Hoping like hell my father would forget what Sierra just said, I quickly started talking. “When I mentioned to him about breaking into your house, he had no idea what I was talking about.”
My father leaned up and looked at me. “When did you talk to Dr. Jackson?”
Fuck.
“This morning.”
Nodding his head, I was shocked he accepted such a vague answer.
Sierra’s eyes widened in horror. “If it isn’t Robert?” Shaking her head, she stared at me as fear filled her eyes. “Who could it be?”
“That’s what Aaron will find out for you, Mrs. Jackson. Dr. Jackson very well could have paid off your maid to leave the rose there to scare you.” Turning to me, my father stood. “I have a meeting I need to get to. You good here?”
“Yes, thank you, sir, for your help,” I said with a smile.
Giving me a quick smile, my father opened the conference room door. He turned and glanced between Sierra and me. “Check with my secretary for an opening this afternoon; I’d like to speak with you, Aaron.”
Giving him a smile, I said, “Of course, sir.”
Turning, he walked out of the office. The moment the door shut, Sierra stood up. “I didn’t mean to call you Dodge. It just slipped.”
“It’s okay. Let’s get back to the rose.”
“No. No I don’t want to get back to the rose. If we talk about the rose and Robert not being the one who planted it, then that means a total stranger planted it there.”
Sighing, I asked, “Did you call to get the locks changed? What about an alarm?”
Sierra’s hands began to tremble and I wanted more than anything to pull her into my arms and hold her. “Y-yes. I fired the housecleaner and called an alarm company first thing this morning.”
“Good, I’m glad you took care of that first thing.”
Looking down at the table, Sierra barely spoke. “Dodge, the cleaning lady hasn’t been to my house in four days.”
Reaching across the table, I took Sierra’s hand in mine. “They might have waited to come back in so you wouldn’t suspect her.”
Nodding her head, Sierra whispered, “Yeah. Probably.”
Giving me a weak smile, Sierra stood. “I emailed you all the paperwork from the trust fund. I really haven’t taken a look at it to be honest. I always knew when I turned thirty it would be there. It’s not millions of dollars.” Shrugging her shoulders, Sierra took in a deep breath. “My father invested in a lot of real estate. I’m thinking Robert wants some of the real estate along the coast.”
Pulling out my phone, I pulled up my email. Seeing Sierra’s email, I nodded my head. “I’ll go over all of this before the trial.”
Standing up, Sierra said, “Okay, sounds good. I have to get back to work but after today, I’m off for two weeks. I wanted my head clear before the court date. Since I’m not going to the coast now or South Texas, I’ll be around.”
My mind began swirling as I thought of reasons to call her down to the office. “Okay, sounds good. Sierra, I have one more question though. Actually, it’s not really a question.”
Throwing her purse over her shoulder, Sierra said, “Shoot.”
Looking down at the file, I got ready for her reaction. “I need you to reconsider the whole incident with Robert when he—”
Holding up her hand, she shook her head. “He was drunk, Dodge. I’m not making excuses, but if I pull this card out, then he pulls a card out and no telling what cards he can make up. I just want this over. I need this to be over. I’m not pressing charges. Period.”
Nodding my head, I whispered, “Right. Okay. Any other text messages from him?”
“No.”
“We go to trial in three weeks; let’s make sure all our ducks are in a row.”
The moment I said it, I knew she would respond in a smart-ass way. “Awe, you do like duckies. Wonder what you would think if you knew I had a pair of ducky panties on right now?” Wiggling her eyebrows up and down, my mouth dropped opened.
My fantasy was going to come true right before my eyes. I’d take her right here on the table. Swallowing hard, I said, “Prove it.”
Sierra’s face turned bright red. “W-what?”
Standing up, I walked over to her. “What’s the matter, short stack? You all talk?”
“You wish. I’m just afraid you’ll pass out.”
“Then show me.”
“Ahh . . . yeah . . . so anyone can just walk in and see me showing you my . . .”