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“I took a vacation.”
“When was the last time you took any substantial time off?”
“I don’t know.” She thought back over the past few years and couldn’t recall a span of more than three days where she’d been unavailable to her staff. “Which should make it even more evident I needed a vacation.”
“The last time was when I told you about Scarlett and Violet.”
“Was it?” She had a vague recollection of going to her grandmother’s Hamptons house for a few days.
“You were gone almost two weeks.”
“Sorry, but I don’t recall that. And I’m sure I had the time coming.”
“You did. And much more besides. You’re more like me than your father.” He was staring out the window at the park across the street. “But occasionally you remind me that you’re also your mother’s daughter. She’s an emotional woman who has difficulty handling any sort of turmoil in her life. Which leads me to wonder what is going on with you. Is that Croft fellow causing problems?”
“Ashton?” Harper was more than a little stunned by her grandfather’s analysis of her. He never appeared to notice anything that didn’t pertain to his business, but now she wondered if he saw everything and just kept it to himself. “No, he and I have reached a place where we’re working well together.”
“How about your personal relationship? Everything okay there, too?”
“Ah...” What was he asking? “We work well together.”
Her grandfather blew out an impatient breath. “I’m not dense. I know you went to Africa with him.”
“Technically, I went to Africa and he followed.”
“Why?”
What was her grandfather asking? “Why did he follow me to Africa?”
“Yes. And why did you go in the first place?”
“I wanted an adventure, and Ashton thought I was acting recklessly by traveling alone. Turns out he was a little right.”
“More than a little. You were mugged on the train. Had your passport stolen.”
How was she going to keep the truth about her biological father hidden when her grandfather was so good at keeping tabs on her?
“Who told you?”
“When I heard you were traveling to South Africa I called a buddy of mine in the State Department and had him keep an eye out for you.”
Harper was both touched and annoyed. Didn’t anyone think she could take care of herself? “Is that why I was able to get a temporary passport so fast?”
“Partially.” Her grandfather’s eyes narrowed. “Anything else you’d like to tell me about your time in South Africa?”
“Ashton took me on safari where I was fortunate enough to see three of the big five. Elephants, cape buffalo and lions.” She paused. “Although one night we heard a leopard, as well.”
“And that’s all?”
“It’s a beautiful country. We should consider putting a hotel there.”
“Maybe when you become CEO of Fontaine Hotels and Resorts you can do that.”
The walls of her grandfather’s study seemed to close in. Ashton’s warning sounded in her mind. She wanted to silence it, but couldn’t. He was right. Becoming CEO under false pretenses would never make her happy. “When that happens, I’ll definitely look into it.”
They chatted about her impression of Africa until Scarlett appeared in the doorway.
“Can I tear you away for a bit?” she asked Harper, giving Henry a fond smile.
