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Nodding, I hand him the manila envelope with the drive and watch as he walks it over to a painting on the wall. Swinging it open to reveal a hidden safe, he dials in a code and locks the envelope inside before returning the painting to its original position.
His dark eyes lock to my face when he faces me again.
“Have you heard from Everly, by any chance?”
Shaking my head, I ignore the worry creeping down my spine. I have no idea what Everly’s involved in, but last I heard, she was moving away from Georgia to another state. She’s been out of touch since.
“No. Not for a few weeks. I was wondering if her brother has heard anything.”
He steps up to stand in front of me.
“Unfortunately, no. Scott last heard from her when you did. You’ll let us know as soon as she contacts you again?”
I nod, and he smiles at the response.
“Thank you. Tell your father hello from me, but I really should be getting back to my guests.”
“Oh,” I say, flustered by being reminded I’ve crashed the event. “Yes, of course.”
We don’t say anything else as he leads me out of the office and back to the grand staircase.
Governor Callahan heads down, but my attention is drawn to a woman moving quickly toward me from the opposite hall, her ombré gown familiar.
Behind her, the dark-haired man I remember seeing the woman with previously is chasing after her, both of them failing to notice me as they turn to descend the stairs.
Apparently I’m not the only one who notices, the redhead I saw with Ivy outside is coming up the stairs, her body stilling in place as they rush by.
I take a few steps down, but can’t help my curiosity about what the redhead is staring up at, my head turning to see a man standing at the top of the stairs, his eyes locked on her, a smirk stretching his lips.
Assuming they know each other - and that, really, none of this is my business - I continue down the stairs to see the same man round the base of the staircase.
Confused, I glance back up and realize they must be identical twins.
The redhead looks between them and smiles.
Hell, I’d be smiling as well to be trapped between those two.
Once on the bottom floor, I turn to see that Ames has moved from where she was just a few minutes ago. Annoyance floods me to wonder where she ran off to.
Coming around the side of the staircase to pass a small bar set up identical to another one on the opposite wall, I turn my head when a woman shouts loud enough for her voice to echo through the mansion.
“Oh, my God! Yes, Tanner! Give it to me harder!”
My brows shoot up my head, surprise flooding me. I’m not the only one. Every person within earshot turns to glance that direction, some laughing, others whispering about what they heard.
I’m not sure what kind of parties Governor Callahan throws, but this is a lot more than I expected.
Shaking my head, I turn again to run down the narrow walkway, but crash into someone because I wasn’t paying attention, my shirt soaked when the person’s drink spills on me, my eyes lifting to lock with those of another gorgeous man.
He’s much taller than me, forcing me to crane my neck to stare up at him. The first thing I notice is the dark brown of his stylishly disheveled hair and the deep blue of his eyes.
My gaze skates down to notice a tattoo peeking up from the collar of his white button-down shirt. A quick glance at him would lead you to believe he’s just as stuffy as the rest of the people attending this party, but if you look closer, you see there’s more to him.
“Sorry about -“
“You should watch where you’re walking,” he snaps, his gruff voice rubbing me the wrong way, especially since I’m the one who ended up wearing his drink.
After glancing down at my white shirt, which is now practically transparent, I lift my eyes to his face again, anger heating my cheeks.