Chapter 8
774 Words
8
“This place is nice,” I say when Jake comes downstairs to meet me in the lobby of the inn. It’s night now, chilly outside, and I’m wearing one of Daniel’s coats since I didn’t seem to pack one of my own. It’s too big on me, but Sarah’s and Francie’s were too small. I’m sure they’d fit the real me, but Halli’s back and shoulders are broader. Plus Daniel’s coat has the advantage of having a collar that smells like him.
“Yes, it’s very nice here,” Jake agrees, smiling at the lady behind the front desk. As he leads me into the sitting area in the next room, he murmurs, “If you like flowers. Thousands and thousands of flowers.”
The inn is pretty flowery. Not only the many vases full of fresh cuttings resting on every available flat surface, but also the tiny blue flowers on all the upholstered furniture. It looks like the kind of place where somebody’s grandmother might live. I think it looks sweet.
“Come on, it’s better than the last place,” I point out. I was staying in Halli’s parents’ London flat, in what was obviously their special Rose Room. Roses everywhere: on the furniture, the dishes, the curtains, the bedspreads, the tablecloths, even fresh roses crowded into the bathtub. A little rose goes a long way. Someone should tell them.
“Other than the yippy dogs, I thought it was good,” Jake says.
“What yippy dogs?”
“Henry and Wallace?” Jake suddenly looks around. “You didn’t bring Red.”
“No, he’s in the entryway with Sarah.” I enlisted her to walk over with me so she could watch the dog. I didn’t want to leave him at their house, just in case he might have another bout of separation anxiety and decide he needed to destroy everything in sight. And I didn’t want to bring him inside the inn with me, then have to shout to Jake from a safe distance away while Red growled in disapproval.
“Thank you,” Jake says. “I appreciate it. So … you’re probably going to want to do this upstairs.”
“Do what?”
He gestures toward the tablet in his hand. “She wants to talk to you.”
I feel like growling in disapproval myself. She can only be Halli’s mother.
My real mother always hates it when I say I hate someone, so let’s just say I strongly, strongly, strongly dislike Halli’s mother. She’s a cold, mean, bossy woman. She and my own mother might look a lot alike, but the two of them are totally different. I used to think Halli was always so rude for how she treated her mother during their comm calls, but once I spent a little time with the woman myself, I understood completely.
“Do we know the topic?” I ask, not even bothering to cover up how annoyed I am.
“Our meeting today with Mr. Chilton.” Jake says. “Apparently you were too ‘inquisitive.’”
I can feel my blood starting to simmer. “Aren’t I supposed to be asking questions? Isn’t that what I came here for? Ginny left me forty-nine percent of this company. I’m almost half owner. I’d like to know what it is we do.”
“Whoa,” Jake says with a light chuckle, holding up his hand in surrender. “I’m just the messenger here.”
I take a breath and try to calm down. I’m surprised I’m so worked up anyway. This isn’t my company or my 49 percent. Coming to London to tour the headquarters here was just an excuse I cooked up last time so I could find Daniel and get his help trying to solve the mystery of what happened to Halli and me.
“I’m sorry,” I say, blowing out a breath. “You’re right.”
“Look,” Jake says, “you know they don’t like this—any part of it. They’ve been doing whatever they wanted to for the past seventeen years. Your grandmother never really interfered. And now you’re here asking one of their employees about chemical processes and technical specs—of course it’s going to make them nervous.”
I study his face for a moment. Who is he? Whose side is he on? I remember thinking those same things when I first met him.
And I’m still wondering.
Last time, he gave me a lot of inside information. Things I’m sure Halli never knew. Things about her parents, her grandmother, the company—and also plenty of inside information about Jake’s feelings for Halli. He’d been waiting for her for a long time. And then I showed up, and one thing led to another …
Anyway. Different life now, different situation.
But if he still wants to help the girl he thinks is Halli, why wouldn’t I take advantage of that?
“I don’t want to talk to my mother,” I say. “Just tell her you delivered the message and I promised to settle down.”
Way down. I’m not interested in their company at all this time. I won’t be bothering Mr. Chilton ever again.
“I would,” Jake says, “but I can’t. You and I never had this conversation. I’m just here to shadow you, Miss Markham.”
“And report back to them?”
“Theoretically,” Jake says.
We both look at each other for a moment while I take that in.
“Fine,” I say with a groan. “You win. Take me to my doom.”
- Writer
