“And what’s up with her brother? She seemed upset when Dad mentioned him.”
“She fired Nate last Friday.”
“The day before you fired her?” Jordan asked with a lift of his brow.
“Yeah, but after what she said, I get the impression she hasn’t seen him since.”
“Seems a bit odd he disappears right after we show up.”
Justin nodded in agreement. “Dad’s question was odd, too. Why would he ask if Nate left town when all she said was that she hadn’t talked to him in awhile? I’ll try to bring
it up while we’re working.”
“Good idea,” Jordan said. “Don’t forget, they’re still the only Wades connected to Granddad besides their dead father.”
Chapter 11
Marley straightened and stretched her arms in front of her. A groan threatened from the aches in her neck, shoulders and lower back. She wasn’t used to bending over a table all day long. She didn’t need to look at her watch to know it was late; the bright orange sun disappearing below the horizon and her complaining stomach confirmed the advanced time.
Vince and Bonnie had deserted her two hours ago and Justin had run downstairs a few minutes ago for the Chinese food he’d ordered for their dinner. The moment of solitude was welcome. With so much going on, it was hard to think. The job, Nate missing in action, the attraction she couldn’t deny for Justin. Actually, she should be grateful not to have the time to think about Nate, because Dale’s questions had reignited her concern.
Then Justin had returned and dominated her attention. Throughout the afternoon, she’d had to redirect her gaze countless times. Thank God he hadn’t caught her staring, though. That would have been humiliating.
She looked at the model and estimated if she put in another twelve to fifteen hour day tomorrow, by presentation time on Thursday, it might be ready to go.
No, no might about it, she’d make sure it was. She sighed with a smile. She’d always hoped for something like this, but never imagined it could happen this fast.
Easy, Mar, it’s not built yet.
“Hope you’re hungry.”
She spun away from the window to see Justin walk through her office into his, carrying the bag of food. Her stomach growled as she took a seat at his conference table with him and accepted a take-out container and chopsticks. Hoping he hadn’t heard, she dug into her dish, unable to hold back an appreciative moan.
He smiled before taking his first bite. They ate in silence until he commented, “It’s so quiet at this time of night. No one else around, no phones, the dimmed lights…”
She looked around, aware for the first time that they might be the only two left in the building. It didn’t alarm her in the least. She’d been alone with him before. If anything, it heightened a sudden feeling of intimacy.
“Granddad used to work late, and he’d let me and Jordan play in the halls. We could run around and make all the noise we wanted. Actually do what we wanted. It was the one place I didn’t have to worry about appearances. After awhile, Jordan stopped coming, but I loved the solitude and freedom.”
Marley’s heart melted for a little boy who sounded like he’d faced all kinds of constraints and craved the opportunity to be himself. “You miss your grandfather?”
He focused his gaze inside his half-empty container of food. “Yeah, I do, even though he resented me working for a different company and we weren’t as close the last few years.”
“I know what you mean. I miss my dad a lot, but when he was alive, we barely spoke.”
“Anyone else besides your brother?”
She shook her head, staring at her own food.
“Everything okay with Nate?”
She stuck her chopsticks into the noodles and set the container down, her appetite gone. “I sure wish I knew. I haven’t seen him since Friday morning, and he hasn’t returned any of my calls to his cell.”
“Did you call his friends or check some of the places you know he goes?”
“I did, but no one’s seen or heard from him. I hoped he’d understand what I had to do, but he’s been so different since Dad died. So angry about the accident.”
Justin stilled, his expression serious. “A lot of people feel that way, Marley—like maybe there was something that could’ve prevented it. If they’d only done this different, or paid closer attention to that, maybe that person would still be alive today.”