Read Online Heaven to Betsy (Emily #1) by Pamela Fagan Hutchins - Free Book Online Page B

noise?”
    “What noise?”
    “It sounded like you were having a party. Or a bomb went off.”
    He shook his head. “I dropped some books.”
    “Huh.” Maybe. “Well, whatever it was, I just wanted to tell you, you’re a thief.”
    He raised one eyebrow, framing the amber eye below it perfectly. For a second, I stood there, mesmerized. My super-irritating boss really did have arrestingly beautiful eyes. I gave myself a mental slap. And
I
was pregnant and not-yet-officially divorced and
he
had posted my Miss Rodeo Amarillo picture on my computer.
    “The picture of me? My computer background?”
    “Ah, yes. No, not a thief.”
    I waited several long seconds for him to elaborate, but of course he didn’t. I threw up my hands and let them fall back against my thighs. It was only 8:05 in the morning and already he had me discombobulated. I’d have to learn not to let this man get my goat.
    “Well, I’m here. What would you like me to work on?”
    He lifted a file from his desk into the air. “Here’s Sofia’s file. Find out everything there is to know about her.”
    “Not a problem. I’ve tracked down enough people in my years as a paralegal—if Sofia’s information can be found, I’ll find it.”
    I reached out for the file but he held onto it. I put my hand down.
    “And call Judith,” he said. “Tell her we’ll be there by noon tomorrow and can meet with Paul Johnson after lunch. Ask her to make all the arrangements.”
    “Who’s Judith?”
    “My secretary.”
    Ah, the missing secretary. “Can I get a phone number?”
    He offered the file and I grabbed it. He scribbled something on a piece of paper. I grabbed that, too, and read the number. The area code was 575. I held the paper up.
    “Where’s 575?”
    “Tularosa.”
    “Tula-huh?”
    He cocked his head at me. “New Mexico. Near Alamogordo.”
    I still drew a blank.
    He shook his head. “Southwest of Ruidoso, Albuquerque, Santa Fe?”
    “Oh. Never heard of it. Why do I call her there?”
    “Because that’s where she is.”
    My hand itched. Did I really want to slap my boss? I’d never been a violent person before my pregnancy. I clenched my fist and used my most patient voice: “Why is she there?”
    “Because that’s where my office is.”
    “I thought this was your office?”
    “This is my office, too.”
    “You realize you’re about as clear as a mud puddle right now, don’t you?”
    He spoke very slowly and distinctly. “I have offices in Amarillo
and
in Tularosa. We are going to New Mexico tomorrow. Do you hear me now?”
    “We, Kemosabe? I don’t recall you asking me if I could travel. And for how long?”
    He raised his left brow, the dimple side. The man had a lot of left-centric talent, I’d give him that.
    “You have other plans?” He asked, sounding shocked at the thought.
    Forget slapping. I wanted to strangle him, which made him the second person I’d imagined inflicting injury upon in the span of an hour. Was it them or was it me?
    Them. Definitely them.
    ***
    By noon my nausea had abated enough that I decided I didn’t need to see a doctor. There was almost nothing I hated more than doctors, even at the best of times. I’d been in Amarillo for two weeks now and
still
hadn’t set up an appointment with an obstetrician. It was pretty much a guarantee that, once I did, my cat would be out of the bag. No point in rushing to get to someplace I wasn’t ready to go. Plus, I’d seen a doc in Dallas after I’d first peed on a stick. He’d said everything looked fine. I wasn’t the first pregnant woman in the history of the world, and I’d survive.
    Working diligently through the morning, Snowflake and I learned all there was to learn about Sofia Cristiana Perez of Amarillo via Mexico: nada. As in not a darn thing. Although the file on Sofia that Jack had given me was anorexically thin, I already knew from it that she had no prior criminal record, or any other kind of official record for that matter. Still, I