stood in a beautiful bedroom. Despite the lack of natural light, the recessed lamps illuminated the exposed brick wall that an oversized bed was pressed against. The tiniest bit of sunlight penetrated the frosted windows right beneath the ceiling. The bright white comforter also added the illusion of brightness to the room.
Emma’s mouth fell open before she forced herself to close it. “Um...what did you say?” She had to stay focused on what she came here to achieve. Not get sidetracked by the curveballs Jace threw her way.
She looked over the security consultant, whose smug expression told her just how proud he was of causing her unease. He hardly looked ready for a business meeting. He was dressed head to toe in black and looked as if he’d just come from the gym. His hair was damp and slicked back carelessly as though he’d run his fingers through it repeatedly, and his sweatpants that hung low on his hips seemed as if they’d been worn through countless workouts.