Page 41 of A First Sight

Still in shock, I tried to keep my tone even and calm.

“That addresses my next concern. I no longer have an instrument.”

“What happened?”

“Dale destroyed my violin.” My voice cracked. So much for staying unemotional. “It’s beyond repair, which means I need to buy a new one before I can play, anyway.”

“Maggie, I’m so sorry. I know what it meant to you.” The sympathy in Nehemiah’s voice and face was mixed with an anger I’d never seen from him before. “I hope you also filed charges for destruction of property. The cost of the instrument alone will bolster your case against him, and it’ll give you a civil route to take if criminal charges don’t work.”

My surprise must’ve shown on my face, because he gave me a faint smile.

“I worked as a paralegal for several years when I was younger.” He came closer and put a hand on my shoulder. “My hands are tied as to how much I can do, but I encourage you to pursue legal action.”

Tears burned in my eyes as his words sunk in. He was on my side. This would not be some simple fix, but knowing I had my boss, my family—and Drake—made me more confident that I could get through this and have my life back.

No. Screw that.

Have abetterlife.

“I hope you know you have supporters here,” he continued. “And we will all do whatever we can to help you.”

I threw my arms around him and gave him a tight but brief hug. His eyes were suspiciously bright when he stepped back, and that made me want to hug him all over again.

“Thank you.” I barely got the whisper out past the lump in my throat.

People would arrive soon, and I told Nehemiah I’d be in touch before I headed out to find a cab.

Now that I didn’t have rehearsal, I didn’t have anywhere specific to go. I could see Carson at work, but the last thing my brother needed was his sister hanging around with nothing to do. And the last thing I needed was to feel like I had a babysitter. I wasn’t ready to go back home to get my things yet either, so I gave the driver the only address I could think of.

Drake’s.

It wasn’t until I was in the lobby of his building that I realized I didn’t have a key. Drake, however, had taken care of it. As soon as the security guard saw me, he told me that Drake requested I be escorted to the penthouse and let in. We took the elevator, but my phone rang just as the guard unlocked the door for me.

Da.

Thanking the guard, I went inside, steeling myself for what was to come. Obviously, Carson had called our parents.

While I appreciated their concern and love, I knew I was in for a long day. At least I had Drake’s presence later to look forward to. I held on to that thought as my parents’ worries washed over me.

THIRTY-THREE

DRAKE

I hated leavingMaggie at home while I came into work, but I couldn’t justify taking off two days in a row. It wasn’t as if Maggie needed me to be there, anyway. I would’ve considered it if she had asked, but she didn’t.

Granted, I didn’t allow her to ask, but after last night, I wasn’t sure I could trust myself around her.

At least, those were the things I told myself for the past several hours, the reasons and excuses I made for why coming in early to work was the most responsible decision to make.

However, I’d been staring at the same spreadsheet for forty-five minutes and couldn’t make heads or tails of it. It should have been simple, but my brain didn’t want to work.

Mel’s knock at my door brought with it a rush of relief that I had a reason to take a break.

“Mr. Mac Gilleain would like to see you.” The concern on his face had been there when I first arrived, but I saw a new depth of worry in my assistant’s eyes.

“Thank you.” I stood with a groan. I had been sitting in the same position for too long. Before Mel could leave, I added, “I appreciate you handling things yesterday.”

He smiled, chasing away some of those shadows. “Of course, sir. Anything I can do to help.”

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