Page 117 of Pretender

“Can we ignore them?” I ask. “Maybe no one will notice.”

Linnea shakes her head, brushing her hand over it as if petting it. “It’s such a beautiful floor, a crack like this will be all people see.”

“Really?” I ask.

She nods, scanning the room, the newly uncovered antique floor she’s so excited about.

“There’s probably more,” she says, sighing. “When a plank has cracked, it’s inevitable that another will have as well. We need to get this cleaned and checked in case it needs replacement. It’ll be a big job if it does.”

“How about we include Kintsugi as an option?” I ask.

“Repairing them with gold?” Olga asks, and I turn my attention to her. “That’s a ceramic thing. This is wood.”

“Yes, but something similar, I’m sure you could come up with something. Resin or whatever? Things have history, and cracks show it’s been around for a while. It’s charming, just as charming as this patina thing you’ve told me about. All the discolouration, right? Make the cracks into a feature. I’m not replacing it. I love this floor.”

Linnea looks up at me, her brow knitted. “Hmm. Cracks could be a symptom of rot. We’ll need a specialist to do a review. You want to know if it’s rotten from the ground up.”

“Oh. Okay, well, get a specialist but don’t do anything to the floor without consulting with me.”

Linnea smirks and shakes her head. “Of course, Aiden.”

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I fish it out to check the screen. It’s Vic.

“Sorry, gotta take this.” I wave to the ladies and answer as I step outside and away from the noise.

“Vic.”

“Hey,” I hear the familiar voice say as I close the door behind me.

“What’s up? I was going to come see you this afternoon, actually. Any news?”

He sighs. “The PI is leaving. She’s made a report for you to read. It’s pretty long. I’ve sent it to your email.”

“Why can’t she tell me in person? It’d be quicker.”

“The short version is that a couple of your employees have made comments on the blog, but you’d need your lawyer to determine whether they are in breach of their NDAs. Likely not.”

“Okay, that’s it? No clues about how the blogger gets their intel?”

“They seem to get input from various sources; the PI said it’s impossible to track.”

Fuck. I grit my teeth. “Did she speak with Katrina? She said she knows the blogger.”

“She did, let me check here, it’s in the report.” Vic hums while typing on a computer. “Searched for her, it comes up with the note that she has an anonymous chat with the blogger on the forum, but it’s new and she’s only shared a few vague scraps of information.”

“Ah.” I was hoping she’d share about Henry. Maybe I was the one being too vague with her.

“Sorry, boss.”

“Don’t apologise, Vic. You’ve done great, thanks for your help and for keeping it under wraps. I’ll leave it there for now.”

I breathe in the warm afternoon air, closing my eyes, calming the disappointment that I won’t be able to catch this blogger as easily as I’d hoped.

“Alright, erm…”

“What?” I blink my eyes open again.

“There’s one thing I thought about.”