46. Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Six
The New Investor
RAFA
A month and a half later
The incidents that followed Rafa’s returning the grimoire felt like a steady release that eased into a peaceful conclusion.
The blizzards had stopped, and the electric fluctuations ceased.
Soon, the trees sprouted their motley colors of green and orange; the air became crisp again, business in Autumn Town was back in full swing, and Cedarthorne Estate was silent after nearly a century of unrest. It took a few days, but the town slowly came back to life.
The Christmas season came and went without issue, and the New Year burgeoned with new hope.
One chilly morning in mid-January, Rafa paced through his office while reviewing a backlog of fiscal reports and audit findings.
When he pulled his desk chair out to sit, he noticed a few cat hairs strewn all over the seat cushion.
He smiled sadly. Auden had picked up Kimmy and Hana weeks ago, and they were living in their cottage by the lake again—that cottage—his stomach dropped.
Rafa checked Sal’s social media page from time to time, and each time he did, he wallowed in self-pity by burying himself in more work.
It became so problematic that he deleted all his social media apps.
Now a month had passed since he deleted them, and since then, he had focused solely on the business.
He buried himself in work, sometimes slept at the office, and when his mother and Aveline asked about what happened, he said good things about Sal and the Philippines and offered no explanation beyond that.
Though, as expected, this didn’t escape Aveline’s watchful eye. “So how did we win the art show again?” she asked as she paced through Rafa’s office.
“Long story short, it went well,” he said, trying to distract himself with papers.
“I’m only halfway through the audits, and we’re in the green now…
” he said, eyes still fixed on the Excel files on his desktop screen.
“After all these months, we pulled through,” he said, relieved that at least one thing had gone well while he was away.
Aveline sat on the loveseat positioned across from Rafa’s desk. “Yes, we were fortunate. But we also have a new investor,” she said in a tone that sounded like she was teasing him.
“Yes, I heard,” he said, momentarily looking at her and then refocusing his attention on the spreadsheets. “Which investor?” he asked as he typed on his keyboard.
His sister huffed, which almost broke his focus. “Can’t say; I think it’s best you find out yourself.”
Her tone and roundabout way of telling annoyed him. “Okay, now who is it? And how much did they invest?” he asked. She now had his full attention.
“Enough to assure our partners that despite the theft and the closing of our Portland expansion, we still have some leeway.”
Rafa blinked and sat back.
His sister stared at him, beaming and looking slightly amused. “Rafa, I thought you’d find out by now.”
Rafa pulled up the financial statements and backtracked to nearly two months ago.
And there, in bright blue print, was a deposit of two million.
It was a conspicuous date because that was the day Sal had left with Harmon to Budapest. He stood up and placed his hands on his hips.
“This means nothing…” he said in disbelief.
She could’ve felt guilty, he thought. Yet a wild spring of hope took shape in his heart.
Aveline rolled her eyes. “Think, Rafa,” she drawled, looking frustrated with him. “She returned the grimoire and the money used to buy it.” She stood up and gave him a knowing glance as she turned to leave.
“Where are you going?” he called after her as the sound of her stiletto heels clacked through the room.
Aveline looked over her shoulder. “I’m going to have lunch with Mom. I suggest you try to make that appointment with our investor to give them a proper thanks.” She winked and closed the door behind her.
As soon as Aveline left, he felt his temples throb.
Sal was in Budapest with Harmon. God knows where, he thought.
Curiosity taunted him, so he pulled up his phone and re-installed his apps, hoping his hunch was right.
When they had loaded, he checked her Instagram.
There was only one post added to her feed since the last time he had checked.
The single picture showed her boots on a patch of wildflowers, and in the corner was a little paw.
That was Kimmy’s paw, and those flowers were from the meadow in front of her porch.
He looked at the date; nearly three weeks ago. She was in St. Stephenshire.
Rafa eyed his wristwatch. With his mind nearly screaming at him to, he sprang into action. He burst out of his office and threw on one of his plaid coats. “Move all my meetings for today!” he said to his secretary.
“Where are you going, sir?”
“To St. Stephenshire.”