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He did love her, but marriage was a big step. He hated that his future with Jessica was always tainted by his past.
His past was what he needed to work on. More specifically, he needed to once and for all get over the actions of someone who hadn’t mattered in a decade.
The evil female entity who’d ruined his trust in relationships so long ago shouldn’t have such an influence on his current or future love life.
Chapter Nineteen
Auditors previously unscheduled at his two different banks two weeks in a row made Garrett wonder what celestial deity he’d pissed off to become so popular.
This was so not how he wanted to spend his day.
He winced when he bent to sign the updated quarterly payroll report and analysis document centered on his desk as a thigh muscle protested the movement. Shit, I’m getting old.
Not to mention the snore fest of the dusty dry reading he’d just signed his approval for. Usually, he wasn’t so annoyed by paperwork as it related to bank business. He loved being a banker, even more than he’d liked being a prosecutor, surprisingly enough.
“Garrett?” his assistant, Kelli, stuck her head in his office. “There’s a gentleman here to see you.”
Before he could ask who it was, Hunter Franklin crowded behind her and entered his office. “It’s me. Surprise.” Hunter was the resident woodcarver at Old West Town. Garrett wondered why he wasn’t there right now, carving blocks of wood or something.
Kelli gave Garrett a horrified look, like she’d failed the first rule of being an assistant. Never let anyone cross the threshold of the boss’s office entryway, even if you have to use your body as a shield. Garrett waved that it was okay and gestured for her to close the door.
“What can I do for you today, Hunter?”
“Your girlfriend called me and asked me to meet her here. I only stopped in to say, ‘Hi.’” Hunter seated himself in the chair next to the desk, and added, “So, hi.”
Garrett noticed he carried a large briefcase, which he promptly tucked on the floor between his legs. Garrett guessed this might be a longer conversation that initially expected. Usually, Hunter was a man of few words.
“Oh, yeah?” As happy as he was about seeing Jessica at his bank, Garrett’s schedule was insanely busy today. “What’s up?”
Hunter shrugged. “Got me. I just do what I’m paid to.”
“Jessica paid you to do something?”
Hunter wiggled his eyebrows. “Yeah. I mean, of course, I offered to do it for free, but she insisted rather robustly.”
“What the fuck, Hunter?” Garrett wasn’t in the mood to play games. Before he could whip out his old prosecutor hat and interrogate Hunter thoroughly, Kelli buzzed the intercom. “Ms. Jessica Hoyt is here to see you.”
Let’s go ahead and make it a three ring circus then.
“Great. Send her in.” The auditor would be here any second, but what the hell.
Woodcarvers and girlfriends and auditors, oh my.
Jessica came in with apology written all over her features. “I’m so sorry to bother you, Garrett,” she said immediately.
He put a patient expression firmly in place and came around the front of his desk. “It’s okay. Can we make this quick? An auditor is about to descend on the bank. I think he wants to pick apart my DNA for fun.”
“A question.”
“Okay.”
“What would it take to have a person’s safe deposit box opened by someone other than the person renting it?”
His brows furrowed. “Only a court order signed by a judge.”
A sudden look of relief spread over her face. “Good. That’s what I thought.”
“What’s going on, Jessica?”
Kelli knocked on the door again, peeking her head in. “Sorry to intrude, Garrett, but the auditor just got here. He’s waiting.”
“A minute, please, Kelli?”
Jessica kissed his cheek “I’ll explain everything later, okay?”
She turned to Hunter. “Are you ready?”
He nodded, adding, “I live to serve.” He hopped up out of the chair, grabbed his briefcase, and trailed Jessica toward the door.
They both exited his office, leaving Garrett feeling very out of the loop. He made a mental note to call Seth later to see if he knew what was going on.
