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I love her?
I love her.
Of course I am in love with Anna Mallon.
Why else would I be this panicked at losing her?
Why else would the thought of her hiding from me hurt me so badly?
Why else would I want us to be exclusively together?
“How does Anna Mallon fit into the equation, though?” Michael is still talking, trying to solve the mystery and tie up the loose ends. For once I wish he wasn’t so damn thorough and good at his job. “She is just an employee.”
I decide I’d better just tell him. I can trust him.
“She fits in because she is mine. She is the employee on the video.”
There is a long stretch of silence on the other side, but I don’t regret saying that for one moment.
“Send me the recording, then. It should be enough to get Anna vindicated. We might be able to retrieve the video since we have administrative permissions on his computer.”
“Thanks, Tim,” I say, now back to being glad he’s so good at his job.
When I get off the phone, I immediately call security to instruct them to retrieve Tim’s computer and hand him to the authorities. The computer is company property, after all. There is the possibility of him having the video on another device, but that is a PR nightmare I am willing to deal with.
When I do get to Anna’s place later, my heart sinks even further. The landlord lets me in with a spare key when I say it’s her boss and I have an important business matter, and I take in everything.
The place is deserted and there is no sign of her anywhere. She has, however, left a simple note beside a phone that has been switched off on the coffee table. On the note is the password to her computer, and words that rob me of my every strength.
I love you, Liam, but we both know it had to end sometime. Sorry to run, but I didn’t do this.
I can only focus on three words of that note.
She loves me.
Anna Mallon loves me.
And now I won’t stop until I have her where she belongs.
Back in my arms.
Chapter Nine – Anna
A week can seem like an entire year when you are nursing a broken heart. It can seem like eternity when you add hurt into the equation.
My cousin and her husband were gracious enough to take me in but they have been tiptoeing around me like they are afraid I will break. My mood is always low, and my appetite is even lower.
My days in the past week have been comprised of cleaning nearly every surface on my cousin Terry’s house, scribbling away in my notebook, and remembering every single moment with Liam.
Terry and her husband Robb seem to be barely tolerating my behaviours and barely putting up with the cleaning. I am miserable, but thanks to the pandemic, I can’t exactly drive home to Maryland, no matter how much I want to. Basically, I am going through the motions, feeling miserable but unable to have my mother’s arms to comfort me.
I could never tell anyone what I’d done. There is a knock on the door to my assigned room before Terry’s head pops in.
“You need to get on the phone, Anna. There is someone persistent about talking to you.”
The only person who knows where I am is my mother. She knows I am broken hearted, from what Terry has been telling her, although she doesn’t know why, and I thought she was giving me time to come to terms with my emotional state. There is only one reason I can think of to explain why she is being persistent.
“Is this an intervention?”
She gives me a sweet smile and says, “Just get downstairs.”
Terry is the sweetest person I know, but she can also be quite stubborn. If I remain in this bed, Terry is not above dragging me there herself and we both know it. Pushing myself off the window seat, I stomp down the stairs to the phone, making my displeasure known.
“It isn’t a good time, Mom. I will call you later and…”
“Please don’t hang up, Anna. Hear me out.”
I am slamming down the receiver before he can say another word.
“That wasn’t my mother on the phone. That was Liam Thorne,” I say, turning my seething eyes towards Terry.
She looks nonplussed, to her credit, and the sweet smile is still on her face.
“I didn’t say it was her on the phone.” She sends me an arched eyebrow, then continues, “He has been looking for you, Anna.”
I knew he would look, but I didn’t know he would find me this fast.
“He is my boss and he thinks I am a saboteur and that is why he is here looking for me. I don’t want to go to jail for something I didn’t do.”
