Page 36 of Vacation Friends

She grabbed a plate before getting behind Darla in line.

When the woman glanced back at her, Maddie plastered on a smile. “Aloha. Darla, right?”

The woman was tall with impossibly long legs, dark hair styled in a pixie cut that totally worked for her heart-shaped face, and dark-rimmed glasses that made her look both sexy and smart. Actress: Natalie Portman.

Darla looked her up and down before saying, “You’re Josh’s fiancée.”

“I am.” Maddie took a spoonful of scrambled eggs and put them on her plate. “Are you enjoying yourself here so far?”

“Who wouldn’t at a place like this?” She paused near some salmon, and her gaze swept the room with an arrogant smirk that made Maddie feel as if her question was stupid.

“I agree.”

They continued down the line, and Maddie spotted some fried rice with kimchi. Was this a Hawaiian thing? It looked interesting.

Maddie hesitated before venturing with, “I’m really sorry to hear about Jared. I heard you worked with him.”

“Don’t you mean he worked with me?” Darla cut her a look, her eyes a little narrower than before. “It’s all such a shame. He was bright and full of potential.”

“Was it like him to go out so early to the beach?”

Darla sighed. “How would I know? I only knew him on a professional level. I have no idea what he did in his personal time.”

There it was again. That snobbishness. That hierarchy of importance where people in leadership were at the top and everyone else was well below them—and not as worthy.

Maddie could hardly stand it.

“Something must have been going on with him last night,” Darla continued, spooning some fruit on her plate. “He sent me a bunch of emails that didn’t make any sense.”

Her breath hitched. “What kind of emails?”

She pursed her lips as if annoyed by the fact that Maddie kept talking. “Like I said, ones that didn’t make sense. Maybe Jared was drunk or something. All I know is what he wrote wasn’t coherent.”

What if those emails had something to do with his death? Had Darla told the detective this?

Even more, did those emails have anything to do with the message Jared had sent Maddie? The reason he’d wanted to meet her on the beach?

She was about to ask more questions when a hand squeezed her side.

She turned to see Josh behind her, a fresh plate of fruit in his hand.

“I was wondering if you’d come down yet.” He displayed a wide but shallow grin.

Maddie raised her plate, which only had eggs and kimchi fried rice on it. “Just got here.”

“The food looks delicious.” He turned to Darla, his expression tightening. “Good morning, Ms. Bowman.”

Darla plastered on a fake smile. “Good morning to you also, Mr. Harding.”

It was hard to ignore the awkwardness pulling taut between them. Was it always like this for these two? Even at the office?

Either way, it looked like this conversation was done for now.

She wished she had a way of finding out more about those emails. But there wasn’t—not without sounding suspicious, at least.

The truth was that Darla didn’t care enough about those who worked for her to find out anything about them outside of work.

As Josh led her to a table, Maddie tried to let those thoughts drift out of her mind.

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