[COMPLETE]
When Hanna Haddad embarks on what's supposed to be another uneventful summer as a lifeguard on Cape Cod, a trip to the past comes as an unnerving surprise. The discovery of her estranged mother's journal opens up the world of tragedy and...
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"Hey, wanna grab dinner?"
Jesse and I vacated our post at half-past five, the weight of exhaustion heavy on our shoulders. The next few weeks were the last of the busy beach season, and the tourist burden was through the roof.
If only we got paid more to deal with all their bullshit.
"Sorry, I already have plans with someone else." He snaked his arm around my waist, helping me up the uneven sand. "I would have loved to go otherwise."
"With whom? Stella?"
"No, my neighbor, Colin. You've been to one of his parties."
He tensed, working his jaw back and forth for a moment. "Is he a friend?"
I rolled my eyes, realizing he wasn't so different from other men. "I didn't pin you for the jealous type. Yes, he is. A good one, in fact."
"Well," he began, hand lowering slightly, just above my ass, "I wanted to confirm you were still mine."
I stopped him in his tracks, narrowing my eyes. "I am not anyone's, Jesse. Don't go all Neanderthal on me."
"Then don't go all feminist on me," he snapped, rolling his eyes. "You know what I meant."
"As if that's such a terrible thing," I mumbled, wincing as he gave me a parting kiss.
Breathing out a sigh, I headed off to the restaurant Colin had chosen for the evening. I realized it was rather remote, on a small hill by one of the less popular beaches in Falmouth. I'd never been there before, at least happy it seemed like a laid-back joint, given my damp beach attire.
"Hey." Colin greeted me with a small hug as we walked towards our table-for-two on the stone patio. He'd already ordered us drinks, two lemon iced teas. "I figured this was a safe option, but I can order you something else to drink if you'd like."
"No, I like tea, don't worry." I pushed my chair in and leaned over the table. "So, what's the dirt? We can eat later."
He looked around him, not a single person occupying the tables surrounding us. "Let's just say what I found—or what I'm speculating—is a lot more than four missing documents. I may have just uncovered the not-so-perfect corporate crime."
I blinked. "And the criminal is Cassandra?"
"Directly, yes. But she has bigger interests at hand." He took a long sip from his iced tea, leaving me dancing in anticipation. "I first spent some time doing some good old-fashioned online stalking to gather the facts. First red flag was the fact her Linkedin profile has everything from her college days—her computer science degree, sorority involvement, extracurriculars—but there's a seven-year gap where she used to 'freelance.' Her first real job was the position she took up at InTech about six months ago."
I wrinkled my brow. "Isn't her job too senior for that big of an employment gap?"
"Exactly," he said. "But that doesn't even scratch the surface. Did some digging into her boyfriend's tech startup, Milieu. He founded it about three years ago, which conveniently is the same time Ethan starts appearing in Cassandra's selfies on Facebook and Instagram. Coincidence? Maybe. But I think his company is uniting them a lot more than proverbial true love."
