“Yes, sir.” She hurried out the door, but I caught a hint of a scowl on her lips.
Once she was gone, Bryce’s stiff posture melted away and he smiled just as brightly as when he first greeted me. “Sorry about that.”
“Sorry about the name slip.” I gave him an apologetic grimace as I fidgeted in my seat.
“Oh, no worries about that. I know what we discussed on the phone, but I’d actually be fine with you calling me Bryce. To be honest, it feels natural.”
“It does, but it’s still probably best not to.”
“Yes. I understand.” He took another step back. Keeping an even wider space between us, he motioned me into his office. After I stood and walked in first, he slipped behind his desk and rested his suit’s finely tailored sleeves on its mahogany surface.
“If you’re busy, I can go to the news station with someone else.” I stood in the middle of his office, shifting my weight in my heels.
“No.” He sighed lightly. “Please ignore Darlene. She’s very sharp, a great assistant, but… territorial.” He paused, eyes shying away as he fiddled with one of his cuff links. “Especially around attractive women.” He murmured, so low I barely caught it, before his voice returned to normal volume “But ah, anyway, please sit.” He gestured to the seat across from his broad desk. “I have a couple of updates on Conrad Marchand and his associate. Whose full name, by the way, is Armand Vincenzo. My PI just called.”
“What did he say?” The chair’s material was soft and welcoming, but news of Conrad and Armand had me ignoring that, perching on its edge.
Bryce leaned back, sucking in and exhaling through gritted teeth. “Not as much as I’d have liked. But a start.”
“Did he find out something Dagg—Detective Pierce could use?”
Bryce leaned forward again, picking up and tapping the tip of an expensive-looking pen on his desk. “Dagger’s quite the character, isn’t he?”
Quite the enigma and maybe even problem too, with my conflicting feelings about him and my growing feelings for his brother. “Yes.” I decided to give Bryce a bit of honesty. “I wasn’t expecting Hunter’s lookalike to be quite so brash.”
Bryce chuckled. “They may look identical, but Hunter’s the quiet one. Don’t get me wrong”—he stopped his pen tapping—“Hunter can certainly defend himself if he has to. But he prefers reading to violence, the twin who turned to philosophy to deal with the ghosts of the past.”
“And Dagger?”
“He went down a different path. Not that Dagger’s rougher edges are a bad thing. Healways gets results. Probably why the police chief puts up with him. In fact, Morgan, the chief, told me as much when we were golfing a few months back. But for now, my PI is making headway on Conrad with a more subtle approach.”
“Great.”
My easy agreement seemed to please him. “Okay, so, we have an address for him. One that Armand’s been seen at too.”
Each mention of their names surged unpleasant aches in my stomach. “That’s really great, then why can’t the police—”
He winced. “Sorry to get your hopes up. They’ve both only been spotted there a couple of times. Just for brief periods. And Conrad disappeared mysteriously once or twice, almost like he vanished into thin air. My PI wonders if he’s got some special ability we don’t know about. Anyway, if the police go charging in, it could scare them off. We don’t want them knowing they’re being lookedfor. If they’re wrapped up in distributing this new drug Dagger mentioned, we need more evidence. Something that could lock them up for as long as possible.”
“Yes, of course. So… what next?”
“We let my PI keep digging. Discreetly. Don’t worry.” His eyes focused on mine, full of compassion. “We’ll make them pay. And then some.”
Darlene rushed back in with the coffee. “Food is coming,” she said as she ignored me, set one cappuccino on the side table and slid Bryce’s to him across his desk with a sickly-sweet smile. She wasn’t just territorial, she wanted to flirt, as oblivious as Bryce seemed to be.
After she left, we chatted about who I’d meet today. My ears perked up as Bryce mentioned a promising new reporter he’d just poached from a small local news station, someone I’d be working closely with. He cautioned me that a lot of the staff would be resistant to my design changes, but hopefully this new reporter could be an ally.
With that news, my stomach settled and I sipped at my drink, enjoying the warm, chocolate sprinkled froth. Then, once the food arrived and we’d shared that too, we went downstairs, slid into Bryce’s Benz and headed for the station.
I hoped for a warmer welcome than I’d gotten from Darlene.
Serenity
First introductions at New Nebraska Breaking News were cordial. Though there was a noticeable tension around the main floor of offices as Bryce explained I’d come to redesign some of the visuals shown to the public.
He talked about sprucing them up, not broaching any Temple issues.
Bryce had slipped on black calfskin gloves just before our limo ride, but he still didn’t get near anyone or shake hands. Almost every employee fawned over him and it made me a bit sad to see his walls go up and the polite yet guarded manner he maintained. Not even the station’s super glamorous lead anchorwoman seemed to wear down Bryce’s professionalism and deeply ingrained barriers.
