AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Picking up the receiver, I dialed my secretary Sarah’s number. “Sarah, can you please arrange a meeting with Dominic Rivera for tomorrow morning?”
“Certainly,” she replied promptly. “Is there a specific time you would prefer?”
“Let’s make it for ten o’clock,” I instructed. I didn’t want to schedule the meeting too early in case I ended up spending the evening with Harper.
As I continued working on other tasks, an email notification popped up on my computer screen, alerting me of my updated schedule. Sure enough, Sarah had managed to secure a meeting time with Dominic, although it was slightly later than what I had requested. Still, it was workable and gave me some extra time to spend with Harper.
Feeling restless and distracted, I found myself glancing at my watch every ten minutes as the clock ticked closer toward the end of the workday. Finally, knowing that I needed to pick up Harper from her office, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed her number.
“Harper Scott,” she answered cheerfully.
“Hey, beautiful,” I greeted her with a smile in my voice. “I’m just about finished here. Should be at your office in fifteen minutes to take you home.”
“Sounds good,” she replied. “I’ll be ready by then.”
Despite wanting to ask how her day went and if everything had gone smoothly with Brian by her side, I refrained from doing so. Brian would have contacted me if there were any issues, and I trusted that things had gone well for Harper at work.
~
As I walked toward Harper’s office, I saw Brian was seated on the couch in the waiting area. I gave him a nod before stopping before him.
“How did things go today?” I asked directly.
“Good. There was no sign of Drake today and it appeared from the office chatter that no one missed him,” he replied as he rose to his feet. “If it is okay with you, I’m going to head out.”
“Thank for keeping an eye on her,” I patted Brain on the shoulder and made my way to Harper’s office.
The door was open, and I saw her gathering her things. When she looked up at me, a smile graced her face. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
I stepped up to where she was standing and leaned in. “I’m ready. I thought we would have dinner at my place.”
“Sounds wonderful. I’m starving,” she admitted as she lifted her briefcase from her desk and held it by her side.
I allowed her to lead the way to the elevator. As we were on our way, she halted her steps. “Wait, I forgot one thing.”
She turned on her heels and walked back inside her office while I waited patiently for her return. I looked inside her open door to see that she had pulled a document from her printer and given it a quick read before shoving it inside her briefcase. It must have been something she had been working on and felt the need to retrieve.
“All set,” she said as she pulled her office door closed.
We rode the elevator in silence, but I couldn’t help but notice the concerned look on Harper’s face. “Is everything all right?” I asked as I took hold of her hand and gave it a light squeeze.
“Everything is fine. It’s just been a long day,” she replied, clasping her fingers tighter around the handle of her briefcase.
Something told me that whatever she had hidden inside was important enough to cause her concern. I wanted to ask her about it, but didn’t want to ruin the evening I had planned for her. There would be plenty of time later to question her about it.
The drive back to my place was uncomfortable, to say the least. I brought up a casual conversation about her day only to be shot down with one-word remarks. Something had happened between the time she went back to her office to retrieve what was on her printer and now.
I didn’t want anything to stand in our way of a perfect evening. I might be invading her privacy, but I had to know. “Was there something in the document you pulled off the printer that upset you?”
She snapped her head toward me, her eyes gazing at me. “Who is Niles Harris? And this time I want the truth.”
She had gone against everything I had requested of her. Instead of staying away from him, she must have researched his name. There was no way out of this and it was time I told her the truth.
“He’s my brother,” I seethed, my confession to our bloodline making me gag.
“I want you to tell me everything about him, River. I need to know why he is so dangerous.”
Her question wasn’t without merit, but I wasn’t sure she was ready to hear the truth about him. But if I didn’t tell her something, she wouldn’t let it go. “Niles has done some unthinkable things and, because of it, he was sentenced to life in prison. Somehow, he escaped and now I’m afraid he is going to come after me for putting him there.”
