London Dynasty (The Dynasties #1) - Geneva Lee Page 0,64

set of keys someone on the staff had stashed in the kitchen.

I let myself in and began to look around. It was a pretty typical office, full of expensive furniture and leather-bound books he probably hadn’t read, no doubt meant to impress those he deemed important enough to enter. I searched the shelves for a moment before deciding they were a dead end. The desk was much more likely. Every drawer but one opened easily. I paused, trying to decide if jimmying it open would leave marks. I couldn’t risk it. But there was no way that a locked desk drawer in a locked office didn’t have anything hiding in it.

Sitting back in his chair I grasped the arms of it and blew out a deep breath. I had to find Kerrigan Belmond, but I had no idea where to start. No friends had called. I only had a collection of pictures she’d posted on her social media accounts.

I sat there, studying the pictures on Tod’s desk. Like a good, newly married man, he was smart enough not to have pictures of his late wife there. He did have pictures of his daughter, though. There was a picture of him and Iris at a party that must have been to celebrate their engagement. Kerrigan stood glumly behind them. It was strange to see my face there, looking sour, as though I disapproved. I loved Iris. She was one of the most genuine and warm people I’d ever met. I wondered what Kerrigan had against her.

I closed my eyes, picturing myself in the blue dress Kerrigan had worn for the event and tried to imagine what it must’ve been like for her to accept a woman closer to her age than her mother’s marry her father. I suppose I could understand why she was biased against her. It wasn’t as if Tod Belmond was a huge catch, though. In fact, I couldn’t see what Iris saw in him—other than his billions. I couldn’t fault her for that, since it’s what had drawn me to him as well.

Was that why Kerrigan disliked her? Did she see Iris as another gold digger? It was strange how women always judged other women for taking advantage of male nature. In my opinion, Kerrigan should be upset with her father for marrying someone as young as Iris—not Iris herself.

There was another picture of Kerrigan riding a horse. I searched it, hoping it might contain some clue that would open up who she was to me. I closed my eyes again. I could almost feel the horse beneath me and the wind in my hair as we rode along the countryside. But it offered me no insight into who she was either. These glimpses of her life were as nondescript as the room upstairs. I was just about to give up when I noticed a bag tucked in the corner. Its glossy yellow leather seemed an odd fit for Tod Belmond.

I picked it up and placed it on the desk. Unzipping it, I withdrew a laptop computer and opened it. Powering it on, I waited, holding my breath, until a lock screen appeared, prompting me for a password. I had no idea what the password was, but the lock screen was enough to confirm my suspicion. Because above the password request, two words told me all I needed to know: Welcome Kerrigan.

Why was her computer here, if she wasn’t? I started to look in the bag again when the security system alerted me that there was someone at the gate. I replaced the computer, zipping it closed, and put it back where I’d found it. I’d have more time to dig into this later. Maybe even try to guess her password. But I didn’t want anyone to know what I was up to.

Did Giles know this bag was here? I couldn’t risk removing it from the office. I would have to see to whoever this was at the gate, send them on their way, and come back. I hoped I had enough time before Giles returned from the theatre. It was important that I covered my tracks behind me. Forcing Kerrigan to come home early was not something I wanted to discuss with Tod. I didn’t want to give him a chance to renegotiate our deal, or back out of it entirely. I shut the office door behind me and pocketed the key. Making my way to the security monitor near the front entry, I clicked on