Page 21 of The Voicemail

“Julian,” I greet.

His gaze flicks to Elena. “Ms. Hart, I thought you were taking a personal day.”

“As it turns out, I only needed the morning,” she answers casually.

“So I see.”

There are layers of judgment in his voice. I watch Elena absorb it before she can stop herself. My opinion of Bellamy drops several points.

“I’m interested in the Marchesi shipment,” I say, closing the binder.

Bellamy’s smile wavers. “Are you?”

“Yes.”

“Any particular reason?”

“I’m considering making an offer.”

That gets his attention. Money usually sways even the most loyal patsies.

“Well,” he says, stepping further into the office. “The painting is already spoken for, but I’m sure we can arrange a private viewing if your interest is serious.”

“I assure you it is,” I answer mildly.

Elena looks down at her keyboard, but I catch the corner of her mouth twitch. Bellamy doesn’t.

“The painting should be in the archive,” he tells me.

Elena types on her keyboard furiously and murmurs, “Yes, it should be.”

Bellamy glances at her.

“Is there a problem, Ms. Hart?”

“The painting never actually arrived,” she tells him, and I doubt it’s for the first time. “Which is what I tried to tell you when we received the crate several weeks ago.”

Bellamy’s face flashes with anger. He doesn’t like being called out in front of others. She’ll catch hell for it later, and I realize then that she’s much braver than I gave her credit for.

Bellamy sighs as if disappointed rather than concerned.

“Shipping mistakes happen all the time,” he says casually. “I’ll just reach out to Mr. Marchesi and let him know.”

“It seems to me you should have done that when Ms. Hart first brought it to your attention,” I say. “It doesn’t bode well for your gallery that you’ve had a painting missing for weeks.”

Elena goes still, and I can feel the fury rolling off of her. This time, it’s directed at me. She thinks I overstepped. But my displeasure will keep her employed.

I look at Bellamy. His smile thins. “Yes, quite.”

Silence settles in the office. Elena looks at me, and for once she doesn’t seem irritated that I stepped in.

Bellamy clears his throat. “I’ll get this sorted right away.”

“See that you do,” I say darkly.

He leaves without another word.

Elena waits until he’s out of earshot. “I thought you weren’t going to intimidate my co-workers.”