st turned sixty, Anne had decided to let her hair go gray. Twisted up into a sophisticated French knot, her silver hair complemented her beautiful pastel blue shift dress perfectly.
“How do you know?” Rachel asked, looking over at her tennis-garbed uncle, who was laughing raucously with Rupert.
The two women shared a look then said together, “The smell.” Then they burst out laughing and went off to find seats.
One by one, the rest of the family arrived. Charles, looking annoyed as usual. Preston and Marcus, both businesslike and clearly eager to get the meeting over. Samantha, who insisted on talking to Rachel about wedding dresses. And her mother, who kissed her cheek and took the seat on the other side of Rachel.
“How’s Father?”
“He’s perfectly fine, but he has to take it easy for a few days.” She gave Rachel a tight smile that emphasized the dark circles under her eyes. “I want to hire a keeper for him. Does Benson Security do that sort of thing? I need someone who’ll follow him around and ensure he keeps away from fried food.”
Rachel swallowed her smile. “I’m sure we could find you someone.” Ryan had been particularly annoying lately. It might do him good to go on bacon-watch for a few weeks. That evil thought made her grin.
Her mother rolled her eyes. “I forgot who I was talking to for a second. Forget I asked. I’ll speak with Harvard; he seems the more sensible option.”
Rachel leaned into her and lowered her voice. “Are you doing okay, Mum?”
“Yes, my darling, I’m fine.” Her eyes turned glassy and she blinked back tears, straightening her shoulders as she did so. “I keep telling myself that the past is gone; that there’s no point in wondering what we could have done differently. It’s the future that matters now and the choices we make from here on in.”
“Exactly.” Rachel nodded. “Everything will be fine. I promise.”
“My darling girl, you’re far too capable for your own good. But I do love you.”
“Why does everyone feel the need to clarify their love for me?” Rachel said dryly. “It’s never just ‘I love you,’ it’s always ‘you’re awful, but I love you anyway.’”
“Perhaps it’s because they’ve met you,” her grandmother said helpfully.
“Okay.” Jonathan took a seat at the end of the table. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Rachel’s grandmother elbowed her and whispered, “I’ve run out of liquor.”
“Too bloody bad,” Rachel whispered back. “You can suffer like the rest of us.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Got it!” Elle’s fists shot into the air as she grinned at everyone. “We’ve got our thief!”
The small gray-walled room they’d commandeered in the security department seemed to glow with her joy.
“Damn it.” Harry shoved his laptop away from him in disgust. “I was about five seconds behind you on cracking that phone.”
“Five seconds too late. Five seconds slower. Five seconds that get you second place. Who’s the best?” Elle held up a hand for a high five. “I’m the best. Admit it. I totally rock.”
Harry gave her a lame high five.
“Uh, Elle.” Ryan, who’d helpfully paced the room while the tech geniuses hacked the phones in the search for their thief, had obviously run out of what little patience he possessed. “You want to tell the rest of us who it is?”
In reply, she beamed at them and flipped her laptop so they all could see her screen.
Harvard’s jaw tightened. “Pack it up. We have a meeting to attend.”
Ten minutes later, without knocking, Harvard led his team into the boardroom.
“What on earth?” Charles shouted. “Have you no manners?” He pointed a finger at Jonathan. “This is exactly why you should never have put this man in charge of security without consulting the rest of us first.”
Jonathan ignored him. “Did you find something?”
“Yeah.” Harvard glanced around the room and caught Rachel’s eye. He winked at her, and she rolled her eyes at him, which almost made him grin and ruin his badass image. “How do you want this to go?”