Halfway to the door, her hand brushed his. Just the backs of their fingers, barely a touch, and she pulled away immediately.
It should have meant nothing.
From the way her breath caught, neither of them believed that.
They kept walking.
Chapter twelve
Six Thirty
ThemomentMargotsteppedinto Elaine’s office, she knew the meeting wasn’t going to go well. The espresso machine on the boss’s credenza was off.
Elaine stood behind her desk, her hands clasping the back of the chair. She didn’t offer coffee. She didn’t offer a chair.
Evan stood near the door, damp at the collar, the coil of dock line still in one hand, as though he’d come straight from the water and meant to go straight back to it.
“The board chair called twenty minutes ago.” Elaine’s voice was flat, stripped of the careful warmth Margot had heard in their first phone call. “He saw the empty display case on the Channel 12 website. The story’s already running.”
“I’m aware.”
“Lila Sloane’s attorney contacted us before the police finished taking statements. She’s considering a claim against the resort for negligent security.” Elaine placed both hands flat on the desk. “The event coordinator was responsible for the security plan. That’s you, Ms. Pine.”
Not Margot. Ms. Pine. The formality landed like a door closing. She was aware of Evan behind her, hearing all of it, and she kept her chin level because he was.
“The keycard system was supposed to have battery backup. I was told by the vendor that it did.”
“Were you told, or did you verify?”
“The panel was forced.” Evan’s voice was even. “Padlock pried out of the trim. Whoever did this came for the glass specifically. That’s not a security plan failing. That’s a person.”
Elaine’s gaze moved to him, then back to Margot. “I’m not assigning blame for the theft. I’m asking whether the case was as secure as I was told it was.”
The question sat between them. Margot knew the answer. She had asked for the spec sheet, cross-checked the model number, and filed the vendor email behind the security tab. Then Elaine’s midnight attachments, Lila’s humidity demands, and Caleb’s lighting changes had buried the one step she still wanted: a physical test of the failover. Due diligence on paper. Not enough, maybe, but not nothing.
“I verified the documentation,” she said. “I should have tested the unit in person.”
Elaine nodded once. Not forgiveness. Acknowledgment. “We’re not canceling the expo. The vendors are here, the guests are booked. I need you to focus on the programming.” She paused. “Let security and the police handle the theft.”
“And if they don’t find the ornaments?”
“Then Lila’s attorney files, the insurance company investigates, and this resort has a very expensive conversation with its board.” Elaine’s voice didn’t waver. “Which is why I need the rest of this expo to be flawless. Can you do that?”
“Yes.”
Margot turned for the door.
“Margot.” Elaine’s voice caught her at the threshold. “I hired you because I believed you could handle it. I still believe that. But I need you to prove me right.”
She walked out without answering. There was nothing to say that wouldn’t sound like a promise she wasn’t sure she could keep.
Evan followed a few steps behind, and in the hallway, he said he had a night check to finish on the marina and turned for the stairwell that cut down to the docks. She watched him go and then realized she wasn’t ready to walk back into the lobby yet.
She sat on the top step, back against the wall, palms flat on her knees to stop them shaking. The concrete was cold through her slacks. A single fluorescent tube flickered above the landing, casting everything in a flat, unflattering light. From somewhere below, she could hear the muffled sound of the lobby, guests being corralled, and the low static of police radios.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She didn’t look at it. If it was Elaine, she’d deal with it later. If it was David, with his impeccable timing for showing up at her worst moments, she’d deal with that later too.
The stairwell door opened below her, and Evan came up through it.
