Page 103 of Scarlett and the Big Bad Billionaire
“This is for you.”
Holding up my palms, I shook my head. “No. You don’t have to give me any money. That’s not what I came here for. Helping you with the estate stuff was my pleasure.”
She smiled and extended the envelope to me again. “It’s not a check. Just a little light reading for the airplane ride home. Don’t open it till you board, okay?”
* * *
For the sixth time in the past hour, I checked the clock on the wall in front of my desk.
The minutes dragged like a banana slug crawling through tar. I’d been home for almost a week, but it seemed more like six weeks, and my workdays at Mixitall felt about twice as long as they used to.
Admittedly, without Bryce here, work was alittlemore tolerable, but I kept thinking about my cookie business and what Vivi and Gray had said about following my heart.
My heart was definitely not in this job or even here in Anoka. It was back in Rhode Island. With Gray.
And when I’d opened Vivi’s envelope on the plane, suddenly anything—and everything—had become possible.
It was mind-boggling. And scary. And exciting.
Andscary.
“You okay kiddo?” my stepdad David asked as he walked into my office. “You look about a million miles away.”
No, only 1400 miles, actually.
“I’m fine,” I said. “What’s up?”
“Listen, I ah… wanted to talk to you about the income and expenditures report for this month.”
He sat down in the chair in front of my desk and handed me a printout of the report I’d turned in to him earlier today.
Leafing through the pages, I immediately spotted what had concerned him. I’d made a major error.
“I am so sorry. I’ll fix it and get it back to you before I leave here tonight. I wish I could plead jetlag, but I’m not sure that works for a domestic flight that was six days ago. The truth is… I’ve been a little distracted since I got home.”
He chuckled, wearing a sympathetic smile. “You don’t say. That isn’t the only reason I stopped by. Your mom and I want to take you out to lunch.”
“Oh. Okay sure. Let me finish up this one thing, and I’ll be ready to go.”
As we walked past the receptionist’s desk on our way out, Regina stood and called out to me. “Scarlett—there’s a delivery for you.”
She waggled her eyebrows and lifted an arrangement of poppies to the raised counter in front of her desk. They were stunning—bright citrus-colored blooms interspersed with some bougainvillea and eucalyptus. I walked over to her, feeling like my legs were made of noodles.
“Somebody sure likesyou,” Regina said.
“Who are they from, sweetheart?” Mom asked.
I didn’t even have to check the card. I already knew. Only Gray would send these to me.
Only he would remember a single conversation during which we discussed my favorite flower.
With trembling fingers, I picked up the envelope that came with the flowers. It was sealed with a strange bulge in the middle. I opened it, reaching inside.
There was a note and… something else.
A rubber ear.
My mom recoiled and made an expression of disgust. “What on Earth?”
