Chapter 62: Uneasy Waiting

The antique clock on Nathan's office wall ticked away relentlessly, its sound growing louder with each second—a maddening reminder that time crawled by at agonizingly slow lengths. His eyes had not left the spreadsheet smeared across his computer screen; the numbers ran into an incomprehensible mess. For the third time in as many minutes, he felt his gaze slip to his phone, willing it to ring and hopefully bear some news from Malone, the private investigator. It had been five days since he'd hired Malone to look into Olivia's life—five days of torturous waiting and imagination running wild. Nathan ran a hand through his disheveled hair, grimacing at the stubble on his chin. I couldn't remember the last time he'd had a decent night's sleep. He closed his eyes, and Olivia came to him in his mind, as vibrant as she could ever be—chestnut-colored tresses alight under the sun, green eyes flashing with passion as she waxed poetic about her latest artwork. But sweetness turned acrid almost