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CHAPTER 53
LEO
Leo looked over the email the police had sent regarding the theft that night two weeks ago. The police had recovered the tools, and the case was now closed. It had also been two weeks since he last saw Cassandra. He’d survived by staying busy at the construction site, sometimes working alongside the crew because he had to keep his hands busy and work himself into exhaustion.
“Go home, Leo,” Ben barked across the trailer office they had on the Rose Village site. “You’ve been here for days.”
He ignored him. A lecture was coming, and he wanted no part of it.
Footsteps drew close. “Did you hear me?”
“Yeah, I heard you.” Leo took a gulp of cold black coffee.
“Go home. Now. Or else I’m going to call social services to come and collect a man who’s slowly killing himself.”
“Fuck off.”
“No, I won’t.” Ben perched himself on Leo’s desk. “You’ve been here before dawn every day working on your computer. You work all day with the crew, and at night you’re back on the computer.”
Leo blew out a huge breath, rolled his chair away from his desk, and looked at his friend. It was Friday night, and everyone else had left for the weekend.
“You look like shit, Leo. The board meeting is on Monday. Go home. Get some sleep. You need to be on top of your game.”
“All right. Stop nagging me.” He got to his feet and grabbed his jacket. He would go home, but he wasn’t likely to get any sleep.
“Any word from Cassandra?” Ben asked, his tone hopeful.
“No.” Leo hated he had no other details to offer. He’d wanted to reach out to her, but he promised he wouldn’t. As soon as the board meeting was over, he would get on the first flight to Crete and tell Cassandra everything. The decision to take him back was totally up to her. He’d never felt so vulnerable, but she was worth the risk.
Ben gave him a sympathetic smile. “She’ll come back. I’m sure of it.”
“I hope you’re right,” Leo said, putting his jacket on.
“I am right,” Ben said, slapping Leo on the shoulder. “You’ll see.”
“Thanks, Ben.” He turned for the door.
Leo entered his apartment and tossed his keys on the entry table. They slid across the wood surface, hitting the floor. “Shit.”
He walked over to pick up his keys, and something caught his eye. Cassandra’s engagement ring lay within the broken pieces of porcelain from the vase he threw against the wall the night she left. He’d never bothered to put it back in its box. The cleaning staff hadn’t been allowed inside his apartment since then. He’d downloaded the evidence the informer had sent to his home computer, so no cleaning staff in his apartment meant no security risks or anyone snooping around.
He picked up the ring and twirled it around his finger, remembering Cassandra’s joyful expression when she agreed to marry him. He missed her every second of every day she’d been gone. He placed the ring gently on the table.
The doorbell rang. He looked through the peephole. It was one of the hotel’s valets, holding a package.
He opened the door. “Hi, Colin.”
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Mr. Sutton, but the manager said you wanted to know when this package arrived.” He handed the box to Leo.
“Thank you.” He’d forgotten about the order he placed.
“Have a nice evening, Mr. Sutton.”
“Thanks.” Leo closed the door.
He poured a drink and took the package into the library. Throwing himself into a leather chair, he opened the box and lifted out the black, leather-bound book. The Princeton University emblem was displayed on the cover. He ran his fingers over Cassandra’s name. When he’d ordered a copy of her dissertation, he’d planned to read it and surprise her with everything he’d learned. But reading it now was the only thing he had to feel close to her again. He sipped his drink and turned to the first page.
A couple of hours later, he closed the book and rubbed his eyes. Now he understood more about Cassandra’s academic interests, but it didn’t bring him closer to being with her. In fact, with each passing day, it seemed as if she moved further out of his grasp.
His phone rang. It was Lucy Hamilton. The last time he’d heard from Lucy, she told him Cassandra wanted to be left alone. Was she calling now to tell him Cassandra never wanted to see him again?
“Hi, Lucy,” he said, holding his breath.
“Hi, Leo. How are you?” she asked in an upbeat voice.
“I’ve been busy at work but, well, I miss Cassandra. Have you talked to her?”
“We’ve texted a couple of times.” Lucy paused for a moment. “Listen, I have an idea but be honest with me if you aren’t interested.”
“Okay. What’s your idea?”
