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“DOA.”
“Shit. That’s harsh.” She sank onto a plump sofa cushion.
“Doubly. She was pregnant.”
“Oh, Christ.”
“Yeah,” Bayli concurred with a tinge of dismay. “Sad stuff. According to one of the news articles I found when I started researching him, Sam had just broken ground on a house in Montana that they were going to move into following the wedding. I dug around a little more and discovered he went through with the plan. He has an equestrian estate not far from a little town called Lakeside. Pretty impressive layout. I Google Mapped it and there’s some serious acreage there with a gorgeous lodge-style home and modern horse facilities.”
Scarlet frowned. “Where’d the money come from for all of that? Michael claims he doesn’t have access to family funds until he’s forty. If Sam was granted some sort of trust when his mother married Mitcham, I can’t imagine Sam would be able to get his hands on it anytime sooner than Michael.”
“And Sam’s mom did not come from money. She was a waitress and also a volunteer docent at a gallery when she met the senior Vandenberg. Struggling, from what I gather.”
“Though clearly committed to her passion for fine art.”
“Which makes it incredibly difficult to believe she’d be involved in the disappearance of a coveted collection.”
Scarlet contemplated this further as the butler entered the suite and set out the coffee and her breakfast, then served her. She dismissed him with a smile and a mouthed, Thank you. She took a couple of sips from her cup, then asked Bayli, “Did you come across anything of note with Sam’s financials?”
“Haven’t gotten to them yet, sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. Seriously. Everything you’re doing is such a huge help. I really need to hire a research assist—”
“I’m your research assistant.”
Scarlet grinned. Set her coffee aside. “Bay, I know you dig all this cloak-and-dagger stuff, and trying to unearth whatever you can for me, but you do have a job.”
“I’m on hiatus, Scarlet. We wrapped the preseason of the travel and cooking show and are evaluating all the responses from the test audiences, though the network has already picked us up. I’m just trying to dissect what the viewers really connected with—pertaining to the locales, the food Rory prepared, the chef challenges, and of course my hosting skills. I’ve been pretty OCD about it all, so a distraction is much appreciated.”
“I’d feel better if you let me pay you.”
“I don’t want you to pay me. And I certainly don’t need the money now that I have the show. I don’t want Jewel to pay me, either, when I do research for her acquisitions. A girl should have a hobby, Scarlet. And for me, it can’t be Christian and Rory. They have their own work to focus on.”
Scarlet said, “Yes, I can imagine it’d be difficult to not be twenty-four-seven all about two incredibly sexy men who are more than happy to do your bidding both in and out of the bedroom. I’d still be absurdly jealous if I wasn’t deliriously happy following multiple orgasms.”
“Understandable. I will say I’m surprised that you pulled an overnighter.”
“That would make two of us. I was prepared to put my clothes back on and get the hell out, but Michael was in no particular hurry to see me go.” She smiled again. “In fact … He has a very sweet side.”
“Didn’t see that one coming.”
“Nor did I.” Scarlet’s heart fluttered at this more sensitive Michael Vandenberg. It was as appealing as every mysterious aspect of him.
Bayli asked, “So what does that mean, exactly?”
Scarlet shrugged. “I suppose it means I have the hots for the guy. And he might be a little partial to me as well.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me in the least. He just needed to let you pickup his trail and catch up to him. Do you intend to see him again?”
“He said he’d call.” Scarlet is teeth sank into her lip for a moment. She said, “Single women all over the world are currently cringing right now, yes?”
“I don’t know. On the one hand, Rory told me he’d contact me after that disastrous first meeting with him. And he didn’t. On the other hand, Christian was right on it. So … There’s no telling.”
“Well, either way, I have to keep my attention on this case.” Though Scarlet felt, deep in her bones, Michael was not the answer to solving it.
“What else can I do for you so that I don’t go stir-crazy in this huge apartment while Rory is creating a new menu for the next restaurant Christian’s plotting in New Orleans?”
“New Orleans? Sweet!”
