Page 70 of Maverick Mogul

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Dash has Annika’s number.Of course he does. But she doesn’t pick up, so I leave a message, and go pick up Grace.

“You can’t reach her?” she asks, looking anxious. “How do we know she’ll help?”

“She will,” I say, sounding more confident than I feel. “We can drive to the warehouse and hope that Annika calls me back.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“We can drop her name and sweet-talk someone there into helping us out,” I reply, and Grace huffs a laugh.

“I forgot, you have that whole charm thing going on.”

“And it’s at your disposal,” I grin.

“Let’s just hope it’s enough,” she says, looking anxious.

The screen in my car announces an incoming call: Annika H.

“Yes!” I shout, jabbing the Accept button with one finger. “Annika, hi. Thanks for returning my call.”

“What a request!” she says, delightedly. As you might expect as someone championing the secondhand industry, she loves a good story. “Let me guess: You’re wooing a lady.”

I cough, avoiding Grace’s expression. “Wooing a friend’s client, actually.”

“Okay. Well, come on by. “

“You’re a lifesaver, Annika,” I tell her. Grace claps her hands, like the excited energy has to burst out of her. “Thank you!”

“Don’t mention it,” she replies.

“I look forward to meeting yourfriend!”

I almost break the speed limit, getting us to the warehouse on time. We pile out of the car and race to the entrance, but Annika is waiting with a rueful look on her face.

Uh oh.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t find it,” she says, greeting us. “We reorganized the inventory last month, and it must have been misfiled.”

“Noooo…” Grace wails.

“But it’s in there somewhere, right?” I ask, refusing to admit defeat.

Annika nods.

“So, we’ll just have to find it ourselves,” I say, already striding past the main office to the warehouse beyond. “How hard could it be… ?”

The words die on my lips when I find myself staring at a football stadium-sized space, filled with racks of clothing, towering shelves, and boxes piled high in every direction.

Grace’s jaw drops. “It’s a needle in a haystack.”

“We call it The Pit of Doom,” Annika offers, apologetic. “There’s meant to be a system but… Systems fail.”

“It’s OK, Charlie,” Grace says with a sigh. “I’ll just have to tell Katherine I couldn’t do it. It’s not a big deal. It’s probably too soon to be thinking about taking on clients, anyway. I don’t really have a business, not yet.”

But it’s clear from her tone, it’s really not OK.

I feel a flash of determination. The hell.

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