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Turned out he was right all along.
The reception desk was empty. Thank God for small mercies. The fewer witnesses I had to this farce the better.
One foot in front of the other, Hollingsworth.
I’d been less apprehensive the first time I’d gone into a burning building.
A fresh wave of anger shot through me. Up to this point, my life had had meaning. Purpose.
In the blink of an eye, it had all been taken away.
Or had I allowed it to be stolen?
I hesitated.
I’d been so busy playing the blame game. My father. Captain.
Had I ever really been in control at all?
Was it always leading to this?
Could I have done something differently?
I didn’t know, and there was no time to figure any of those things out. Maybe they didn’t matter anyway.
If you do this, you get to keep Pepper.
No one had ever said that was a component of the deal. And that was a big assumption on my part. Besides, she wasn’t even mine to keep.
But there was something there. My father knew it better than I did. Which meant I’d eventually have to give her up too.Damn it.
I pushed the heavy door to my father’s office without knocking.
I opened my mouth to speak but quickly shut it.
Did I believe in signs? If I did, this would be a big one.
The office was empty.
Chapter Eleven
Pepper
“I’m sorry to bother you.”
I paced in the back room of Grey Paws with my phone pressed to my ear. A gaggle of dogs followed my every step. They’d been as restless as me all day. I’d tried to get control of my emotions, but they felt every ounce of my anxiety.
“Pepper, you never have to apologize for calling.” Vivian’s kind voice came through the speaker. “Although, you can’t get mad when I always answer with some version of the dogs are fine.”
She laughed, and I gave a half-hearted one in return.
“They aren’t causing any trouble, right?” I worried my bottom lip between my teeth.
“They’re inspiring new ideas. Ones we need to talk about soon.”
I wasn’t sure I liked her tone. The last time I heard it, I’d agreed to a fundraiser.
“I’m a little scared.”
