“Were you with your friend the entire time?” He was only asking because . . . hell, because he wanted to know. Six hours had passed. No way could a guy sit there and talk for that long. Not unless he was interested in her.
“No. He gave me the information I needed and showed me where I had to look. Then he went off to work, and I’ve had my nose in books since. I didn’t even stop to eat because I was so focused.”
Roger had no idea why that pleased him so much. It had nothing to do with the photo either. “Should we find someplace to eat, and you can tell me what you learned?”
She looked at him and asked, “I know this is going to sound like an odd request, but do you think we can go to the hotel and order room service?”
“Tired?”
“No. I don’t think I want to discuss this in public.”
She definitely piqued his interest. “The hotel it is.”
Roger had booked them a suite with adjoining rooms, not that they were going to need it. Once inside they ordered their meal and went to sit down on the couch. She brought her laptop with her as well as a few books she must’ve borrowed from the library.
“Productive day I take it?”
She nodded. “Yes and no. I have news I’m not sure is good or bad.”
“Might as well just spill it.”
“Can I ask you a question first?”
Roger cocked a brow. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to answer it.”
“I understand. But are you doing this because the Hendersons asked you to or because you want to know?”
How was it that she’d put those two together? Answering that was going to be difficult. If he said for himself, would that mean she felt more comfortable sharing what she’d learned? Or was it the total opposite and she’d worry he was invading the privacy of her potential new employer. Fuck. Which one? He had no choice but to go with the truth.
“This was a personal favor for Brice. But noone can know about your involvement. Not even Brice.”
“So he is the one looking for this information?”
“Yes.”
“I’m confused,” Gia stated.
“Maybe if you tell me what you learned, I can connect the dots for you.” With the Hendersons, that wasn’t always as easily done as said.
“What do you know about their grandmother?”
Roger shrugged. “She was divorced with one child, James. And she died when the other kids were young, so they don’t know much about her either. Why?”
She pulled out the photo he’d given her and handed it to him. Then she pointed to the little girl holding the teddy bear. “This is her. Audrey.”
He looked at the picture and asked, “Who is she with?”
“Her younger brother.”
As far as he knew, Audrey didn’t have any siblings. But something could’ve happened to him when he was young, and that’s why no one ever knew of his existence.
“What’s his name?” Roger asked.
“Charles Lawson. And you’ll never guess where he spent most of his life.”
“New York City.”
Gia huffed. “Well that was a letdown. How do you know?”