Page 42 of No Ordinary Girl
I shook my head when he asked us where we were all from. “I’m from Orlando, Florida,” Brianna said cheerfully.
He smiled. “Lucky… it would be nice to never need to shovel snow.”
Jenna smiled, a whisper of a laugh escaping her lips. “Like you do, Mason?” She turned to us knowingly. “We have a service.” Then her smile faded and it struck me how even in these devastating times, a minuscule moment of happiness had snuck up on her, she’d forgotten about Haley for a second.
“And the rest of you?” he asked, turning his gaze.
“I’m from Naperville,” I volunteered. “A suburb of Chicago.”
He nodded. “Fine city, Chicago… been there a few times.”
“I’m from Canada… so I know all about snow,” Kendra offered. “I’m from a suburb of Toronto.”
“I’m from across the pond,” Ace chimed in, his lovely accent in full evidence.
Mr. Henderson perked up. “I love the UK. Where are you from, exactly?”
“Oxford.”
“Our students come from all over the world,” Simone explained. “Some are at RAMS on scholarship. We’ve gleaned the world for the most brilliant, magical minds.”
He nodded, and the expression he wore was so easy to read – he thought she was a total quack. He was doing this for his wife, to humor her and appease her.
“If you are willing, we would like to conduct an interview with you,” Simone went on. “Leo and Anna are psychometrists, and they’d like to ask you a few questions.”
He nodded with a cocked brow. I’m sure he didn’t really know what she was talking about, nor did he care. “Sure.”
“Leo,” Simone said with a turn of her hand. “Would you like to start? Why don’t you and Mr. Henderson talk in his office?”
Leo stood slowly and turned to him. “Would that work for you, Mr. Henderson?”
“Sure. Please call me Mason.”
I was relieved that Leo would be going first. I still needed time. My stomach was queasy and I couldn’t stop looking at my watch and fiddling with my necklace. My gaze darted nervously across the sitting room. It settled on the bookcases; a neatly displayed collection of books, photos and knick-knacks. I couldn’t quite follow the conversation in the room, and Brianna’s cheery voice irritated me. Simone’s smooth tone always had the opposite effect.
Finally, Leo stepped out of the office. I glimpsed at my watch – the interview had taken about twenty minutes. My stomach was all topsy-turvy – I was up next. Leo gestured toward the door, and I walked in slowly, nervous as hell.
Mr. Henderson was sitting comfortably in the spinning black leather chair. He was completely at ease when he offered me a seat across the desk. He had a purple aura; a good man, serious, driven. Of course, a man like him would choose a woman like Jenna, flawless in every way.
“So another Q & A?” he said, his tone drenched with sarcasm and a dash of playfulness. He thought this whole thing was stupid, but he kind of liked me.
“Yes, I ask you a few questions and you answer them,” I said simply. I straightened up and leaned into the desk. “If you could put your palms flat on the desk, it would be great.”
I detected a slight roll of his eyes as he obliged. He had nice hands. They looked soft; the hands of a man who doesn’t do much manual labor. His wedding ring glittered under the overhead light fixture “May I rest my hands on yours?”
He cleared his throat. “Uh… sure. If you must.”
I did, and as soon as my flesh touched his, I knew exactly what he was thinking.This is idiotic.How long will this last? Why are we wasting time on this?As far as he was concerned, every minute counted, and the longer they took to find his baby, the more chances that they’d never find her. He couldn’t wait to get this over with, catch a quick shower, make himself a cup of coffee, and go over the search efforts once more. These were not the thoughts of a guilty man.
“This won’t take long,” I assured him. I had already planned out the questions I wanted to ask him. We didn’t need to go over all the same details we’d already hatched out. Instead, I would ask him new questions.
“What was it like the first time you saw Haley?”
His whole being lit up, from the inside out. “She was amazing.”
I sensed that love… it was so strong. I saw her little newborn face; tiny nose, pretty heart-shaped mouth making sucking motions, eyes closed. He ran his fingers through her dark wet hair. And then I saw her in a little pink onesie, her little curls already in evidence. She was an adorable baby.
“What do you like to do with Haley? Do you play with her?”
