Page 62 of A Very Titan Christmas
It took longer for the kids to settle than Rachel had expected. Still, Mrs. Claus was unfazed and patiently waited until every child was comfortable and had their teddy bears where they wanted them. Then she held upThe Night Before Christmas. The room filled with oohs and aahs.
After she took another photo, Rachel moved to a corner table near the toy train set that ran circles around a miniature snow village. She kept Bryce and Roman in her line of sight. Something was absolutely going on, and she was going to find out what it was.
They lingered against the wall and swept their gazes continuously from the front door to the back exit while maintaining a deep conversation. She crept over to them. “Hi.”
Roman raised his chin.
“Hey, Rach.” He didn’t mask tension well. “What’s up?”
“Is something wrong?”
She got a quick “nope” from both tight-lipped men, who were lying to her face.
She felt eyes watching her and glanced over her shoulder.
Her mom and her friend.
Of course. Eloise bounced her eyebrows up and down as if a series of ridiculous faces might propel Rachel and Bryce into the back room, where he could get her knocked up with a grandchild.
Everyone in this room was lying to Rachel or wanting something from her, but Rachel just wanted to reread Kimberly’s text messages. At least that would make her feel good. There would be a better time to pester Bryce.
“Excuse me.” She slipped past the men.
Bryce turned to follow her down the back hallway.
“I don’t need an escort to the bathroom.” She knew that Titan Group posted people in front of the store and probably in the back alley. She gave Bryce a quick kiss. “Be right back.”
The back hallway smelled of cardboard boxes. The overhead fluorescent light flickered. She dipped around the corner, past the bathrooms, and stepped into the back office to reread Kimberly’s text a hundred times without interruption.
Rachel pulled out her phone and sat on an old, worn chair that creaked as she slid it away from the untidy desk covered with empty candy cane boxes. As she swiped the screen open, she heard low, serious voices filtering through the paper-thin partition that divided the office from the rear exit.
She ignored them—but only for a moment. Something prickled under her skin, and she leaned into the conversation.
“…if Boss Man finds out…”
Who was Boss Man? She could make out only bits and pieces of their conversation.
“…my money’s on their inner circle… Gag orders…”
They were betting? And what was the gag order about? Rachel slipped her phone back into her bag and inched closer to the partition, certain the voices belonged to Cash and Jax. Perhaps this was why Bryce and Roman looked so serious.
“…Rachel and Mrs. Porter…”
Her pulse hammered. She’d been mentioned in the hushed conversation. It absolutely had to be a version of the conversation she’d witnessed Bryce and Roman having. Rachel padded as quietly as she could to the partition and pressed her ear against it to eavesdrop.
“I don’t know, man. Accidental or not, it doesn’t matter. We have a problem if they can’t hush this up.”
She stepped back, and her elbow bumped into a metal shelf. The resulting metallic clatter made her cringe. She froze. The men’s conversation went silent. Footsteps approached. Cash and Jax appeared at the office doorway.
“Hi,” she said sheepishly. There was no reason for her to be this close to the partition other than to eavesdrop on them.
“Hey, yourself,” Cash said from under a cowboy hat that couldn’t have been more out of place. “Need something?”
She crossed her arms. She could pretend to be doing some volunteer task—and look like a complete liar—or she could demand answers. “Is there a problem with the summit?”
“That’s not something we can discuss,” Jax said.
“Give me a break. I’m not a kid.”
