Page 118 of Second Chance for Mr. Alden

I strode out of my parents’ office, careful to leave it locked, and made sure both keys were in my pocket. The one Jareth had given me and the one I’d just found. Alden was halfway down the hall. He looked at me and then his watch. We were lucky if we had a minute to spare.

“Come on.” I walked quickly and parked myself at the secretary’s desk just as the elevator doors opened and she walked through.

“Oh, Jessamine.” She moved to sit behind her desk, fitting her purse in the bottom drawer. “I didn’t realize you were coming in today. Your parents aren’t available.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize that.” I gave her a fake, vapid smile. “I’ll be sure to stop by another time.”

She smiled at us, dismissing our appearance as she turned on her computer and answered the ringing phone.

James and I entered the elevator this time. Once the doors closed, he grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. “Fuck, Jess. Did you find anything?” His hands were everywhere, running up my arms, down my back, as though he was reassuring himself nothing had happened to me in the office.

I laughed. “Babe. I’m fine. We’re fine. I’m not sure, but I found a key to a safety deposit box. When we get to the car, we should call Jareth and see if he knows what bank it belongs to.”

For the first time I felt hopeful that we might beat my parents at their own game.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Alden

We sat in Jess’ car, her beloved, Dahlia, speaking to Jareth over video chat.

Jess held up the key one more time. “So you don’t recognize this safety deposit box key at all?”

“Jess, I’ve answered the same question at least five times. The same answer applies.” Jareth sounded perpetually bored with us.

It was safe to say the desire to punch him hadn’t diminished in the slightest. “Thanks for all your help, asshole,” I muttered, only slightly mollified by the view of the purple bruise on Jareth’s face from yesterday.

A smirk lifted the corners of Jareth’s mouth. “Trust me, Mr. Alden if I knew I’d tell you.”

Jess sat back in her seat, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “We can’t give up. I really feel like this means something.”

Jareth shrugged. “According to you, you have the world’s best hacker. Find out if the company has used any other banks besides this one.”

“Don’t be such a dick, Jareth. Of course we reached out to Gage to look into that. I guess we assumed you had insider knowledge and a bit of power. Silly us,” Jess taunted him.

Jareth’s lips thinned.

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