I want to shout at her.
But I don’t have any ground to stand on.
She’s right.
You can’t be too careful. There aren’t any hard and fast rules in place, but the fact is there are unwritten rules. And while I’m not worried that Leo would screw me over at work, I do worry how this might look to others—like I slept my way to this opportunity.
I cringe inside at that thought.
And now I have a new wrinkle in the should-I-or-shouldn’t-I debate.
The concern isn’t only whether it’s wise for me to get involved with someone I’m working with while I build my business, but how that involvement might appear to others.
What seemed clear moments ago has once again been muddied.
The same could be said about the clue Kingsley hands us.
25LULU
They say I’m worth millions. Just weigh me and you’ll know. You’ll find me by shiny shoes and acorns, underneath the universe, where everything is faster or slower, depending on how you look at it. When you find me, capture the moment with me and your team. Then be sure to add to your collection with all of the above.
Noah stares at me slack-jawed. “What the Derek Jeter is this?”
I’m dumbstruck. I’ve been riddling my way through the words for five minutes, but I’m back at square one and it’s empty. I should know it. But I’m struggling. My decoder ring isn’t working well, and maybe it’s because RaeLynn’s words are ringing in my head, the echo of them occupying all the space that I ought to be devoting to this clue.
Ginny yawns. “Sorry, guys. I’m a bit off my game. Had a late night with my daughter.”
“Is everything okay with her?” Noah asks.
Ginny smiles. “She’s great. But she possesses a common trait among ten-year-olds. She forgot to tell me we had to make cupcakes for a school project until the very last minute. We were up late baking.”
Noah stares at her, perplexed. “Why not just go out and buy the cupcakes?”
Ginny recoils. “I’d be shunned.”
“For real?”
Ginny nods. “It’s completely verboten. You can’t bring in store-bought cupcakes when the class is asked to bake.”
“Next time, ask me.”
She stares at him incredulously, as if he’s begun walking on his hands. “Why?”
“Because I’ll help you bake. You can call me anytime.”
“But . . . you’re twenty-five,” she sputters, like that’s the natural response to learning someone has baking acumen, when it’s actually the first thing on her mind with him—the age difference.
And he knows now. A sly smile spreads on his face. “I get you, Ginny.”
“What do you get?”
“You think I’m too young for you. I’ll have you know I’m a mature twenty-five, and I can bake my ass off.”
“And I’m an old thirty-five.”
“Doesn’t bother me. I don’t even think about it. You shouldn’t either.”
“I shouldn't think about how young you are?”
“Only to think about how much energy my youth gives me in many areas.”
“Is that so?”
“That is so so.”
And I think he might be wearing her down, erasing her worries about age.
Wait. Old. Young. This hunt . . . that’s what it’s about.
“The past,” I whisper to Leo.
“What do you mean?”
“That’s what this hunt is about. The tomb, right? And all the other items in the museum yesterday. Obviously, they’re items from the past. What if the twist to the hunt is learning from the past? Discovering teamwork or something from the past.”
Leo’s smile lights up. “That might be it. You could be onto something.”
He steps away, paces, furrows his brow. He spins around, heads toward us, muttering under his breath. He’s like a detective assembling clues, and it’s hella hot.
