Page 8 of Finding Love in the Clouds

Chapter Eight

“Sophie!” Fernando hollered.

“Y-e-s?” came her reply moments later when she stepped into his office.

“I need you to reach out to a Sarah Stoll. You’re a female, so it should be less threatening coming from you. Tell her that you work for me and I’m interested in meeting with her to discuss a collaboration. Keep it nice and casual. If she asks how we found her, be vague but say through a family friend. I need this done ASAP, so prioritize this over everything else.”

“Andy, does this have something to do with Marie Lautner? You mentioned back in January that you wanted to do a collaboration with her. Did you find out who she really was?” Sophie asked, feeling uncomfortable with the vibes he was putting out.

“Yes. Don’t ask any more questions, and keep this between us. Arrange whatever meeting she wants. Just get this done. You can go now,” Fernando stated, returning to his work.

Stunned at his calm dismissal, Sophie turned on her heel and went to find contact information for a Sarah Stoll. The name was unique enough that she imagined it wouldn’t be hard to find. She was wrong. She couldn’t find her on the internetanywhere.

Weighing her options, she picked up the phone and dialed the private investigator on retainer with the company. “Caleb, hi, this is Sophie. I know you’re busy, but Mr. Santos asked me to reach out to Sarah Stoll, but I can’t find her contact information anywhere. Do you think you could use your contacts and hunt down her information for me? Yes, the sooner, the better. Thank you. I appreciate the help.”

She didn’t know why, but this whole thing made her very uncomfortable. Part of her hoped Caleb didn’t find the contact information either.

Three weeks later, she received an email from Caleb that stated Sarah Stoll lived with her husband, Eric, in Hickory Falls, Massachusetts. An address and cell phone number were included along with a short note that read,

Sophie,

This information was difficult to obtain. Someone went to great lengths to keep her hidden. My computer has since been hacked. It has been to the cleaner, and this correspondence should be clear of tags. Use this information with caution.

C.

Sophie stared at the computer screen for several minutes before picking up the phone and placing the call.

“Hello,” a confident female voice answered after two rings.

“Hello, Sarah. My name is Sophie. I work with Mr. Santos at FK Media Group. You may know him as Fernando Knight, the author who keeps grabbing at your coattails on the best-seller lists.”

“Ah, yes. Mr. Knight. What can I do for you, Sophie?” Sarah asked from her end of the phone, capturing the attention of her husband, who was sitting beside her.

“Mr. Santos would like to meet with you to discuss a possible collaboration. Time and place are entirely up to you.”

“A collaboration? On a book?” Sarah asked, a little dumbstruck by this turn of events. Fernando Knight was one of the most famous mystery writers on the market, and he wanted to collaborate with her. Yeah, he had been off his game the last year, and she had risen to the top, but who knew how long that would last.

“I honestly am not privy to all the details. My job as his assistant was to reach out and set up a meeting,” Sophie answered honestly.

“Well, I’m going to have to think about this and talk to my husband. Sophie, do you mind sharing with me how you got my personal number? These conversations are usually handled by my publicist and legal team,” Sarah asked suspiciously.

“Mr. Santos said to tell you from a family friend. I assure you this is all above board. My phone number should have popped up on your caller ID, but I’m more than willing to give you my contact information. If you call this number, it will send you directly to me, not the company operator. I am the immediate assistant for Mr. Santos.”

“Okay. Thank you for the offer. Have a wonderful day,” Sarah said before disconnecting the call, without indicating whether she was interested in the meeting or not.

Feeling very uncomfortable with the events of the past few moments, Sophie decided to address the situation with Fernando immediately.

Knocking on the solid wood door separating their office, Sophie waited until she heard, “Come in,” before entering Fernando’s office.

“Got a minute?” she asked, standing before his massive wooden desk covered in papers.

“What do you need, Sophie?” he asked, not looking up from what he was typing.

“Did something happen over the holidays?” she asked, genuinely concerned.

That got his attention. His fingers paused over the keys, and his dark brown eyes met her stormy gray ones.

“No. Why do you ask?” His brows knitted together in confusion.

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