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Luka came in before he answered, glowering at me. “What the fuck? I’m not a dog you can just summon. What–”
“Julie’s missing.”
He came to an abrupt halt, looking between us. “What do you mean?”
Letting out a frustrated sound, I threw out my hands. “I mean, she’s not fucking here, and no one has even noticed. She wouldn’t pick up my calls all weekend, her assistant said she didn’t show up today, and she’s not fucking here!”
“Bennett, calm down,” Grayson demanded. “I’m sure she’s fine. She’s taken time off before. You don’t need to panic the first time she doesn’t show up.”
“Without calling in?” I raised my eyebrows significantly.
He frowned, pursing his lips. Luka came closer, his eyebrows drawn together. “Did she call in, Grayson?”
Pushing a button on his phone, he buzzed the assistant. She answered right away, a tremor in her voice. “Y-Yes, Mr Andrews?”
“Did Julie call in sick today?”
“N-No, sir. I haven’t heard anything from Miss Summers today. Did you want me to call her?”
“No, I’ll handle it. Thank you.”
While he hung up, I pulled out my phone, putting it on speaker while I dialed Julie. It went straight to voicemail, just like it had all weekend. Luka tried next, then Grayson, but nothing happened.
“It’s been like that all weekend,” I ground out. “Did neither of you notice?”
They both looked guilty, and they refused to look at me. Neither of them had tried to call her. Growling, I stepped closer, my gaze zeroing in on Grayson.
“What the hell happened? She looked really upset at the gala and she left early. What did you say to her?”
Luka jerked to face me, confused. “Wait. What?”
I shook my head. “She looked upset before she talked to us. You didn’t notice. Grayson, what happened?”
Grayson rubbed the back of his neck, frowning down at his phone. “I don’t…”
His phone buzzed again, and he sighed heavily, pressing the button to answer. “Yes, Miss Young?”
Her voice was quieter than normal, barely speaking above a whisper. “I, uh… I have a letter here from Miss Summers.”
My frown deepened to the point where Grayson wasn’t the only one who was getting a headache. “What kind of letter?”
“It’s… It’s a letter of resignation. I… I got a call from the front desk. Apparently, she dropped it off not that long ago.”
My stomach dropped, and I lunged for the door, ripping it open. The assistant jumped when I stepped out, but she flashed me an apologetic smile when she handed it to me.
“I figured since Mr Andrews was asking about her, I should tell him right away.”
I took the envelope from her, staring at it while I stepped back into the office. The front had her handwriting on it. I commented on it before. She wrote almost like a calligrapher sometimes, the writing all loopy and pretty.
“Open it,” Luka demanded. He was standing next to me, staring at the letter in my hand.
Ripping it open, I pulled out the contents. There was a formal letter of resignation on top, but underneath there was a note and when I read it, I had to sit down.
“What’s it say?”
I swallowed hard. “It says she feels like it’s best for the company that she leaves. That she has been a burden and an embarrassment, and that she’s not what the company needs. She said she’s grateful for the opportunity and she–” My voice cut out around the lump in my throat and I had to clear it to start again. “She’s glad she found a replacement before she left, and she hopes we forgive her for leaving without warning, but she feels it’s for the best to avoid further missteps on her part.” I shook my head, rubbing at the ache in my chest. “What does she mean by that? What embarrassment? What misstep?”
They both had been quiet while I read, but when I looked up, Grayson looked horrified. His eyes darted back and forth before he shoved to his feet.
