Beneath Her Heart – Ch 11

It was a relaxed atmosphere while the food was being consumed.

“I have something for you.” Brody said, reaching into her purse. “Joe gave it to me. I think it’s from your sister.” She handed him a cream envelope with his name neatly written across it.  It felt like several pages at least.

He weighed the correspondence in his hand and thought. Should he open it now, or wait until he had a private moment? Deciding to err on the side of caution, he slipped it into the pocket of his windbreaker.

“Thanks, I’ll read it later.”

Brody didn’t say anything. Her own envelope was on the passenger seat of her car, waiting for the right time. She couldn’t fault him for not looking at it right now, even though she was curious.

Her phone chimed the “Dora The Explorer” theme, and Collin snorted. She ignored him and answered it. After a few minutes’ conversation, she ended the call and collected her things.

“Excuse me, I have to head out now. Thanks for the snack.” She looked down and realized that most of the delicious dip ended up on her tortillas and not his chips. She felt her ears warm.

Collin handed her a business card. “Here’s all the ways to contact me, including my personal cell phone number on the back. If you need me for anything, please call.”  

She took the card and in return gave him a small note.  “I wrote down my information as well. Anyway, enjoy the rest of the day.”

He couldn’t help but notice her embarrassed reaction as she headed for her car. Her pink ears were cute, as well as the rest of her.

Back at his office, he glanced through his calendar, and buzzed his assistant.

Paul walked in, carrying several folders with a quizzical expression. “Boss? I thought you were out this afternoon.”

“Change of plans. I need you to cancel my vacation plans until June of next year.”

His assistant was surprised. It was a well-known fact that his boss went on one wilderness adventure every quarter.  “So the Blue Hole dive in Belize for January? And the Pamukkale geothermal pools in April?”

“Yes, cancel them. I intend to stay in town for the foreseeable future.  Also, purchase a satellite phone account.  I want to be able to stay in touch with everyone no matter what.”

Paul nodded. After the tragedy of his sister and brother in law, the satellite phone made sense.  But why does he break routine and stay close to home? He shrugged; his job was to follow through with all requests without question.

Taking out Brody’s note, Collin added her information to his cell phone and his contact list at work. He also sent his receptionist an email that all phone calls from Ms Harper were to be allowed through.

He leaned back in his chair and smiled for a moment, then frowned and sat up.  He had almost forgotten about the letter.  He fished it out of his jacket and placed in front of him on the desk.

Should he read it now, or wait until he got home sometime this evening?  

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