“A business emergency came up and he had to fly out immediately.” He couldn’t even look her in the eye when he lied.
Daniella tempered her tone. It wasn’t his fault. He was doing what he’d been told. “You and I both know there was no business emergency.”
Shaun remained silent, shifting from his left foot to his right in a display of discomfort.
“I want to go to London to see him.”
“That’s not a good idea, ma’am. He’s working and made it clear what my responsibility was where you are concerned.”
If she didn’t go with him, he might hog tie her and take her back anyway. Cyrus had given him a directive and he was clearly determined to carry it out.
“So you’re here to take me back to Seattle?” Cyrus might be angry at her, but he still made sure she was well-taken care of.
“Yes, ma’am. When would you like to leave?”
“Tomorrow.” There was no reason for her to remain there. “When will he be back home?”
“He’ll be in London for about a week.”
Daniella sighed internally. There were probably legitimate reasons for him to be in London, but she knew urgent business hadn’t taken him there. Urgency to get away from her had.
“Thank you, Shaun.”
Daniella headed toward the front door. Before she left, she wanted to sit out on the beach and watch the sun bathe the landscape in a burst of bright color before it disappeared.
“Ma’am, he mentioned something about a door…?”
“The bathroom door. It’s in the main bedroom. Up the stairs and to the right.”
“Thank you.” He hurried up the stairs.
“Shaun?” He paused, already halfway up to view the problem and assess how to handle it. “When you talk to him, would you…tell him to call me? Please.”
He nodded, the expression of pity and contrition making another appearance. Then he continued up the stairs, and Daniella walked out the door to take one last look at paradise.
Chapter Twenty
Daniella sat impatiently at Seattle Trust Bank. Since her return to the States, she’d charged forward with her plan to get financing to open the gallery in New York. She hadn’t heard from Cyrus, although she knew he’d returned a few days ago.
Shaun had shown up at the house to get some of his things and let it slip Cyrus was staying at the Four Seasons Hotel. She’d been tempted to call but didn’t know if a longer cooling off period was necessary. Rather than wallow in indecision, she’d continued working on her expansion. With the property under contract, she needed a larger line of credit to purchase inventory and renovate the space, all of which distracted her from her marital problems.
She’d successfully applied for and received a line of credit from the bank almost two years ago, which had allowed her to expand the Ballard location. She’d actually been surprised by the amount they’d loaned her, considering her business had been so young. Her situation had changed drastically since then. Beaux-Arts Galleries had proven itself when she’d made her payments on time, so she saw no reason why she shouldn’t get an expansion in her line of credit.
Still, she was nervous. Her banker, Alex, was on vacation and another banker, Bridgette, had come out to greet her and escort her into her office. She was a chunky blonde who smiled when she spoke. Daniella had never seen her before, and it was obvious she was fairly new because she didn’t have the same level of confidence Alex did. After accessing Daniella’s account via computer, she twisted her hands on the desk, and the nervous action made Daniella uneasy. She didn’t know if Bridgette was intimidated or if she was hiding something. In her gut, she felt it was the latter, and she worried it had to do with her husband. She would be sick if he’d influenced the bank into refusing her loan.