The Awakening Aidan - By Abby Niles Page 0,29
the blue in the woman’s eyes. “P-please just look at h-his file.” She took a shaky breath. “If you can still say no, I’ll leave with no further argument.” Mrs. Biggerstaff dabbed her eyes with a silk handkerchief that probably cost more than Jaylin made in an entire month before the woman’s face crumpled even further and she cupped her head in her hands, sobbing.
Jaylin bit the inside of her lip as she slowly sat down and reached for the file. Gawd. She was such a sucker. But the woman was crying. She could at least look at the blasted file.
She opened it, and a picture of a young man with the same coppery-colored hair as the woman’s highlights was clipped to the inside of the folder. Jasper Biggerstaff. He looked to be in his late twenties. She ran her thumb over the picture. So young. He was smiling with blue eyes that held a charming twinkle. So innocent.
“Which one?” Jaylin asked.
The woman lifted her head. “W-what?”
“Dsershon or Wydowed?
“Neither.”
Jaylin blinked. “Then what’s the problem?”
“The Drall was awakened.”
Ah. Okay. “Did she reject him before he could Fewse to her?”
“Yes.”
Jaylin closed the file, her mind immediately going to Aidan. “Listen, Mrs. Biggerstaff, I understand he’s upset, but he doesn’t realize the bullet he dodged. Had he mated to her and then she rejected him, he’d be going through something a hundred times worse.”
Like Aidan would. Her heart twisted.
“You tell his Drall that, why don’t you? He’s miserable right now and won’t talk to us because ‘we don’t get it.’ He needs someone who does.”
She opened her mouth to politely refuse again, but the woman held up her hand. “A few days tops. Just go. Let him talk to you, open up, see his life isn’t over.”
Inwardly, Jaylin snorted. How was she to do that when life as he knew it was over? All he could do was make a new life.
Like. Aidan.
Damn it. She couldn’t think of him.
“…we’ll pay all your expenses and make sure you have some time to enjoy the beach.” She inhaled, dug in her purse and withdrew a bulky envelope and placed it on the desk. “If nothing else, maybe this will change your mind.”
Jaylin eyed the package, having an idea of exactly what was inside, and her heart jumped at the thickness. She swallowed. “And what’s that?”
“Seven thousand dollars.”
“H-h—” she cleared her throat. “How much?”
“Seven. Grand. Paid up front. You can’t tell me you’d make that in the few days you’ll be gone.”
No. She couldn’t. Heck, she barely made that in a month. Especially after she’d paid Pam a portion that in no way covered what she should be making, paid the office bills and some of her own debts. A bonus like this would really help out right now.
Lord, when had she become such a money slut?
When she suddenly didn’t have it anymore, that was when.
“That’s a little too generous, don’t you think?”
The woman squared her shoulders and sat straight. “He’s my son.”
It was all she said, but it said everything.
She stared at the envelope, chewing her lip. Seven grand would keep the practice open for a couple more months, buy her some time to drag herself out of the mess she’d made of her career. It would help Pam, too. So much. All Jaylin had to do was go to Cancun and help another shifter. The pros far outweighed the cons.
“When do you want me to go?”
The woman’s pinched expression relaxed and a relieved smile tilted up her lips. “Thank you.” She gathered up her purse and files. “I’m flying back as soon as I leave here. I can’t stay away from Jasper for too long. He’s just so…depressed. I’ll send my jet back to get you tomorrow morning. Plan for a ten o’clock departure. That should give you enough time to sort your schedule out.”
“Your jet?”
“Oh, honey. I don’t do commercial. Private is the only way to go.”
Jaylin had no idea how to even respond to that, so she went with, “Yes, that should give me enough time to get everything together.”
If she went into Tasmanian Devil mode.
“Good.” The woman stood. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon then.”
Jaylin also stood. “Have a safe flight.”
After she left, Jaylin sagged in her chair. Maybe this case was a blessing in disguise. It’d put thousands of miles between her and Aidan. She wouldn’t be all jumpy and worried that he’d just pop up…not that he had. Instead it was as though he’d completely forgotten her, and surprisingly, she