Page 19 of Eyes Like a Hurricane

Cody

Monday, June 12

My mood didn’t improve yesterday. I called James. He suggested we meet at our favorite wine bar downtown. While we sampled a new shipment of wine from Walla Walla, James helped me brainstorm ways I could find Aislinn.

I walk through the front door of my office and make my way straight to my assistant’s desk.

She is sitting on her exercise ball desk chair with her headset on her head, typing away. I’m not sure she even sees me approaching. Her brown bob is streaked through with gray and sits just above her shoulders. As she nods her head back and forth, it defies gravity as it remains unmoving. I plaster on my work smile and rap my knuckles on her desk to get her attention. “Carol,” I state abruptly.

She gasps, jerking her left hand to her chest, and her right hand throws her headphones off her ears. They lie askew across her neck as she looks at me with bulging eyes. Her overly bright pink lipstick is distracting as she chews on her lower lip.

With a weak voice, she says, “Mr. O’Connell, I, uh, didn’t see you walk through the door. What’s on the docket for today?I have a list of messages that came in over the weekend. Would you like me to bring them in with your coffee, or would you like them now?” Her hands shake as she moves some papers around on her desk.

I reach my hand out toward her. “Now is fine. I will take the Italian Roast today, black.”

She reaches a trembling hand toward me, full of little yellow sticky notes. I hate those damn stickies. I’m lucky if I can even read her handwriting. She refuses to adopt a digital system for sending me my messages. If she leaves me information that I either don’t see or don’t bother to read, she asks, “Didn’t you read my sticky?” I snatch them from her hand and begin flipping through them, but nothing urgent pops out at me.

I clear my throat before continuing, “I have an assignment for you to bird-dog. I want you to gather as much information as possible about Aislinn Braniff. She will be located in Montana, but I’m not sure where. Her parents owned an outdoor adventure company called Braniff Exploration. They died in a white-water rafting tour they were leading a few years ago. Check the obituaries online to see if it states her hometown. She has a brother named Kieran Braniff, who also lives in Montana. Lastly, go on to the Montana Secretary of State website to see if you can find her newly registered PLLC, then look on the Montana Department of Revenue website and see if you can find her business license.”

Carol frantically writes down notes as I resume, “Once you have the county of her business, I want you to log on to the Montana Assessor’s site and search for any recorded deeds on parcels of land under her name. Let me know when you have finished all of this. Your work for the firm takes precedence. I want hard copies printed and on my desk by the end of the week.”

She blinks at me through red-rimmed reading glasses like an overstuffed parrot. Abruptly dropping her head back down to her notes, she asks, “Uh, sir, isn’t Aislinn Braniff your girlfriend?”

As my level of anger increases, remembering how Aislinn thinks she can leave me, I try to calmly reply, “Yes, she is, but I need this information, and I would like this to stay between us for now. James and I are looking at buying an investment property there, that is all. I want it to be a surprise for her.”

“Can you please spell her first name for me, sir?” Carol asks hesitantly.

I sigh with annoyance. “It’s basically a fancy version of Ashley, spelled A-I-S-L-I-N-N.”

She looks at me skeptically but swallows and nods. Her eyes no longer make eye contact with me, and she continues to rearrange all the stacks of files on her desk. I return her nod and stride past her desk to my office. Shutting the door, I make my way over to my window overlooking Lake Washington.

A cruel smile plays on my lips as I think of Aislinn’s reaction when I show up in her new little town. Little does she know, I have plans of my own.

Chapter 20

Aislinn

My eyes flutter open to rays of sun peeking through my curtains. I reach out, and my fingers connect with soft fur. Gently tracing little hearts in Chloe’s fur, I languidly stretch my legs out. I flex my feet until I feel the slight stretch of my calf. The slight cramp in my leg tells me I may have overdone it a bit on the dance floor.

Hearing a drawn-out yawn, I look over to see Chloe roll onto her back. Her back legs flop out to each side, and her paws aimlessly reach toward the ceiling. She glances over at me but doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to move.

This week at the clinic, the plan is to get it cleaned, stocked, and ready for a July 1st start date. My staff plans to arrive around 9 a.m. so we can do our first official meet and greet and then see what needs to be taken care of first.

I slowly roll over and reach for my phone, which slips out of my hand. Without thinking, I throw myself out of bed in a poor attempt at catching it, landing on the floor in a heap of blankets. I look up and see that I have pulled the duvet with me. Chloe’s back end is hovering over the edge of the bed, right above my face. Please. Don't. Fall. I don't need forty pounds of fur landing on my face this early in the morning.

I slowly try to extract myself from the sheets without disturbing Chloe, but my back leg catches in the duvet as I attempt to stand, sending me sprawling on the floor. Luckily, Chloe reacts quicker than me and jumps off the duvet in time to land squarely in the center of the mattress, avoiding the same face-plant as me.

Chloe begins panting, but I swear it sounds like she is laughing at me. I shoot a glare over my shoulder and slowly crawl to freedom. Once I’m out of the bedding, I pick up the sheets to make my bed. I release a small whistle to get Chloe off the bed, and she jumps down. She begins a full-body stretch while I tuck the last corner under the mattress.

We make our way downstairs, and I turn right to head toward the kitchen. After placing the ingredients for my protein shake in the blender, I open the sliding back door. Chloe goes out and immediately begins sniffing. I’m sure lots of nocturnal animals crossed the yard overnight. I grab my protein shake off the blender and walk outside onto the porch.

I take in five deep breaths of fresh air. It’s a beautiful morning with crystal-clear skies. I can’t find a cloud in sight. The lake ahead of me is untouched. It sits smooth as glass, reflecting the vibrant sky like a mirror.

While I gaze across the lake, my watch buzzes that my phone has an incoming call. Reaching into my sweatpants pocket, I pull out my phone and see Leo’s name across the screen.

I push the answer button. “Morning, Leo! I survived my first night in the new house.”

Leo chuckles. “Morning, hun, I wasn’t too worried. I think your new town is low on the bad guy scale. How’d you sleep?”

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