Page 42 of Misdirection

Olive had promised Ryan she wouldn’t tell anyone about their meeting. But maybe shecoulduse Jason’s help. She just needed to play her cards right.

“Truthfully, I was supposed to meet someone here, and he didn’t show.”

He squinted. “Who were you meeting?”

“Ryan Jones.” The best lies also contained tidbits of the truth. That way it was easier to keep your facts straight and remember everything you’d said. Olive had perfected the art of it.

“About what?”

“He has some concerns about the company,” Olive admitted. “He wanted to talk to me privately. Are you happy now?”

“I don’t know.” His eyes remained narrowed. “Where is Ryan now?”

She glanced around. At the bus stop. At the people strolling across the sidewalk. At the cars as they zoomed by. “That’s myquestion exactly. He’s late. I need to find him and make sure he’s okay.”

“You don’t think that’s an overreaction? Maybe he just was asked to stay late at work.”

“Considering what happened to Beau yesterday, I don’t think I should take any chances.”

“Wait a minute.” Jason stepped back and shook his head. “Your job is to keep everyone accountable for their actions at work on an intellectual level. My job is to keep people at the company safe from physical harm. Why do I feel like you’re trying to do a little bit of both?”

That was an excellent question.

Now it was time for her to plead her case. “Jason?—”

“It’s not safe for you to go around trying to play hero, Ollie,” Jason interrupted. “I’m trained for what I do, but you’re not. You need to leave the investigating to the professionals. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Olive wanted to roll her eyes. But she didn’t. In normal circumstances, his words would make sense.

However, he didn’t know what she knew. He didn’t know that she was trained for this—and hecouldn’tknow that.

“Checking on someone who didn’t show up for a meeting isn’t trying to be a hero,” she explained. “It’s just being a kind, considerate human. You should try it sometime.”

This time Jason let out the dry chuckle. “Oh, is that the way you see it?”

She popped a hip out. “Look, I get that you have a grudge against me. But I had no idea what my father did, and the fact you’re holding that against me isn’t fair. I can apologize for my father all I want. But the truth is, I had nothing to do with his actions. If he were still alive right now, I’d confront him about it. But he’s not.”

Jason’s gaze softened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t ask for any details earlier.”

Her throat tightened until it ached. “It’s okay. It happened about a year after we moved from Texas.”

“I’m really sorry.”

She took a step back—literally and figuratively—before she got too emotional. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to go check on Ryan.”

Before he could argue, she turned and walked away. Her departure came just in time because tears tried to press at her eyes.

“Are you going back to the office?” Jason called.

Olive paused, sucked in her tears, and then slowly turned to look at him. That wasn’t what she’d expected him to ask.

“No. I’ve tried calling him there. He didn’t answer.”

“So where are you going?”

“To his house,” Olive told him.

“Let me come with you.”

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