Whispered Secrets by Elizabeth Lennox

Chapter 17

“Why did you let Desiree in here??” Oliver demanded, storming into his office but…sighing and…coming to a halt when he realized that Desiree was already there. 

Jamie glowered.  “She must have slipped through when I was downstairs.  Sir, a woman came by to see you.  But she’s gone now.”

Desiree wasn’t waiting around.  She rushed forward, ignoring Jamie.

“I didn’t mean to spill your secrets, Oliver,” she blurted.  “I didn’t know that she wasn’t aware of who you were!”

A very bad feeling washed over Oliver all of a sudden.  “What are you talking about?” he demanded, tossing the reports from his last meeting onto his desk.  He was tired and hungry.  All he wanted to do was head out of here and find Maggie.

“Maggie,” Desiree said.

That got his attention and he stiffened angrily.  “What about Maggie?” he demanded.

“I didn’t know that she wasn’t aware of who you were, Oliver!”

His jaw clenched.  “So you took it upon yourself to fill her in?” he asked, his voice deadly soft.

Oliver was already halfway to the door when her words registered.

“How was I supposed to know that she didn’t know who you were?  You’re huge in this town!  She’s an idiot if she didn’t…!”

“Stop it, Desiree!  What did you do?  Why would she find out now?”

She shrank back and he wanted to roar with fury. 

“She was just spouting something about…well, how good you were and all of that silliness about…whatever.  I laughed and then realized that you must be there in the apartment complex in order to find out information about the neighborhood,” she rushed to explain.  “I understand now.  You were just doing research, using her to find out more about the neighborhood.  It’s actually genius, Oliver,” she continued.  “I mean, to pretend to be in love with someone just to get information on your next project?” Desiree laughed, shrugging.  “But I didn’t let that cat out of the bag.  When I realized what you were doing, that you were only there as a spy, sort of, I left.  I doubt she realized what was going on.  I didn’t tell her and there’s no way she could possibly know about your plans.”

Oliver glared at Desiree, wishing that he could fire her.  But that thought was banished when Jamie sighed.

“She knows,” his assistant announced, staring at his shoes.

Oliver’s head swung around to glare at Jamie.  “She knows what?”

Jamie cringed, pulling his notebook closer to his chest.  “Maggie Beauchamp came by earlier today,” Jamie explained.

Oliver stared.  “Here?” he demanded.  “Maggie was here?”

Jamie cringed.  “Yes?”

Oliver’s eyes hardened. “Is that an answer or a question?” he demanded softly. 

Jamie’s shoulders slumped.  “Maggie Beauchamp was here.  I didn’t know who she was.  But…well, there was something about the way she presented herself to the security team downstairs that indicated that she was important to you.  So, I slipped out of that meeting right before noon.  I brought her up here, but because I didn’t know who she was, I didn’t want to put her in your office.”  He turned to glare at Desiree.  “I’ve been doing an excellent job of keeping the undesirables out of your office, sir.” 

Desiree barely sniffed at the insult because she knew that she’d messed up big time.

“So, if you knew that she was important to me, why didn’t you come and get me?  I would have paused the meeting for Maggie.”

“What?” Desiree practically screeched.

Oliver sighed.  “I love Maggie, Desiree.  She’s very important to me.  So just let that information sink in while Jamie finishes what he’s trying to tell me.”

“But you were engaged to me!” she blurted, stepping forward.  But when Oliver shot a quelling glance her way, Desiree took an involuntary step backwards.

“Jamie, continue. Where is Maggie?”

“She left,” Jamie explained. “When I came back to the conference room with coffee for her, she was gone.  Matt in development was there, setting up the options for that new project that you mentioned. And…?”

Jamie stopped when Oliver sliced his hand through the air.  “Are you telling me that Maggie saw the plans?  That she was there?” He barely waited until Jamie nodded confirmation before he demanded, “Which plans did she see?”

Jamie shrugged. “I don’t know.  When I came back the second time, Matt was setting up option two, and option one was already on the table. It’s the most impressive, so I don’t see how the plans could have bothered her.”

Oliver cursed under his breath as he grabbed his car keys off and hurried out of his office.

“What about me?” Desiree called out. 

He ignored her.  All he knew was that he had to get to Maggie.  He had to explain.  He couldn’t imagine what might be going through her mind.

Correction, he was pretty sure that he did know what was going through her mind.  That he’d lied to her.  That he’d tricked her.  But Oliver knew that he’d never actively lied to her. 

He didn’t think that she’d believe him.  Or maybe he hadn’t told her the truth, which was a lie of omission.  That wasn’t as bad, was it? 

Damn it, rush hour traffic was horrendous.  Washington, D.C. traffic was bad enough that even the five miles from his office to the apartments meant a forty-five minute drive that was more like sitting in a parking lot. 

Finally, he reached the turnoff for the apartment and zoomed down the street.  He slowed down as he pulled into the parking lot, cautious because the kids played in the parking lot after school and before they were called in for dinner. 

As he stepped out of his car, he noticed that Maggie’s wasn’t in her usual spot.  Was she not here?  But if she wasn’t, where would she be? 

He hurried to her apartment door and unlocked it.  They’d traded keys a couple of weeks ago.  But when he walked through the apartment, calling for her, there was no response.  Just silence.

Silence was bad!  Every night for the past few weeks, Maggie had been here, waiting for him when he returned from work.  Granted, he was early tonight, since he would normally go to his penthouse and change into jeans, but still, she’d been here.  Excited to see him and he’d been just as thrilled!

But there was no Maggie.

When he stepped out of the apartment, looking around, he found Eddie and Mick standing by the fire pit.  Both were glaring daggers at him. Instantly, Oliver knew that word had spread. 

“Do you know where Maggie is?” he asked politely.

Mick shook his head.  Eddie glared harder.  “You’re just gonna tear down the neighborhood.  We’re not telling you nothing.”

Oliver sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as fear of losing Maggie hit him hard.  “I’m not going to tear anything down,” he told them, ignoring their obvious surprise.  “In fact, she only saw one of the options.  The plan I’m going with is much more inclusive.  My company owns almost all of the land around here now.  But I think there’s a way that we can make this whole area a lot nicer to live in, without tearing down anything.”  He backed up. “If you see Maggie, will you tell her that?  Will you tell her that I’m not tearing anything down?”

The men didn’t answer, but Oliver saw the look in their eyes. They were good men and wanted Maggie to be happy.  They’d tell her. 

But four hours later, he walked into his penthouse, defeated.  He still hadn’t found Maggie.  Everywhere he’d gone, people had glared and yelled at him.  They thought he was the devil about to destroy their neighborhood.

He showered and stretched out on his bed, staring at the ceiling.  The bed was too soft, he thought.  And the room too big.  It felt cavernous after sleeping in the cozy apartment with Maggie for so long.  And Maggie wasn’t here.  Oliver realized that nothing felt right without Maggie.