Chapter 454
Jonathan made it sound like it was nothing.
Niamh glanced down at her arm, still firmly gripped in his hand.
“Is this what you call an invitation, Mr. Thomas?”
For a brief moment, Jonathan’s fingers loosened.
But he still didn’t let her go.
He couldn’t explain it, but right now, he had the uneasy feeling that if he let go, he might never be able to hold on to her again.
“Mr. Thomas!”
The door to the records room suddenly swung open.
“Your father’s on the phone–he says you have to come back to the house immediately!”
The office manager blurted out the message, only realizing a second too late that
Jonathan and Niamh were in the middle of a tense standoff.
“Oh–sorry, I’m so sorry… But your father…“.
He stammered, looking utterly flustered.
From the look on Jonathan’s face, it was clear he didn’t appreciate the interruption.
Niamh guessed that for Sprague to be this anxious to find Jonathan, it probably had something to do with the Quinn family.
And she knew Carlisle was already in Aldenville.
Judging by all this, Carlisle wasn’t the only one in town.
Jonathan pulled Niamh out of the records room and into his executive office.
“Aren’t you going to your father’s house to see Ramona?”
“Are you that interested in Ramona?”
Jonathan’s retort caught Niamh off guard.
She met his gaze, searching his eyes.
There was a sly, probing glint in Jonathan’s expression–he was clearly suspicious.
10:21
Chapter
Niamh figured he’d gotten the wrong Idea, but instead of correcting him she smiled gently.
“Yes, I care very much.”
She cared about whether Jonathan and Ramona would actually go through with their business arrangement. If they did, it would be a devastating blow to Marina.
Jonathan held his breath, watching her smile.
He used to think Niamh was transparent, like a glass window.
Now, she was more like a clouded mist–impossible to read, impossible to grasp.
He guided her to sit at his desk and called for Prescott.
Prescott, much like the office manager before him, had come on an errand for Jonathan.
Jonathan’s phone was turned off.
That’s what Sprague had said.
Unable to reach Jonathan directly, Sprague had called the company landline and then tracked down Prescott as well.
Prescott knew Sprague was hosting the Quinn family for dinner tonight out at Verdant Lake Estates. He’d assumed Jonathan wouldn’t be in the office at all, or if he was, he’d leave quickly.
Yet Jonathan had stayed this whole time.
When Prescott stepped into the executive office and saw Niamh seated there, he finally understood why Jonathan hadn’t left.
Prescott glanced down at the cup of coffee in his hands.
So that’s why Jonathan had asked him to make coffee–it was for Niamh.
“Miss Rivers, your coffee.”
He set the cup in front of her.
“Thank you, Prescott.”
Niamh smiled her thanks.
She noticed how Prescott shot Jonathan a careful glance, as if he wanted to say something but thought better of it.
In the end, he slipped quietly out of the office.
It must be tough working for Jonathan, Niamh thought with a wry smile.
She figured Prescott probably had his own set of instructions from Sprague. But he was better at reading the room–and knew Jonathan far better than most.
According to Carlisle’s schedule, the Quinn family should already be at Verdant Lake Estates by now.
A matchmaking dinner, and yet the groom–to–be was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t just Sprague and Marigold who’d be losing face–the Quinns must be furning as well.
“What’s so funny?”
Jonathan’s question broke into Niamh’s thoughts.
10.31
