Catching Sam: Book 2 of 5: The MacDonald Brothers by Emily Matthews (best mystery novels of all time TXT) 📗

“Oh, that reminds me. I stopped by your office the other day to say hi, but you were deep in conversation with Cooper’s assistant. Do you need an admin assistant?”

“Huh? Oh, no. She’s just a friend.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll let you get some sleep. Thanks for letting me crash your evening.”

He gave her one last peck on the mouth and left.

CHAPTER TEN

“So, about this idea I’ve been trying to get you to listen to,” Phil began. It was Monday morning, and Sam was at his desk sipping coffee, trying to get some work done.

“Oh, here we go,” said Sam.

“Just hear me out. It’s an auction.”

“Oh? I’ve never gone to one of those before.”

“Will you let me finish?” Phil asked. “It’s an auction, but you don’t just bid on things. I mean, there will be things to bid on, but in this case, you are what people bid on. It’s a live auction of people!” He sounded so excited.

“Is that even legal?” Sam looked up from his computer. “It doesn’t sound very politically correct.”

“People volunteer to be auctioned off. Just for like a day or even an hour. Some of them are people you only get to have lunch with, but bigwigs, you know? Like you.”

“I see what you’re doing. Don’t try to flatter me into it.”

“It’s a big deal, Sam. A lot of Seattle’s top politicians and sports figures are doing it. Matthew’s doing it.”

“He is? Well, why didn’t you say so? If he’s in, I’ll do it too.” Matthew was Sam’s business partner. Together they had founded and built Samatrix. The “sama” in Samatrix was the first two letters of Sam’s name and the first two of Matthew’s.

“Well, that was easy. I’ll lead with that next time,” Phil muttered. “It’s for cancer research, specifically here at the University of Washington Medical Center. They want to try out some experimental drugs that don’t have government backing yet and need funding. It’s a good cause.”

“They’re all good causes, Phil. No one would do a fundraiser for something no one wanted to support.”

“Good point. Since I’m on a roll, let’s revisit the matchmaker thing we talked about. I did some research and have a recommendation for which one you might want to start with.”

Great. Phil didn’t know anything about Annie, and Sam couldn’t tell him about her either. As far as Phil knew, Sam was just as single as he had been last week. How could he get out of this without raising red flags?

“I told you, I don’t need that yet,” Sam hedged.

“Whatever happened with Annabelle?” Phil asked, pretending to brush something off his pant leg. Like Sam couldn’t see straight through this fishing expedition.

“Nothing, why?” Sam averted his eyes. Why was Phil asking about this now? Did he suspect something? The last thing he needed was Phil breathing down his neck while he was trying to pursue Annie.

“Just curious. You said you liked her and wanted to go for it but haven’t said anything since. Normally you’re an open book, but you’re acting cagey. Have you seen her?”

“A, none of your business, and B, no. Just around the office,” he lied. “Look, if you want to sign me up for some stupid website, fine. But you have to manage it all.” That should get Phil off his back. And he didn’t actually have to go out with any of the women. He could come up with excuses all day long with reasons why he couldn’t.

Phil’s phone vibrated, making it dance an inch across the table. Phil picked it up and read the incoming text.

“Speak of the devil. HR just texted. Apparently, Annabelle is trying to hijack Cooper’s assistant, and Cooper’s having a fit over it. Not what I want to deal with right now.”

Sam stood from behind the desk and made a show of stretching. “Tell you what. I need to get out of here and stretch my legs. I’ll handle Annabelle and Cooper. You go tell the auction people I’m in and set up the matchmaker deal.”

***

Annie had arrived at work to find Beckie crying quietly at her desk. She pulled Beckie into her office and closed the door. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I’m sorry,” Beckie sobbed. Now that she was behind a closed door and with someone who would listen, she let it all out.

Annie put her arm around the younger woman and murmured soothing words while stroking her hair. “Hey, it’s okay. It will be okay. Is it your mother?”

“Yes. She’s not doing very well. The last round of chemo really wiped her out. I’d like to stay home with her more, but I’m the only one working right now and we can’t afford for me not to.”

“Do you have anyone to help you with things?”

“My sister. She stays home to take care of my mom, and I work to make money and make sure we have insurance.”

“What about your dad?”

“He left a long time ago. My mom has a brother, but he lives in the Midwest. He sends money sporadically, but not enough for us to live on and pay all the medical bills.”

“That’s a lot of responsibility for two young women. How old are you, Beckie?”

“I’m twenty-two, and my sister is twenty. It’s not so bad. Before my mom got sick, I was in college and had a great time there. And I was really lucky to land this job when I did. I was up with my mom most of the night, so I’m just tired and having a bad day. Mr. Cooper treats me like I’m an idiot, and on days like today, when I don’t want to be here at all, it really gets to me.”

“Hm. That’s too bad,” Annie said sympathetically. “How about we go get a cup of coffee, maybe a cookie? And see if we can turn your day around. I’ll go clear it with Cooper.” She handed Beckie a tissue and left without giving her a chance