Once he agreed, I latched the door behind me and then raced to the bathroom to run a brush through my hair and a toothbrush through my mouth. I also splashed some cold water on my face, but decided doing anything more would probably be overkill.
“It shouldn’t be too much for me to do the work you’re looking for,” Brock—oops, Cal—said when I returned. He’d been standing by the window seat that looked out onto the beautifully landscaped backyard. You could just barely see the ocean beyond the tips of the trees, and it was a lovely sight to behold.
“That’s great,” I said, joining him at the window and feeling a little shiver of excitement overtake me. Even with caffeine rushing through my system, I still found myself a bit tongue-tied with this gorgeous man so near. “How much, and when can you get started?”
Cal told me a figure that made me a little sick to my stomach until he explained that this would include the custom-built shelving I needed to line my walls. After that, it seemed like a steal. I couldn’t believe that this prince would be building me my fantasy library.
Dreams really did come true.
We shook on it, and then he said, “It’s early enough that I can actually get started today. Like I said, not a lot of folks are lining up to hire me, given my recent history.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal, Cal Calhoun,” I said with a huge smile, thrilled that we’d be spending more time together. Partially because he’d be nearby in case of danger, and partially because I most definitely had the hots for him now. “Nan and I will both be around unpacking some boxes today. Just holler if you need anything.”
“Will do.”
“Oh, and Cal?” I had to keep saying his new name to get used to it. The more I said it, the more I liked it. It was uncomplicated and appealing, just like the man himself.
“Yeah?” He removed the measuring tape he’d brought with him and let its long yellow tongue snap back into place.
“Do mind the Sphynxes. They’re slippery little buggers,” I said, parroting the words Officer Bouchard had said to me just a couple days ago.
And with that, I slipped out of the room and ran up to my tower to find the perfect outfit for casually running into my new crush later that day.
Chapter Sixteen
My phone started ringing aggressively while I was mid-shampoo. I shut the water off, grabbed my towel, and jumped out just in time to catch Charles before his call got routed to voicemail for a second time.
“Hello?” I asked, dripping onto the cold tile floor. I pushed open the old window with a creak. At least that would let some warmth in here.
“Angie, it’s me,” Charles said as if he somehow didn’t know that caller ID existed and was standard on all phones these days.
“What’s up?” I asked, hugging my towel tighter around myself. Of course we’d be having this conversation while I was wet and naked. Knowing my luck, I’d slip on one of the many puddles forming below me, hit my head, get knocked unconscious, and then Brock—I mean, Cal—would have to bust through the door to save me. Maybe I’d even wake up with a second secret super power while I was at it.
Okay, now I was wet, naked, and in a panic. I carefully lowered myself to sit on the edge of the tub while Charles explained the reason for his call. At least, if I fell from here, I’d have a shorter way to go before hitting the floor.
“Sorry I didn’t call back yesterday.” I heard the unmistakable sound of a door shutting on his end of the call. He paused before explaining further, “Thompson took a couple days off for bereavement.”
“For the senator?” I asked, not expecting this news about my workaholic boss.
“Yup,” he said, sounding every bit as surprised as I felt. “Apparently the two of them were closer than any of us knew.”
I gasped, almost losing my balance and scrambling not to fall. “Were they having an affair?”
“Oh, c’mon,” Charles ground out. “Thompson and Harlow, really?”
“Well, anything’s possible,” I mumbled defensively.
“That’s not what was going on,” he said with obvious irritation.
That didn’t stop me from continuing my line of questioning. He had information, and I needed to know it sooner rather than later. “Then what was?” I demanded.
“Get this,” Charles said, and I could just picture him smiling as he paced around his office. He so loved revealing shocking twists, the smoking gun. I wondered if that was what we had here now. “Harlow was planning on stepping down. She was grooming Thompson to run for election as her hand-picked successor.”
“Thompson?” I exclaimed. “But he’s awful with people.” Not only did he insist on calling everyone by their last names, but he often openly criticized me and the other people at the firm. I knew it was all to protect our stellar reputation, but still. The thought of him as an elected politician representing my state made my stomach churn.
“Maybe,” Charles said, apparently unwilling to badmouth the senior partner the way I was. “But there’s no denying he’s smart and, believe it or not, he and Harlow share a lot of the same political views, too.”
“Like what?” I cried, still unable to believe what he’d just revealed.
“They’ve been friends for a long time. In fact, they met more than thirty-five years ago when they were both doing grassroots work for the Save the Whales movement. Thompson said those were some of the best years of his life.”
There was that Save the Whales thing again. Could it be important? Important enough to cost the good senator her life? And, if so, did that mean Thompson might be targeted next?
“Charles?” I said, knowing I could trust him with this. “Do you think the senator might have been murdered for something to do with her environmental activism?”
“Then or now?” he countered, and I could tell that big, beautiful brain of his was already thinking hard.
“Either,” I said. “Is there anything you know that could give some insight into why somebody might have wanted her dead?”
He sighed. “You know the police ruled her death an accident.”
“Yeah, but I doubt you buy that, either.”
“It is suspicious.” He thought for a moment before saying more. “How closely do you follow national politics?”
“Not very,” I admitted. “I did some Googling on the senator and any recent pieces mentioning her, but nothing jumped out at me.”
He chuckled. “Well, here’s a quick recap. Last week it was announced that a major oil company had petitioned to put in an access pipeline. It’s a new proposal, but people are worried about it. Most of it would run right through our state, even cutting off the corner of one of our national parks.”
That sounded awful. I loved my home state for its natural beauty and proximity to the ocean just as much as the senator had. Some giant oil operation would take part of that away, and for what?
“I can see why the senator wouldn’t have wanted that, given her deep love for the environment,” I told Charles.
“It’s still got a while before it goes to vote, but Big Oil is lobbying hard to make it a reality. Their argument is that it would create jobs and bring us another much-needed local energy source, thus lessening our dependence on foreign oil.” He explained everything pedantically without a hint of how he felt about the proposal. Seeing as he was a recent transplant from California, I found myself wondering whether Charles sided with Big Oil or the national parks. I knew where I stood.
“But the senator wouldn’t have been okay with the destruction of one of our national parks, I take it.”
“She definitely wouldn’t have been, though it’s only about five-thousand acres and the pipeline proposal includes building a new protected park farther upstate.” Was he playing devil’s advocate for the sake of argument, or did he truly believe the pipeline was anything other than a disaster waiting to happen?