Page 7 of Beautiful Chaos
The first thing I saw was a police report. Taking it all in as I quickly scanned the report, my heart sank.
No wonder she was so fidgety and uncomfortable.
“Hello, earth to Jasper.” Max stood leaning over my desk and waved his hand in front of my face to grab my attention. He’d been rambling about a woman he was with the night before. Max was a one-night kind of man, and the women he chose to bed didn’t mind it either.
“Yeah, what did you say?” I asked, tilting my head towards him with my eyes still stuck on my computer monitor. He rolled his eyes dismissing my ignorance and waved a hand towards the screen.
“I was able to retrieve a lot on the initial incident through public records, the police reports, and witness statements. I have a friend at the police station there in Atlanta. I’m sure I could get him on the line if you needed more, who is this girl? Why are we interested in her background?” Max asked, picking at his nails. Now seated with his feet stretched out in front of him.
“Is there a current employment listed?” I asked again ignoring his questioning.
He raised an eyebrow suddenly aware of my avoidance.
“Well, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t get the current info too. Flip to the next page. She works downtown in some bookstore on the weekends, and during the week she works for the local newspaper as an errand girl or assistant or something.” he answered unbothered.
“So, are you going to tell me why we are interested in this girl?”
“Not we, me,” I snapped. I wrote the address down on a Post-it. I got up, grabbed my jacket from the couch, and headed for the open door.
“Cancel my appointments for this morning. I’ll be back this afternoon for the debriefing.” I yelled over my shoulder.
Walking into the elevator, I quickly texted my driver to meet me outside at the curb along with the address to the bookstore where Harper worked. Just as expected he was right there when I exited my building. Good help is hard to come by, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t one of the best drivers I’ve ever had.
“Sir.” He welcomed me with the door open, anticipating my arrival.
“Thank you, Hector, did you get the address I texted?” I asked unbuttoning my suit jacket as I slid onto the leather seat.
“Yes sir, it’s only about a ten-minute drive from us, with no traffic.”
“Good, let’s go,” I demanded before he closed the door behind me.
Chapter 7
HARPER
The Uber pulled up at the front of the bookstore. I glanced down at my phone to see that thankfully; I was five minutes early. Reaching into my pocket, I felt slightly uneasy without my purse, I searched for the front door keys as the driver sped off down the road leaving me on the sidewalk.
The building was old, and as you can imagine the doors were just as old. Sometimes the deadbolt could be quite stubborn when I tried to unlock it. I put the key into the lock and tried to turn it but it didn’t budge. I turned the key over and did it again. Then I jiggled it a little, but still nothing. I pulled the key out again and felt my face get hot with frustration. I heard footsteps coming toward me from behind.
I immediately thought of Mrs. Lester. She was there every single Saturday at opening time like clockwork. She’s never bought anything; She comes in and reads from the books for a few hours and then leaves in the afternoon. Old man Frank mentioned that she had been visiting for several years since her husband’s passing. He doesn’t mind that she never buys anything; he finds solace in the fact that she takes comfort here, and he thinks his late wife would have found it rewarding.
He is such a genuine man.
“Sorry Mrs. Lester, I’ll have us in momentarily. I need to get the key to work is all.” I said the last part with a grunt dropping to a kneeling position to get at a better angle with the keyhole. determined to get the door opened, I didn’t even bother to look back.
When she didn’t respond I glanced back. I was startled by a tall figure hovering over me, wearing a smirk.
Terrified at seeing someone other than who I expected, I stumbled backward. I barely had time to brace for impact before strong hands steadied me, saving me from an embarrassing tumble. With a nervous laugh, I stepped backward to create distance between us. His hand slowly lowered from my elbow, which he had grabbed to keep me from falling. His gaze locked onto mine, carrying an indescribable quality that oddly instilled a sense of safety within me.
Who is this man?
“I’m sorry sir, I thought you were….” my voice trailed off as my eyes made my way up this tall figure.
He was beautiful.
He dressed in designer clothing from head to toe, looking as if he had stepped straight out of a GQ photo shoot and came straight to the bookstore.
His navy blue suit, tailored to him. had to be, I couldn’t imagine there being a rack, he could find a suit to fit his perfectly muscled body as that suit did. He wore a white button-down shirt, his tie loosened exposing the tattoos just below his neck creeping up. I couldn’t tell what was sketched there, but somehow it made him seem more intriguing. His face was not clean-shaven like you’d expect in such a well-dressed man instead, he had a full beard that was neatly trimmed to accentuate his chiseled jaw. He had dimples on either side of his mouth that showed the slightest change in expression. His eyes… His eyes were blue and swirled with bits of brown around the irises.