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“Okay this isn’t about Houston. God, Cole.” Her voice cracks. “I might need you to defend me.”
“What? Why?”
“My bastard fiancé was a con man. I signed some documents. I didn’t know what they were.”
“Stop talking,” I say. “We don’t—”
“Do this on the phone. I know.”
“When can you be back here?” I ask.
“I’m tied up with a visa issue.”
“Over those papers?”
“Yes. I don’t even know what they were. I don’t know what they say I did wrong. I can’t understand these people, literally can’t understand them. They keep talking in French. I swear I hate this bastard. He used me. I know to stop talking, but I’m in Europe, Cole. What do I do?”
“Are you safe?”
“Yes. I went to the embassy. They’re trying to help me, but even they barely speak good English.”
“I need a secure line to talk with you on. Can they provide it?”
“I’ll find out,” she says, but no one seems to be here today.
“Do you need money?” I ask.
“I don’t want to ask you for money.”
“That’s a yes,” I say. “I’ll wire you funds, find out the best way to get them to you, and call you back.”
“Thank you, Cole.”
“Don’t thank me. Stay safe.” I disconnect and forget the shave. I need to get us on the road. I work on packing while I dial my bank and inquire about the best way to get funds to Europe.
I’m done early, and I dial Lori. “Any chance you’re ready?”
“I am. I can meet you in the hallway.”
We disconnect and a minute later both of us exit to the hallway. Lori, now dressed in snug faded jeans, boots, and a V-neck pink lace top, casts me a look and frowns. “What’s wrong?”
I motion toward the elevator. “My assistant, Ashley. Apparently, the guy she was going to marry was a con artist. She’s in trouble. I’m going to wire her money and we’re going to have to help her get out of this.”
“What can I do?”
It’s the perfect answer, as my woman and as my associate. I update her, and we decide we have to get a temporary secretary into the office. We reach the airport, and I’ve dealt with calling Ashley, and her wire. Lori and I are just stepping on the plane when her phone rings. She digs it out as she claims the window seat in the center of the plane and answers. “Hey, mom.”
The flight attendant stops beside us, and I order us both coffee and breakfast. “Yes,” Lori says as I tune the conversation back in. “I’m with my boss,” she adds, looking at me. “Cole. Cole Brooks. Yes, he’s still arrogant.”
I laugh at what is obviously a reference to a conversation about me.
“Yes, that was him laughing,” Lori says, “and yes, I said it in front of him. No, mother, I’m not going to get fired. For an arrogant man he’s got a fairly decent sense of humor.”
This exchange goes on for a few minutes before she disconnects and sticks her phone in her purse. “She says hello.”
“You’re not going to tell her about us, are you?” I ask.
“This is one of those things, Cole,” she says. “She’ll worry, and her stroke was too recent for me to put that on her.”
