Connor growled out, “No. It’s not.” But damn, I wish it was.
“If you say so. Your personal life is none of my business,” Shaun said.
Connor almost burst out laughing. Every time he spoke to Shaun, something about his life came up. Things were cut and dry when he talked to Brice. That guy was all business. But then again Brice probably would’ve shot down his request to use the chopper. So it was a tradeoff.
“I take it you heard that I’ll be leaving for Tabiq in a few days,” Connor said.
“Yes I did. I also heard that your sister is expecting a baby. Why don’t you take a few days off and go see her before you leave?”
“You think I’ll be gone that long?” Connor asked. Bennett hadn’t given him any real details. Only said he could use him in Tabiq, and that was enough for him.
“Actually I have no idea why he even asked you to go. Things right now are quiet there. And when they are not, he has his team there. But since the Hendersons have a large presence there, it does make sense for you to be familiar with that location as well.”
It was really the only one that piqued his interest lately. There was no logical reason as to why the Hendersons would want to build a resort in a place like that. Guess I’m going to find out.
“Bennett didn’t mention anything about me taking time off before flying to Tabiq,” Connor said.
Shaun replied, “Good thing he doesn’t sign your paycheck.”
That was clear enough. “Okay. I guess I’ll head down to Tennessee and see Kollette.”
“Good. And while you’re there, I have some paperwork I’d like you to bring to Ethan. I want his feedback on the specification on the materials we’re going to be using at our new location in New York.”
“I’m surprised you’re not just using Lawson Steel,” Connor said.
“We’ve agreed not to,” Shaun said.
That was one odd answer. Lawson Steel was well known all over the world. Why wouldn’t they use them? Maybe that answer lies in Tabiq.
“I’ll head out in the morning, if that is okay with you?” Connor asked.
“It’s fine. It’ll also give you time to make sure Dr. Chinto makes it home safely as well,” Shaun replied.
He didn’t miss the hint of sarcasm. “Yes it will. I guess I’ll talk to you when I return from Tabiq,” he said.
“For some reason, I have a feeling I’ll hear from you long before that,” Shaun said.
“Why is that?” he asked.
“Just a gut feeling. I’ll have the paperwork brought to your office before the end of the day.”
“And I’ll be sure to hand deliver it to Ethan tomorrow.”
He ended the call and looked at the clock. He’d told Krista he’d be back home by six. The dinner reservations were for seven. He had plenty of time to finish everything here. There shouldn’t be any reason for interruptions tonight.
She’s the only distraction I want.
Krista couldn’t believe she squeezed in a shopping trip into everything else she had to do today. Connor must not have looked at her at all if he thought she could fit into his sister’s clothes. They were built totally different. First of all, Kollette was a few inches taller, and then Krista a few pounds heavier for sure. She couldn’t remember the last time she fit into a size small for a top. It was probably high school before her breasts decided they wanted to triple in size. Thankfully they stopped at size D, otherwise she’d probably topple over.
“I really can’t believe you’re here in Boston. I wish you could stay,” Patty said.
“You know I’m not the Boston type,” Krista said. “I like Montpelier.”
“So do I, but you can’t deny how much fun we just had shopping for clothes. Of course, it’d be more fun if I didn’t have this bump in the way,” Patty said rubbing her stomach.
“You can still shop, but for maternity clothes,” Krista stated. “I really wish you would’ve let me buy you a few outfits. You’re going to need them soon.”
“Are you saying that I’m getting fat already?”
Krista chuckled. “The correct term is showing. And with twins, you can expect to show early.”
“I plan on wearing Mikie’s sweatpants and I’m going to stretch out his t-shirts too. It’s going to drive him crazy,” she laughed.
“Unless Mikie has gained a lot of weight, I don’t think you’re going to fit in them for very long.” Even as she spoke, Mikie was walking towards them. “Look who finally caught up to us?”
“When you said you were going to stop at a store, I didn’t think you were going to buy the entire place,” he said.
Patty held up several bags. “Our babies are going to be the best dressed twins in town.”
Mikie said, “You really didn’t have to do that Dr. Chinto.”
“I know, but I wanted to.” She knew they didn’t even have a place of their own. They needed all the help they could get.
“Between this and what your boss gave you, the babies should have everything when they’re born,” Patty said.
“The Hendersons are helping?” Krista asked.
“No. Mr. Falciano gave Mikie money for helping him. Isn’t that nice?” Patty said. She noticed Mikie give Patty a warning look. “Oh yeah. I wasn’t supposed to say anything. But it’s not like you know him anyway. Well, not really. You just delivered his baby for him.”
Krista couldn’t believe this. She thought all this was behind them. “It wasn’t his baby, but you’re correct, I don’t know him.” Because the man I know says he doesn’t like kids but seems to be doing a lot of helping when kids are involved.
That softer side of Connor was creeping out more. Or maybe it was always there and he just did a better job of covering his tracks. What she still didn’t grasp, was what was Mikie doing for Connor?
“Since I know, you might as well tell me what Connor, I mean Mr. Falciano, hired you to do for him,” she asked. Mikie looked like he didn’t want to tell her. “I promise not to tell anyone.”
“Yeah, that’s what I told him. But I guess I already broke that one,” he said.
“I’m sorry Mikie.” Patty started crying. “It just slipped out.”
Mikie wrapped his arms around Patty and said, “Don’t worry. I think it falls under doctor patient confidentially.” He looked at Krista and asked, “Am I right Dr. Chinto?”
“My lips are sealed,” she replied. Because that wasn’t even close to what the law meant. But it seemed to have done the trick and Patty stopped crying.
“He hired me to find everything I could on the Internet about you and him in New York. You’d be surprised how quickly that shit spread. By the way, you got more hits for delivering that baby than Mr. Falciano did for holding her.”
“What did he want you to do with all that information?” she asked.
“Block it when I couldn’t get it ripped down. If someone even tries searching for it now, they get a message they won’t like. Guess I should’ve mentioned that to Mr. Falciano. Then again, he didn’t ask. All he wanted was to make sure you weren’t being harassed anymore.”