Page 10 of Sasha’s Secret

He glanced in her direction, and though her expression didn’t reveal anything of what she was thinking, he got the impression she was less than comfortable with her employer’s behavior. Her next words seemed to bear that out.

“Linzi, don’t you think that’s a little impolite—”

“No, it’s all right, Ms. Morgan. Think nothing of it. After all, I am the stranger here.”

Sasha seemed to weigh up what he’d said and made the right decision. “How about if we finish the introductions, then I’ll carry on showing Rocco—Mr. Equizi—around the estate. Trent Birling, Linzi’s producer.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” This time, Rocco’s gesture of greeting met with a more positive response. Birling’s handshake was smooth and practiced—hardly surprising, given his profession.

“Likewise, Mr. Birling.”

Judging by his frequent glances at the wall clock, Birling wasn’t eager to make small talk or delay his departure. Not that it mattered to Rocco—the full background check would fill in the blanks. Birling might be a maestro when it came to the high-tech recording equipment, but it didn’t necessarily make him expert enough to conceal his tracks on social media. The man had nothing to gain from threatening his golden goose, but it wouldn’t do any harm to confirm he could be excluded from the list of suspects.

“Are we done here, guys? I want to go for a swim.”

Linzi might have been in her early twenties, but at that precise moment, she sounded a decade younger, justifying Rocco’s assumption that liaising with Sasha would be a much more effective way of achieving his professional objectives. He doubted Linzi would be able to answer any of his questions without deferring to her assistant, anyway.

“We’re done, Ms. Suto. We’ll leave you to get on. Please excuse us. Enjoy your swim.”

Sasha didn’t miss the cue, and together they left the recording studio. They hadn’t gone very far when Sasha laid her hand on his arm and brought them both to a halt. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

Sasha glanced back toward the studio. “The car crash back there. I can set up a more helpful meeting tomorrow—Linzi has time in her schedule.”

The expression of regret was the last thing he expected. “Hey, it’s okay, don’t worry. If anything, it… gave me a useful insight into my client.”

Sasha raised an eyebrow. “As first impressions go, it can’t have been a great one.”

Rocco gave a short bark of humorless laughter. “Trust me, I’ve worked with worse. If it helps, I don’t see that I’ll need much contact with her unless or until she leaves the estate, and on those occasions, I’ll make sure she has a thorough briefing before we leave. You mentioned she’s attending some sort of event?”

“Yes, the Diamond ACE Music Awards, in a couple weeks.”

They resumed their stroll back to the main house, but Rocco’s mind was on what might happen between now and the event. Depending on the progress made with tracking down the perpetrator, he might not even still be here by then. “Does she have anything scheduled before then? Any PR commitments, personal appearances or the like?”

“Nothing. She may be impulsive, but that rarely extends to making spontaneous trips into the outside world.”

“Not even for shopping?”

“Not even for shopping,” Sasha confirmed. “I put a call in to her favorite stores, and they come here.”

“Isn’t that unusual?”

“Not really. If she shows up someplace unexpectedly, with social media there’s always the risk that word will get out and the place will be overrun with fans. The first couple times it happened, people got hurt—minor injuries, thankfully, but even that was too much. After that, we decided it would be safer for all concerned if shopping trips—impromptu or otherwise—stayed off the menu, for a while, at least.”

That made sense. Rocco had seen something similar with previous clients, but the reasoning behind it had been very different—they didn’t want to mix with people whom they considered beneath them, so they either had the store closed for a private visit or made the store come to them. He seldom had strong feelings one way or another about the people he protected, but in their case, he’d been prepared to make an exception.

“Fine, but if that changes, please keep me informed. I want to be there if she makes an unplanned departure from the property.”

“Yes, sir!”

And to his surprise, Sasha snapped off a salute. Rocco smiled and shook his head. “Okay, okay. What can I say?”

“Nothing.”

He heard the smile in her voice before he saw it. The genuine amusement in it was a jolt to his system, as if something deep inside him cracked open. Before he could reply, Sasha continued.

“Look, you need some time to unpack and settle in, so how about we call it a day? If you like, we can meet over breakfast in the morning to discuss strategy.”