egg now?”
Milan hung her head. “I gave it to Imogen like, five days later. That was six weeks ago now.”
Shit.
They’d gone shopping. Jennifer had spent most of the day texting the girls about how annoying the whole trip was and carrying bags.
“And Imogen is here.” She looked at Orion. “Can you have someone bring Imogen to the patio? I’ll talk to her separately. Milan, I want you to stay in here, okay?”
Orion was already moving to make it happen before Jennifer stopped talking.
Fucking hell.
How had this happened? How was it the few precious hours Jennifer got to herself were the window to disaster? In a year she was lucky if she got three weeks away from Milan and work. That was all of her vacation days combined.
The door closed behind Orion.
Milan turned to face her. “I’m so sorry, Jennifer. I’m sorry. What am I going to do?”
“Don’t panic, yet.”
Honestly, they were lucky the owner just wanted their property back and hadn’t turned Milan in to the police. That would be a whole other headache and further make things awkward between father and daughter. If Jennifer could quietly handle this and facilitate returning the egg, all would be well.
Jennifer’s phone vibrated. She glanced at the screen.
“Orion has Imogen and they’re coming to the patio.” She looked at Milan. “Stay in here. The blinds are down. Don’t say anything. Don’t budge. Just, take a moment and breathe, okay?”
Milan nodded.
Jennifer let herself out onto the patio. It was , so she took that second to herself to close her eyes and suck in air.
What the hell? How did she get wrapped up in this stuff?
She needed to control the situation, but that could only happen to a point. Eventually, she’d need to tell Mr. Esposito and possibly her own boss back at Aegis Group.
This was bad.
Orion and Imogen rounded the corner.
Imogen was a waif of a girl with artificially pale blonde hair and violet eyes. Jennifer assumed those were contacts. However, she didn’t recall Imogen having such large breasts a few months ago. Holy crap, the girl looked ready to tip over she was so top heavy.
The girl glanced around. “Where’s Milan?”
“Never mind that.” Jennifer gestured to the wicker sofa. “Sit, please?”
Imogen frowned. “What’s going on?”
Okay, they were jumping in.
Jennifer clasped her hands in front of her. “You expressed to Milan that you wanted an item of sentimental value returned to you. An egg? Well, we need that back.”
Imogen smirked. “Impossible.”
“Look, I know it was special, but—”
“I sold it.” Imogen planted her hand on her hip. “Look, I was super emotional and on my period when I told that to her. It was nice of her to get it for me, but what use do I have for some fancy, imperial egg? I sold it since my dad didn’t want to pay for my implants.”
Jennifer gaped at the girl as she processed that story.
This was payback for her telling Pru about the menstrual cup story, wasn’t it? It was all some cruel, cosmic joke.
“Imogen?” Orion smiled at his guest. “This is a matter of some importance. Milan—”
“Is a big girl and can take care of herself.” Imogen turned. “I’ve got a massage in ten minutes.”
Without another word, she turned and walked away.
Jennifer stared after her and felt the whole world crumbling around her.
This was a disaster. An utter disaster.
THURSDAY. LUXE IBIZA Hostel, Cala Gració, Ibiza.
Orion finished his required half hour schmoozing at the cocktail bar. It couldn’t have come at a worse time. Every Tuesday and Thursday he hosted this casual event. Many guests came just to talk to him. There was no getting out of it on short notice. Not without drawing more attention.
Jennifer had opted to stay in his office talking over the weak points in their security with Mateo. Damn it, Orion should have been there with her. His ego said there was no one better at keeping his guests safe than himself. But that wasn’t true. Mateo had around five years on Orion and had been an Army Ranger until three years ago. Mateo saw everything. His warm demeanor hid his struggle with the demons that had followed him from battlefronts the world over.
Mateo would protect their guests with his life and smile while he did it.
Orion could trust the man with Jennifer. He knew it, and yet it was hard to keep his mind on his guests while he made nice during the cocktail hour.
How was it a day that had started so perfectly had gone to hell