Chapter 58

Jason's POV

It was the day after Andy and I had gone on a date, the date had been so perfect and I was happy until she came running to me frantically with the picture of us kissing on her phone sent to her by an unknown number. I had tried to calm her just before Bree arrived and I had to excuse myself as I immediately got to work, trying to find out who could have sent the picture and what their intent was.

Later at night when I had asked for the footage of every camera that was at the area, I had told Andy and tried to calm her down but she was still tense. I was now sitting in my study and the light from the laptop cast a faint glow across my study as I hit replay on the footage yet again, the footage flickering and rewinding to the beginning.

Every shadowy figure, every passerby, every brief flash of movement- none of it looked familiar. There was no one I recognized. No suspicious activity. Nothing even remotely unusual. I leaned forward, the screen’s glare reflected in my glasses, my jaw tense as I scrutinized every figure passing by.

No matter how many times I slowed it down, combed through each detail, or rewound, it was the same- a steady stream of people, all with blurred features, faces unidentifiable.

A wave of frustration tightened my muscles. I’d specifically requested this footage expecting answers, not this foggy, useless mess.

I had promised Andy that no one would see us and that we were safe but I was so wrong and here I was, running in circles, finding nothing that could lead me to the person responsible. I felt so angry with myself for putting her in this messy situation.

My concentration was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. I glanced up, surprised when Violet stepped into the study, carrying a glass of orange juice in a tray. Her expression was different- warm, almost saccharine, her usual no nonsense demeanor replaced with a sweet, lingering smile. From the last time we had an argument, she had been frowning at me while also being curt with me. Not like I cared. But now… she was all warm and smiley.

“Hi, sweetie,” she greeted as she walked even closer to me. “Are you okay? You look stressed.” She tilted her head, eyes wide and concerned.

“Sweetie?” I echoed, narrowing my eyes at her. Eek.
The last time we spoke, we had argued. Since then, we’d barely exchanged more than the necessary professional courtesies. Now here she was, acting like we were on the best of terms. It felt…unnatural.

“Do you need anything else?” she continued, voice soft, almost playful. “I don’t like seeing you being this tense.”

“I’m fine. There’s nothing I need, Violet. I’m just… caught up in work.” I kept my tone neutral, not wanting to give anything away. “Nothing to worry about.”

She shrugged, apparently unfazed, and held out the glass of juice. I took it, feeling the cool condensation against my palm.

“Alright then,” she replied in the same sweet voice as she opened the iPad in her hand and started reading my schedule from it.

“You have a meeting by noon and then you have a conference meeting thirty minutes after that. Then, some companies sent some documents for you to go through concerning the deal we want to close. You also need to sign the pending documents needed to commence the work that you already approved.”

“Okay, thank you.” ‘I replied absentmindedly, as I was still distracted by the thoughts of my futile attempt at finding a clue from the footage.

I had expected Violet to excuse herself after saying everything that was in my schedule for the day but she didn’t leave.

“About the other day…” She dropped her eyes momentarily before looking back at me. “I wanted to apologize. I wasn’t being professional. I crossed a line that I should have, and it’s not part of my job to act that way. I'm sorry”

I blinked, my mind catching on her words. Why the hell is she apologizing? I thought to myself.

Violet never apologized- not even when she was clearly in the wrong. It was part of her personality, something I’d long since accepted. Now here she was, offering an apology, actually admitting fault.

I kept my expression neutral. “It’s okay,” I replied, hoping to keep my voice steady, unaffected. “We will just move on from it, it’s not that serious.”

I turned back to my laptop as I put my glasses back on and focused on the screen, expecting her to understand that the conversation was over and she had been dismissed.

She hesitated for a moment, then she nodded her head before turning and walking out of the room, the door clicking shut behind her.

As she walked out of the room, I stared at the door and shook my head trying to get over my shock. Something was definitely off. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but her apology was too out of character.

Violet wasn’t someone who let disagreements get to her. She was not bothered by things like this or if I’d be angry because she knew I wouldn’t fire her, she had been working with me for years now and was the best at what she did so she knew I wouldn’t let her go. It was too bothersome to try to get someone new.

But her coming in here, offering me a juice and apologizing? There was something absolutely wrong.

I wanted to dwell on it but I just pushed it aside, maybe she was really sorry and had realized that I was not going to take things lightly with her anymore. I ran my hand through my hair as I picked up the glass of orange juice and drank out of it. I tried to focus on the footage in front of me but it was still the same thing- I was not getting anywhere and I was just wasting my time by sitting there and watching it.

About fifteen more minutes passed of me watching the footage over and over again, zooming into it, rewinding it and examining it before I finally gave up. There was nothing here. It was two things, either the person who had taken that picture had been so discreet or the camera hadn’t caught them. The cameras around that area were not many and most of it was faulty due to the area being deserted anyways.

“Fuck!” I yelled as I closed the laptop in frustration. The whole thing had been a waste of time and it didn’t yield anything, I had just sat there and I had nothing to show for it.

I didn't have the time to dwell too much on it. I had other things to do and meetings to attend. Still, as I started gathering my materials, my mind kept drifting back to that picture. The dread of being exposed, the consequences of Bree finding out- it was all I could think about.

As I walked away from the study to my room to get ready, my thoughts drifted back to the footage, the faces I couldn’t recognize, the missing details that slipped through my fingers like smoke.
And even as I started preparing for the meeting, Violet’s unusual behavior kept nudging at the back of my mind. Something about it wasn’t right.

Ugh. There was way too much on my mind.

Trying to shake off the tension, I went over to the mirror, adjusting my tie and preparing myself for the meeting. But the thoughts kept clawing at my focus, demanding my attention.
Maybe she really was just trying to fix things. But still, a nagging doubt remained, keeping me on edge.