Page 55 of The Billionaire's Marriage Dare

“There’s the conference room on the second floor,” Matt in the checkered shirt told her eagerly. “No one uses it.”

“Great.” She nodded at Matt. “I’ll leave it to you and your group to make sure the conference room is presentable. Make sure the sound system and the projector works, and prepare some refreshments. Reporters are always nicer when they’re well-fed and you’ve got free-flowing wine.” She turned to Rosie with the pigtails, saying, “You and your group will be responsible for issuing official invitations to the press. And finally—-” Jane gestured to bubblegum-snapping Minnie. “You guys are in charge of creating the media kit, drafting the official statement, and gathering all pertinent facts and figures that we can use during the press con.”

Jane took a deep breath. “Can we finish this by tonight?”

Everyone grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

A flurry of activity followed as everyone got to work. Their enthusiasm was palpable, their reawakened vigor for work a pleasure to watch. Hours passed, and Jane made sure to order pizza, urging everyone to load up as they went into overtime.

A stray thought drifted into her mind.

What could Christian be doing now?

Would he be happy about what she was doing?

Would he no longer think they were wrong for each other?

Her heart squeezed. She missed him. She really missed him. And before she knew what she was doing, she already had her phone out and she was placing a call to Christian.

Jane heard one ring and then nothing. She frowned and tried to make another call, but the same thing happened. “Umm, guys?”

Christian’s P.R. staff glanced at her questioningly.

“When you say Christian is in lockdown, what exactly does that mean?”

“The lab’s off-limits,” Steven in the overalls said right away. “It’s got high-tech security, and with three sets of doors, no amount of knocking or shouting will make the people inside hear you.”

“What about cellphone signals? Do they jam it or something, so they don’t get interrupted?”

Minnie shook her head. “Calls get through. I used to date someone in I.T. and he still got my texts even when they were in lockdown that time.”

“I tried calling Christian,” Jane revealed reluctantly, “and I’m having a hard time contacting him.”

“Let me try.” Matt whipped his phone out and dialed his boss’ number then put the call on loudspeaker. Christian’s phone rang for several times before automatically diverting to voicemail.

“Oh.” Jane tried calling Christian again, but the same thing happened, with her call being dropped after a single ring. She lowered her phone with a frown. “Maybe something’s wrong with my phone?”

Matt volunteered to try calling her, and Jane’s iPhone started ringing right away.

“Maybe it’s because you guys have different networks,” Rosie suggested. “I’ve got the same network as Ms. Cooper’s. Let me try calling the boss.”

She clicked on loudspeaker after hitting the call button.

A moment later, and Christian’s phone started to ring.

Jane whitened.

Rosie quickly ended the call, stammering, “It must be a fluke.”

Everyone hastened to agree with her.

“It’s nothing to worry about, Ms. Cooper.” But Steven couldn’t look straight into her eyes as he spoke.

She couldn’t really blame him.

They might all work in P.R., but it didn’t mean they were completely tech-illiterate. They all knew when someone’s number had been blocked, and that was exactly what Christian Ravenhearst had done to her.

LOCKDOWN HAD OFFICIALLY ended, and Christian tiredly saw everyone out of the work lab. How many days had they been in here? Four? Five? He had completely lost track of time—-

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