Page 108 of The Protégé

He gestured to Orion. “Been watching over that kid since his mom died. He hardly takes a vacation, so I didn’t either. But he just threatened to fire me if I don’t do it now. I guess it makes sense to take it, right?”

“Gotta listen to that man. He pays you, and he runs the world,” I teased.

His eyes beamed. “You have no idea, Elena. He’s truly one of a kind. If I had to pick one person to run the world, it would be him.”

“Maybe that’s why his anxiety is insurmountable.” I glanced over at his office.

Ralph looked at me. “But he has you. I’ve never seen him happier than he is when he’s with you.”

Joy surged in me, and curiosity rose to the surface. “He told me about Kate. Did you know her?”

His expression softened. “Yes, I did. She was a sweet girl.” Then he changed the subject. “I need your opinion on something.”

“What is it?”

He showed me two images on his phone. A rose bouquet and onewith a variety of flowers. “Which do you like?”

“Who’s this for?”

“Evelyn, the woman I love. She’s been mad at me for a while.”

“Why?” I asked. “What did you do?”

“I work too much. I haven’t told her I love her. She wants to settle down.” He shrugged. “You know, all the things that a woman wants from a man.”

I smiled and studied him. Ralph appeared to be at retiring age. “Why don’t you settle down? Life is short.”

“Thinking about it. Orion seems happy now, so that’s a possibility.”

“I suggest you choose both bouquets. Send her the rose bouquet with a message that saysI love you. Then the other bouquet can say something like,I want our life to bloom like these flowers. Give me time.”

His eyes lit up. “Excellent idea. I knew you’d be able to help me.”

“The bouquets will make her happy and buy you some more time to decide. Orion will be fine. You can retire and help him on a case-by-case basis. You should discuss it with him.”

Ralph rose from the chair, beaming. “Thank you, Elena. I have a lot to think about. Do you mind if I ask you for more bouquet questions later?”

“Anytime.”

When he left, I returned my attention to The Condor’s murder. My phone rang, and I picked it up.

“Hi, Mona. How are you?”

“Elena, I just remembered something. I forgot about it until a man came into the shop earlier today.”

“Who came in?”

“A man who sells life insurance policies. I remembered seeing Pablo meeting him here in the shop.”

How was Samuel Donatello connected to The Condor? Pablo didn’t need life insurance from Sam’s financial firm. It had to be something else. But what?

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

ORION

“Thanks, AJ,”I said to my team leader, who had worked on my special projects team for several years. “Excellent work. Please let the team know I appreciate their efficiency.”

“Do you need anything else? If not, I’ll return to AI software development for SIGMA.”

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