Page 78 of Everyone’s a Liar

The heavy sense of dread that had been pressing on her shoulders abruptly lifted. Not because Marcel was dealing with the situation—that was why she’d hired him to be her assistant, after all. It was the reassurance that he hadn’t been injured or traumatized by the shooting.

Even when he’d assured her on the phone that the office had been empty and that he had everything under control, she’d needed to see him in person to be one hundred percent certain.

That was also the reason she’d been so damned mad.

It was one thing for her to be in danger. But she couldn’t bear the thought that her friend, or even one of her clients, might have been injured.

“Thanks, Marcel.” She sent him a weary smile. “I knew I could depend on you.”

“I’ll also contacted a professional cleaning company. We don’t want any stray shards of glass stabbing into one of our clients. More importantly, we don’t want one stabbing into me.” Marcel held out his bare arm. “Look at this delicate skin. It would be a crime against nature to have it scarred. And I suppose we’ll have to have the holes in the wall patched and painted.”

“Agreed.” She knew her companion was trying to lighten her dark mood. “And I’ll call the insurance agent and get the tedious process rolling.”

Marcel shuddered. “Better you than me.”

Livia glanced toward her office before giving a sharp shake of her head. She didn’t have the energy for the inevitable fight. Not today.

“That can wait until morning.”

“Yes. And I can handle things here. At least now that you’ve gotten rid of that annoyingly stubborn cop. I think he suspected I was the one responsible for the shooting.” Marcel rolled his eyes. “As if I’d stay around to make a police report.” He waved a hand toward the door. “You should get back to the homestead before they use your absence as an excuse to vote you off the island. Or whatever it is rich people do to steal other people’s money.”

“Exist. That’s all they have to do,” Livia said dryly. “They’re like black holes sucking up the wealth around them.”

Marcel chuckled. “Truth.”

Livia heaved a sigh. She didn’t want to think about the Willows or her family. Or their connection to what had happened to her office. They were another problem she was putting off until tomorrow.

“I’m going to spend the night in New Orleans.” She held up her hand as Marcel started to protest. “The family has an agreement that an emergency can override the clause. A few years ago, Delilah had to spend the entire two weeks with her mother, who was in the hospital after she’d fallen and broken her hip. I can’t imagine that she was any help to the poor old woman, but I’m sure she didn’t want to waste the money on hiring a nurse.”

“Wait.” Marcel arched a teasing brow. “You didn’t shoot out the window so you could escape the family for a night, did you?”

“I’m not that desperate.” Livia paused, abruptly realizing just how badly she wanted to stay in New Orleans. “Not yet,” she added.

Marcel’s amusement faded. “What’s happened?”

“Nothing. Everything.” She shrugged. “The usual.”

“No, there’s something.” Marcel leaned forward, studying her face with an unnerving intensity. “You look like you haven’t slept in a week.”

“Probably because I haven’t,” she admitted, running her fingers through her tangled curls. She wasn’t overly vain, but she hated feeling grubby.

“Does it have to do with Jacob Pearson?” Marcel narrowed his eyes. “The bastard.”

“It’s a lot more complicated than that,” she admitted. I’ll tell you everything I know later. Right now I just want something to eat and a hot shower.”

Marcel reluctantly squashed his curiosity. “What can I do to help?”

“Just having you deal with this mess is more than enough.”

He grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Go home and get some rest.”

“Thanks, Marcel. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“It would be a struggle.”

“That’s for sure,” she breathed, leaning forward to kiss his cheek.

He waved her away, scowling to hide his pleasure at her fierce sincerity. “Go. I got this.”