Chapter Sixteen
Autumn
"Well that seemed like just the phone call you wanted at the end of the day," Darla said with a wide smile.
I laughed and leaned on her desk in the lobby of Knight Holdings. "Is it possible to want something that comes as a total surprise?" I asked.
"Definitely. Now I'm reading excitement all over your face, so I don't care if it’s just a hint but, please, please tell me what's going on with you two!" She leaned in from the other side of the desk and batted her eyelashes.
"Alright, fine. We all know you'll figure it out anyway." I shook my head and could not dislodge the smile on my face. "I've been invited on a surprise getaway. I have no idea where we're going, what I need to pack, or how long we're staying."
"No, no," Darla grabbed my hands and squeezed. "Don't do that. Don't start overthinking it. Stick with that initial excitement and let yourself enjoy it."
"I'm not overthinking it. I just wish he wouldn't be so heavy-handed. It’s all his decisions and no input from me." I stood up and straightened my shoulders.
"Ms. Bishop, Autumn. Listen to yourself!" Darla cried.
I threw my eyes up to the ceiling and sighed. "I'm overthinking it, aren't I?"
"Yes! Now go home and pack, and, for god’s sake, let yourself have some fun!"
I let Darla's peppy words of encouragement carry me all the way to the elevators and down to the main floor. Ayden had asked me on a weekend getaway. He did not mention anything about work and my heart soared at the thought of figuring out how else we connected. This was my chance to see how he really felt about me and decide if what I felt about him was real.
My good mood dipped when Alan caught up to me at the front doors. "Heading home, Ms. Bishop?"
"Yes, Alan. I suppose I'll see you there," I snarked.
He ignored me and held open the door. Somehow he beat my town car back to my condo and was waiting on the sidewalk when I walked up.
"I'll just be a minute, Alan. You can wait out here," I said.
"No, Ms. Bishop. You need to let me do my job. I'll do a quick sweep of your place first."
Since I had no idea what sort of climate or U. S. culture I was supposed to pack for, I threw a whole variety of outfits and coordinating layers into a suitcase. I was finished before Alan was done.
"You don't think Mr. King is an avid outdoorsman, do you?" I asked, as I surveyed my shoes.
"I wouldn't blame him if he was," Alan said. He stepped into the hallway to wait for me. "Was there some sort of altercation out here?"
I rolled my eyes, remembering the patched dry wall from where Ayden restrained himself from punching David. "Probably just a moving incident. I'm heading to Mr. King's house. He'll be there shortly, so I won't be needing you."
The mountainous personal security guard politely ignored me and, once again, he was waiting at my destination when I arrived.
"Do you have a teleport that I am unaware of?" I asked as I got out of the town car.
"Tactical driving, Ms. Bishop. A very valuable skill," Alan said. He stepped forward to take my suitcase, but I swatted his dinner plate sized hands away.
I hauled the suitcase up the front steps defiantly. The house was empty. "Mr. King is on his way now. I know you're partial to the deli a few miles up the road. Go grab yourself a sandwich, and I promise we won't leave before you get back. You can see us off at the airport yourself."
He frowned, but glanced towards the door. The town car driver leaned on the hood and waved. "He's driving you?"
"Unless we're late, and I ask you to take over," I said. "Go, Alan. I'll be fine and my driver is right there."
He finally agreed and I watched him fold himself into his sedan. It felt good to have a moment alone, but as soon as I reached the kitchen, I regretted my suggestion. The hairs on my arms stood up and I froze.
Something was off. It was strange for the house to be empty. There was always staff of some sort around, but no one was there. The problem was it felt as if someone had just slipped out of the kitchen. I narrowed my eyes and dodged into the mudroom. Jace's golf clubs still stood by the back door, and I grabbed a four iron. I knew the house better than even the architect, and there was no way I was going to cower in a corner until Ayden arrived.
I slipped off my high heels and silently moved from room to room. It was going to be hard to explain the golf club when I ran across a maid, but I kept going. The eerie feeling did not fade.
Upstairs was untouched, and I could see my town car driver rubbing his neck as he lounged against the hood of the car. The thick carpeting made it easier for me to move faster, but I did not catch even the faintest hint of anyone else.
I circled around the entire house in record time and stepped back into the kitchen. The flash of someone in the corner of my eye had me swinging the golf club wildly until I realized just how shiny the stainless steel refrigerator was.
"Pull yourself together, Bishop," I said, but stifled my nervous laugh. I still craved the protection of silence as if I did not want the other person in the house to know where I stood.
I silently lectured myself on paranoia and finally set down the golf club. I purposefully hauled open the refrigerator door so the bottles inside rattled. I pulled out a can of soda and ripped it open.
The manila envelope on the countertop was a welcome distraction. It still lay where Ayden had tossed it the day his father handed it to him. I slid it across the marble and looked down as if I could see through it. When I couldn't, I turned it over and let my hand hover over the seal.
"He'll never open it. He said so himself." I tried to justify my snooping to myself.
Ayden refused to have anything to do with his father. He made all of that crystal clear the day his father dropped in. Ayden did not want to know what was in the envelope, and I thought he had thrown it away. Only it was still there on the counter where Ayden had tossed it. He had not thrown it away.
I dropped my hovering hand. If Ayden had not thrown it away, it meant he was conflicted. He probably needed to know what was concealed in that envelope. It was just going to take him a while to face it. I did not want to interfere, but I also knew he would never get around to facing it in Las Vegas. As long as there was work to distract him, the manila envelope would remain sealed.
So, I picked it up and slipped it into the front pocket of my suitcase.
I was just returning to my can of soda when the back door flew open. Someone knocked over Jace's remaining golf clubs and over the explosion of sound I screamed. Heavy footsteps bolted from the mudroom, and I had just enough time to run to the other side of the kitchen island.
A fiercely blue-eyed devil leapt into the kitchen. "Where? Are you okay? What happened?"
I collapsed against the counter as Ayden dodged to look out each of the doors for a mysterious attacker. "Oh my god, you scared the life out of me," I panted.
"Me?" Ayden asked. He straightened up and unclenched his fists.
The front door kicked open with such force that I screamed again. Alan charged down the hallway like a bull, and I had just enough time to yank Ayden back before the two men collided.
"Alan?"
"Mr. King?"
"My heart! Are you two trying to kill me?" I shrieked with sudden laughter.
The two perceptive men quickly put together what happened and started to laugh themselves. I only stopped when I considered what would have happened if Ayden had tried to defend me from Alan and vice versa. They were rock hard combatants, and the only outcome I could predict, was serious damage to both.
After a few more rounds of giggles and some deep cleansing breaths, I managed to settle down. "Are we late for our flight to New York?" I guessed.
"Nice try, but wrong. And, no, we have plenty of time if we leave right now," Ayden said. "Did she tell you we are going out of town? I'm sorry I didn't give you more notice."
"Not a problem, Mr. King," Alan said. "I'll drive you to the airport myself, if that's alright."
This time I let Alan pick up my suitcase and haul it out to his sedan. Ayden chuckled again and gave me a smiling kiss before he ran upstairs to pack. I leaned against the counter and finished my soda as my heart finally slowed to a normal pace.
Ayden was back quickly with a neatly packed carry-on. "Shall we?" he asked with a smile.
I smiled back even as I noticed a few items in the kitchen had moved since I left it to conduct my search. The eerie feeling returned, and I was glad we were going out of town, no matter what the destination.