Page 46 of Artifice (Pros and Cons Mysteries #4)

T he meeting had lasted well into dinner time, and Denarau had said he’d order food for everybody. Right now they had a break to stretch their legs.

That was something Olive could desperately use right now.

Especially as she felt Sheffield’s gaze on her.

If he said something in front of the whole group, then her cover would definitely be blown.

Not to mention the fact that he might be angry with her for what her father had done.

Or maybe he would have answers about her father.

It was hard to say. But she definitely wouldn’t be asking any of those questions right now.

Instead she stepped outside.

For once, it was sunny out here.

She drew in a deep breath.

She glanced around her, noting that no one was close.

Only Mr. Thorne was within her eyesight, and he was on the other side of the property, near the large oak trees.

He seemed to rake those leaves every day.

Which seemed weird considering there were other things that clearly needed to be maintained around this place.

However, Olive had bigger worries at the moment than what this man was doing.

Instead, she grabbed her phone and dialed Tevin’s number.

She needed to know if he had any updates for her.

But the call went right to voicemail.

Her stomach clenched as she ended the call.

Tevin always answered her calls. Unless he was in the middle of something. Or hiking and without a signal.

But she couldn’t imagine what that something might be today. He’d been planning on researching most of the day.

Maybe she should call Rex as soon as she had the chance. See if he had any updates for her.

See if he had heard from Tevin.

She didn’t know what was going on, but a bad feeling brewed in her gut.

When Olive walked back inside, the first person she saw was Simon.

So he was here today.

She’d been deeply involved in the board meeting and hadn’t seen him.

Had he learned anything new? Did he know where Tevin was?

Before she could ask him, Principal Denarau clapped his hands and called everyone back into the conference room for dinner.

She gave Simon one last lingering look before stepping away.

He might be her only friend within these walls right now.

And she wasn’t even sure he was really a friend.

Why did she feel as if she were walking into the lion’s den?

As soon as she stepped inside, the smell of garlic and marinara surrounded her. Containers had been set out, and people could grab whatever they wanted.

As she walked toward the table, someone intercepted her.

Sheffield.

Internal alarms went off.

“You look awfully familiar to me.” He narrowed his gaze as he observed her. “I don’t mean to beat a dead horse but . . . I just can’t shake the feeling we’ve met before.”

“Why don’t you tell me where you’ve worked, and I’ll tell you if I ever went to school there?”

He began listing off places.

When he finished, Olive shook her head. “Sorry. I’ve never been a student at any of those fine institutions.”

“Of course.” He straightened. “You’re a Bettencourt. You only went to the most prestigious schools, I assume.”

“My parents were rather picky.”

“And what did your parents do?”

She had the distinct feeling he was fishing for more information.

“They owned several businesses.”

Before he could question her any further, Denarau called everyone to the table.

It gave Olive the perfect opportunity to slip away. But she wasn’t sure how much time she would be able to buy.