Next to You Read Online Free PDF Page A

question."
    "I met someone connected to the company recently, and the name sounded familiar. That's all."
    "Wow, you were out and about enough to actually meet live human beings? I'm impressed."
    "Fuck off." Jared hung up on his brother.
    No, I was not out and about. Unfortunately, a live human being had shown up here. He ran his hand roughly through his sandy blonde hair and sighed. It was getting long again. Soon enough he'd be barely presentable and he was only barely presentable to begin with. But he hated going to the barbershop, sitting in the chair while everyone else waiting their turn stared in horror at his mangled face.
    Fuck it. I'll let it grow down to my knees. Jake was forever badgering him to go out in public more. But Jared saw the revulsion in people's eyes. He didn't have to deal with that anymore, so why subject himself to it voluntarily? Money bought privacy and, if need be, eccentricity. A lot of eccentricity, enough to wallow in for years.
    Taking care of other people's houses allowed him to be outdoors in the sunshine and fresh air instead of holing up in one of his homes or a shared office with his brother. He couldn’t stand the feeling of being cooped up, and no one would look for him in a caretaker’s cottage. If he picked his clients well—meaning people wealthy enough to have multiple homes like he did—he didn't have to see them much. They generally liked to pretend that the household staff was invisible. Jared was cool with that. The whole point of his taking these caretaking and house-sitting jobs was to hide in plain sight.
    “Excuse me, sir, is that a billionaire pruning your flowers?” No one was going to ask that question. He had tried hiding at his own properties after he sold his company to Google, but people sought him out. Conference organizers who wanted him to speak at their events, kids who wanted to drop out of school and start the next hot tech company, self-styled inventors who wanted him to invest in their harebrained schemes, even gold-diggers ... until they got a look at his face.
    In the rolling hills of Connecticut or the mountains of Wyoming, he could go days without seeing someone else—and no one else expected "Jared Connor, technology billionaire" to be there.
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    O peration Demon Vanquish : Day Two had to go better than Day One, Phlox reasoned as she ground coffee beans and dumped them into the coffee maker. She set her phone to speaker and hit Cherise’s name in her contact list. She poured water into the coffee maker while she waited for Cherise to pick up. Yes, she was using her one allowed phone call to the company right at nine am.
    She glanced around the kitchen as she listened to the phone ring on the other end. It was just a kitchen, right? Her kitchen, her beloved kitchen, the one she had redesigned herself, no detail overlooked. Nothing to be afraid of. Still, her heart raced when she looked at the range, the site of the accident. It wasn't a rational fear. She knew that. It was there nonetheless.
    “Good morning!” Cherise’s voice sounded clear and cheery across the miles.
    “Hey, Cherise. How is everything going?”
    “Well, I know you want me to say that the company is completely collapsing a mere twenty-four hours after your departure … but things are just fine.”
    Phlox laughed. “I’m sure Zee can keep things going a few more days.”
    “And I’m sure you didn’t just waste your only phone call for the day to call and say hi.”
    “No. I didn’t. I wanted to get the name of the caretaker from you.”
    “Is everything okay? Has he not been taking care of the property?” Cherise’s voice was laced with sudden alarm, an affront to her professional efficiency.
    “The property looks great. I just wanted to know his name. I feel rude not knowing who’s been taking care of the house for me.”
    She listened to Cherise click away at her keyboard. “Here it is. Jared Connor. He had impeccable references. His last position was out in