Daryl was looking particularly mountain mannish, as if he’d decided trimming his rusty colored beard wasn’t required as long as he wore a dress shirt. He had that chest hair peeking out look that I found gross, and his whole appearance made paying attention to him difficult, especially today.
“How are you doing out here? Any problems? Any security issues?” he asked in his best dad voice.
“West and Varo would have told you if there were any. I don’t think they keep much to themselves when it comes to their job.”
“True. Those boys do take their job seriously. I’m thinking Tristan must have found them at a military school or something. They’re good for what we need them to be, though. I was talking more about Karl or anyone from the Stone Worldwide Board. Have they tried to contact you at all?”
I shook my head and frowned at even the mention of them. “No. Why would they contact me?”
“Because they likely think you know where he is.”
“Well, as you well know, I don’t, even though I think you do,” I said in a voice that reflected my anger and frustration at the whole situation.
Daryl stared at me, and I waited for him to say either he knew or he didn’t, but instead he simply continued his train of thought. “If Karl shows up here…”
I cut him off mid-sentence. “I know. Get West and Varo up here lickity split and have them rough him up for me.”
“No. Nina, I need you to take this seriously.”
“Roughing up Karl sounds pretty serious to me, Daryl.”
“Nina, I’m responsible for making sure you’re safe. I’m just trying to do my job here.”
“Does your job include telling me where Tristan is?” I asked sharply, making the conversation come to a dead stop.
Daryl’s expression lacked any emotion at all, and he stared at me, finally answering, “No, it doesn’t.”
Even his faded brown eyes gave no indication whether he knew where Tristan was or not, so as usual, I gave up and forced a smile. “Fine. What else do we have to talk about?”
“The Karl business is a real concern, Nina. He’s gotten the Board to take over Stone Worldwide, but as long as Tristan is somewhere in this world, he can’t truly take control of the company.”
“I would think if he intended to pump me for information, he would have done it before. It’s been four months, Daryl. Karl and the Board think he’s never coming back.”
My voice caught as I spoke those words. Never coming back. A knot twisted in my stomach as the words echoed in my head. Never coming back.
“We have to be careful,” Daryl continued, likely not noticing that I didn’t want to talk about this anymore. “Karl is going to be a danger as long as Tristan’s gone.”
I couldn’t do this today. Jumping up from the couch, I threw my hands up. “Then maybe he shouldn’t be gone! Maybe he should be here handling things instead of leaving everything up to me!”
Daryl stared up at me, his eyes wide for a moment until his expression calmed once again. I knew this whole situation wasn’t his fault, and it wasn’t right for me to shoot the messenger. It’s just that it all was too much sometimes, and this morning I was really feeling down. I sat again, feeling guilty for my outburst. It wasn’t even noon yet and I was exhausted.
“I’m sorry. I know you’re just doing your job, Daryl.”
“No problem. Everybody has to let off a little steam every so often. I understand.”
“Just tell me what you need me to do and I’ll do it,” I said, resigned to the fact that today was yet another day that I wouldn’t hear the words I so desperately wanted him to say.
“I need you to just stay strong. I can’t tell you when he’s coming back, but he will. You just have to believe.”
Nodding, I plastered a smile on my face. “Got it. Believe. I’m on it.”
“I also need you to make sure West and Varo know your every move.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he stopped me. “I know you don’t like it, but this is the way Tristan wants it. Those two are just doing their jobs too, so how about you give them a break?”
“Got it. Give the big guys a break.”
I wanted to scream that I wanted a break, but something about the way Daryl explained things made me feel like an ass for complaining. I lived a life most people would give their right arm for. I had a beautiful home, a cook who made my meals, a driver to take me wherever my heart desired, and bodyguards to ensure my safety. Tristan had made sure my bank account had swelled to a sum more than I could spend in ten years. There wasn’t a thing I couldn’t buy. What on Earth did I have to complain about?
Tristan may have felt some bond with Daryl, but to me he was merely the bearer of bad tidings. Just once I wished he would show up with a smile on his hairy face and tell me that all this was over and Tristan was coming home.
Daryl took out his small notebook from his jacket and began to flip through the pages searching for some detail he believed I needed to know. I craned my neck in an effort to see what he’d written, but I couldn’t read his handwriting upside down. He licked the pad of his thumb and flipped up one last page before he scanned what he’d written and nodded.
Raising his gaze to look at me, he said in a serious voice, “I knew I had one more thing to talk to you about. You’re going to have to hire a gardener or caretaker for the grounds now that the weather is getting better.”
“This is what you searched for in your little notebook? A gardener? I can’t just have West or Varo do it?” Actually, since West was always so abrupt with me, I liked the idea of him stuck on a riding mower for hours a few times a month, but something told me that Jordan would be all about seeing Varo shirtless and weed whacking. She’d tried in vain to get his attention for weeks since she realized the gorgeous man she’d seen at the bar that night months ago lived just yards away from her.
Furrowing his brow, Daryl groaned. “No. They guard you. They don’t prune hedges.”
Daryl was no fun at all. “Fine. Then I’ll get a gardener.”
Finished with our meeting, he stood and looked down at me to ask the question he always asked right before he left. “Is there anything you need?”
I took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, letting my shoulders sag. Looking up at him, I said, “Please tell me if you’ve talked to him. Please.”