Dave’s expression went from thoughtful to nervous immediately. Jay clapped him once on the shoulder with confidence.
“Welcome, Mr. Roe,” Ms. Carmichael greeted as they were ushered into her personal study, smaller and less bright than the one from the day before. “I want to know exactly why you offered your help to me. Judging by your words yesterday, it is Ms. Haraby you are interested in finding, not Ms. Williams.”
Jay chuckled as Dave looked taken aback. “Done with the niceties already? Very well. It is because I know that she and Stella met here, and that after that, no one else seems to know where either of them went.”
“So you think that by tracking one, you will find both?”
Jay shook his head. “No, that assumes they are still together. And that would depend entirely on why they were targeted, or indeed, if even both of them were the targets or just one of them.” He caught Dave’s look of silent admiration and returned his focus to Carmichael. “I can’t answer any of those questions yet.”
“Then I’m afraid I still don’t understand. Maybe you can help, Mr. Tiller?” she added when Jay opened his mouth again.
Dave looked a little startled at being called on so soon, but took a breath and straightened his spine, seeming to try and mimic Jay’s confident posture.
“I believe what Mr. Roe means is that while it seems obvious that they were taken together, they may not have necessarily stayed that way. However, here, at the beginning of the trail, the path will be one. It may lead to one destination, or it may lead to two. Either way, if you give us what you know so we can find that start point, we will be able to find out what happened to them both.”
He looked quickly up at Jay. He gave him a tiny nod of congratulations, knowing that his delivery alone had her convinced.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Ms. Carmichael weighed them both for a moment then looked back at Jay.
“And if the path diverges, will you be able to stay loyal to your contract to find Miranda or give in and follow your heart to Stella?”
Jay loosed a heavy breath. “I never said my contract would be exclusive.”
“Of course you didn’t. Otherwise, how could you ever weasel out of it?” came Gregory Haraby’s voice from the door.
“You’re early,” stated Ms. Carmichael, looking slightly annoyed at the interruption.
Jay shared a brief, resigned look with Dave before turning an empty smile on Stella’s father.
“I have never broken a contract in my entire career,” Jay responded calmly. “With, perhaps, the single exception of Matthew Goldstein’s.”
“And yet, none of your previous clients want anything to do with you, do they?”
Jay’s smile became a touch feral. “They will always fear those with the power to tear them down. That should include you also.”
Mr. Haraby swore under his breath, and Jay was certain he heard Dave smother a laugh behind him.
“Is this really why you came early, Mr. Haraby? To lash out at Mr. Roe again? I suppose your public image is as flawed as Miranda’s, but then again, money will always be able to buy new realities.”
He watched her from the corner of his eye as she glared at Mr. Haraby, who had stiffened as if struck.
“You’re bold to say that, living in her house, eating her food, and gaining a salary big enough to grant you a luxurious retirement,” he spat.
“Miranda would have none of this if not for me. She would have lost it all years ago. I am the backbone that has kept her standing. I am the mind that has kept her fortune safe from her frivolous lifestyle.” She weighed Mr. Haraby another moment, then shrugged. “A pity you never condescended to hire a person from the real world. Like me, they might have been able to save your family fortune.”
Haraby inflated like a balloon. “You—”
“Tell me, Mr. Haraby,” she interrupted in an unsettling return to her normally polite tone, “are you searching for your daughter because you are worried about her safety, or because, if she dies, you’ll have no option but to declare bankruptcy with your family name counting for nothing?”
Even Jay felt the burn on that comment. He turned his stormy eyes on Ms. Carmichael, but she didn’t notice. She was far too busy savoring this moment.
“That’s enough,” Jay cut in. He hadn’t expected it from all he had learned about her. He had expected the bitterness at constantly having to clean up Miranda’s messes and cover for her. But this was something else entirely. His suspicions grew, but he kept them hidden as she turned her gaze from Mr. Haraby.
Ms. Carmichael cocked an eyebrow at him but shrugged and moved back behind her desk.
“I don’t need you to defend my family,” Mr. Haraby bit out, turning his anger on Jay. “Nor do I need you help to find my daughter.”
“No? Is he not the best in his field? I figured that you can’t swallow your pride, even now.”
Mr. Haraby looked as if his ability to smother his rage was fast waning, but he turned his gaze back to Carmichael as she spoke. “You clearly have no intention of listening to me or helping me. My own private investigator is already on the case. He will find my Stella.” Mr. Haraby turned back to Jay. “And you will stay out of his way.”
Jay’s lips tilted up on one side. “If only saying things made them true, Stella would be safe at home already.” He took a single step towards Mr. Haraby. “You can’t stop me, Mr. Haraby. You’ve never been able to. I will find Stella and Ms. Williams because whoever you’ve hired isn’t good enough.”
“How the hell would you know that?
