Page 96 of Falling for the Boss's Son

“What—”

She shook her head and tilted her head, indicating he should follow her.

While he wanted to demand she tell him what was going on, curiosity got the better of him. There were too many eyes and ears around. He was willing to give her a little leeway.

Cassie led him into the stairwell and up the stairs to the sixth floor. He hadn’t been up there since he was a kid.

There was a single door with a sign marked maintenance. Cassie inserted a key into the lock and turned. The door opened and she stepped inside.

Jesse followed, wanting to know why she was being so cautious but willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. He knew what was up here for the most part. Besides all the ductwork and plumbing for the building, there were also a couple of rooms full of marketing materials that should have been thrown away years ago. He had no idea why his father insisted on keeping them.

Instead of going to the storage rooms, she took a left, following a large pipe. They’d gone about thirty feet before something caught his eye. He placed a hand on Cassie’s arm, halting her movement.

She looked back at him, then stepped to the side, allowing him an unobstructed view. Tucked in a corner in between several air ducts were some blankets. That’s what had caught his attention.

He turned to look at Cassie and he could tell she was as perplexed as he was. Why were there blankets laid out like a makeshift bed?

Needing to investigate, Jesse moved closer.

Jesse felt a hand on his arm. He met Cassie’s gaze. “Wait here.”

She stared at him wide-eyed.

He gave her hand a squeeze, then continued moving toward the blankets.

It took a little maneuvering around the equipment, but he got close enough to see the area in question. It wasn’t only blankets. It was a pillow, what looked like a pile of clothes, and what he assumed were toiletries. Someone was living up here.

CHAPTER 23

Neither of them said a word as they left the sixth floor. They made their way back to Cassie’s desk. Jesse went to her desk, got her purse, and ushered her toward the elevator. She wanted to question him, but his body language told her to keep her thoughts to herself for now.

They were the only ones in the elevator, but still, he remained quiet. Jesse hurried her into the passenger seat of his Mustang before taking his place in the driver’s seat. She was about to say something when he pulled out his phone and dialed, putting it on speaker while he backed out of his parking spot.

It rang twice before Craig answered. “Allen.”

Jesse got straight to the point. “Someone’s living on the sixth floor. Cassie and I were up there looking for files and discovered blankets, a pillow, and some clothes. We didn’t stick around to see if there was more.”

“Hold on.”

There was some noise in the background as they waited on the line. Jesse drove toward her mom’s while they waited.

She heard more noise through the phone, the sound of a door closing, then Craig came back on the line. “I’m putting you on speaker.”

“Jesse, what’s going on?” Blake Master’s asked.

“Cassie’s with me. I’m going to let her tell you, since she’s the one who stumbled upon it.” Jesse gave her a nod of encouragement.

She decided to jump in with both feet. “Remember I said I was going to look upstairs for the contract Jesse’s been looking for?”

He didn’t comment, so she continued.

“I haven’t been up there for a while, and I forgot how confusing it can be.” And creepy. She didn’t mention that, though. “I was coming out of the first storage room, on my way to the second when I thought I saw something, so I went to check it out.”

She hadn’t told Jesse how she’d found the sleeping area, so this was the first time he’d heard about it as well. “At first, I thought maybe some animals had gotten in there or something. Dragged some garbage in. But as I got closer, I realized it was a blanket.” She paused. “Then I saw the pillow and I decided I should get out of there.”

“Jesse, you saw this, too?”

“I did.” He paused. “I didn’t see anyone up there at the time, but there are a lot of hiding places. The person could have heard us and took cover.” Jesse took the exit off the highway, and she realized they were almost at her mom’s. “We didn’t stay long, but it looked as if whoever it is has been there for a while. They’ve been careful, though. Cassie was lucky to see the blanket. It’s tucked between two HVAC ducts.”

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