Page 33 of Sweeter Than Honey
“Don’t you have insurance on the business?”
“What?” She dragged herself away from the pitiful mental rundown. “Of course, but that’s not the same thing. Insurance can’t replace years of hard work.”
Jett moved to the table, bringing the scent of sunshine and fresh air with him. His jeans were dirty, and his tee shirt clung to his chest. He sat and gave her a gentle look.
“It’s not safe. They probably have a scout watching your home and business just waiting for you to show up.” His hands slid toward hers until his fingertips traced the back of her hand. “You can’t take that kind of a risk.”
Damn it, no. She was about to protest when he put up a hand.
“You can’t. But I can. Or one of the pack.”
The words should have brought relief, but they didn’t. She didn’t want strangers going through her things. She wanted her things. She wanted to go home. Her cell rang with an incoming call from Olive.
Jett rose from the table and went back outside as she answered. “Hey, everything all right?”
“Mmm-hmmm. The police just left.” Olive sounded a bit rattled. “How are you? Enjoying your vacation?”
Vacation. Right. “I’m fine. Listen, there’s been a development and I’m going to be gone for an indefinite amount of time.”
Olive’s quick intake of breath stopped Cara’s flow of words.
“Oh no. Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Good, good. Are you still in Estes Park?”
Shit. Cara pressed a hand to her forehead. She’d mentioned to Olive where she was headed when she originally planned what was supposed to be a relaxing getaway. Did it matter if Olive knew where she was?
“Sort of. Listen, I’ve decided to close up the store and put the website on vacation until I can get a few more things sorted out.”
There was a full, inflated pause. Cara’s brain had snapped to that decision and her gut said it was the right one.
“What should I do in the meantime? I hate to say it, but I really depend on my paycheck.”
“Of course. I’ll have you managing admin duties for me, which you can do from home. Our designers are still manufacturing pieces for the next line, so oversight on that needs to continue. And of course, the layout of the next magazine, and all our advertising campaigns need to continue. I will speak to everyone on our team and create a task list for you, so you know what’s expected. If you like, you can go to my place and do some caretaker activities, too. I’ll pay you extra for that. You can agree to it, or we can negotiate. Sound okay?”
She was really winging it here, but as she spoke the plan out loud, it felt right.
“Ah, yeah. That sounds good. I’ll go to your place, too.”
“Finish out the workday today. Please take all inventory from the cases and put them in the safe. And I’ll be in touch later today with more information and the code to my house.”
“Okay. Say, is this a new phone number for you?”
“Yes. I—” Shit. “Broke my phone and could only get a cheap model. Didn’t want to have to change my number again when I get the correct phone when I get home. This is a temporary number.”
Lame. So, lame. She was a terrible liar.
“That sucks.”
“Let me know when you’ve buttoned up for tonight, okay?”
“Will do.”
Olive hung up and Cara stared at the phone for a moment with a bad taste in her mouth. Her assistant was normally so bubbly and over-talkative that Cara could barely stand it. Having the police come by should have tossed her into hyper excited mode, but instead, Olive was unusually subdued. Was it the news that the store was closing for a while or was something else going on?
She really should have paid more attention to Olive on a personal level. She’d been Cara’s assistant for two years, but Cara hardly knew anything about her outside of the office. Maybe the young woman had something going on at home that had dimmed her natural energy.
