Page 64 of Better Watch Out
“Foie gras with truffle kewpie and caviar.” She glanced up at him. “I take it you’re not a fan of the finer things in life?”
He was a fan of hers and making her smile and laugh was beginning to feel like it might become his new obsession. He’d eat a thousand of these—his stomach churned—okay, maybe not a thousand but he’d certainly do whatever he could to keep Frannie smiling and laughing.
Clearing his throat, he pivoted so that he was facing her. The small booth for two was surrounded by potted plants and palms, affording them a level of intimacy from the rest of the guests at nearby tables. His thigh pressed against hers, turning his stomach into knots as he waited for her response.
“Frannie—”
“Excuse me, Mr. Bishop?” A hotel employee was at their table. He tugged at the hem of his suit coat. “I apologize for interrupting your meal but you have a call at the front desk.”
Andrew frowned. “I do?”
“Yes, sir.” The employee gave Frannie a polite smile. “If you’ll follow me.”
Frannie gestured for him to go. “Don’t worry, I’ll be here enjoying my tea and foie gras caviar sandwich.”
Andrew followed the employee to the front desk, grateful for his clipped pace because he wanted to get back to Frannie as quickly as possible. He took the receiver from the employee and answered. “Hello?”
“Bishop, I’ve been trying to get ahold of you.” Oskar sounded flustered. “Are you still at The Plaza?”
Andrew searched his pockets and realized he’d left his cell phone in his coat pocket, which he’d left with the front desk concierge before the tour with Mr. Klaus. “Yeah. I left my phone in my jacket. What’s going on?”
“Mr. Malone backed out of the deal.” That should’ve been good news but something in Oskar’s voice said that backing out of the deal hadn’t resolved the threat. Andrew’s shoulders tensed and he swung his gaze in the direction of Palm Court. He couldn’t see Frannie but the urgency to get back to her set his nerves firing. “The FBI and Mr. Malone’s IT team are monitoring the ransomware threat but so far nothing from the company has been released.”
That should’ve given Andrew a small amount of relief but there was something tight in Oskar’s tone. “What else?”
“A new threat came in a few minutes ago. A text message sent to Mr. Malone’s cell phone containing his and Valentina’s flight itinerary along with the names of the pilots and ground crew.” Andrew felt like the foie gras was going to make a reappearance. “It’s a twisted mind game and Doug is working with the FBI, TSA, and the police but Mr. Malone isn’t willing to wait for them.”
Andrew’s eyes flashed back to where he’d left Frannie. Everything in him called him to be back at her side. “What does that mean?”
“Mr. Malone has rebooked him and his daughter on several commercial flights leaving at varying times from both LaGuardia and JFK. Doug wants all of us to meet at the Waldorf in an hour to go over the plan to get the Malones to the airport safely.”
An hour?Andrew glanced at his watch. It was mid-morning so traffic to LaGuardia shouldn’t be too bad but he’d have to leave now if he wanted to get Frannie to the airport and back in time.
“Sorry to rush your date.”
“It’s not a date.” Except that didn’t feel true. Andrew had planned this morning especially for Frannie and now it was over before he’d even begun to figure out if he could be that person for her. He exhaled. “I’ll be there.”
On his way back to the table, Andrew paused just out of view. Frannie was taking photos of her plate filled with pastries that hardly looked real. Her lips were curved into a smile that lifted her cheeks so high it made the corners of her eyes crinkle. She looked happy. Beautiful. And it was completely unexplainable how much he was going to miss her.
Forcing himself forward, Andrew met her expectant gaze with an apologetic one. “I’m so sorry to cut this short, Frannie, but an issue came up for my job and I need to drop you off at the airport early if you don’t mind.”
Disappointment flashed through her eyes. “Oh, sure. No problem.”
His chest was a mixed bag of emotions as he helped her to her feet. On one hand, it felt good that she was disappointed because maybe she didn’t want to leavehimearly. On the other hand, he felt like a jerk having to cut her lunch short. He looked at her plate.
“Maybe we can get some of this to go?”
“That’s okay.” She eyed the other foie gras sandwich. “TSA might think that’s a new form of explosive.”
Frannie was joking but her words landed like a punch in his gut. Someone had openly threatened Mr. Malone and his daughter’s flight. Andrew scanned his surroundings, aware that he’d let his guard down. Was someone still confusing Frannie for Valentina Malone?
They retrieved their coats from the concierge and Andrew made quick work of sending a text to Oskar.
Andrew: Status on the driver from last night?
Oskar: Doug’s still working on it.
His sharp exhale pulled Frannie’s blue eyes to him. “Everything okay?”
