Chapter 288

Tessa’s POV

I really didn’t want Morgana to help me with this assignment for obvious reasons, but she seemed adamant about it. It’s not like I could fake the assignment to appease her; I was going to have to eventually ask for Joseph’s help in pulling this off. But I couldn’t do that with Morgana hanging around me constantly.

She told me she knew where Joseph lived, and I wasn’t sure if that was the truth or not. We had just moved here a few days ago; how could she possibly know the location of the house already? It wasn’t even directly in the city; it was right outside the city.

But she was overly excited about this revelation. After she dropped that bomb on me, she quickly hurried out of my office. I wasn’t really sure where she was going, but I was relieved after a few minutes alone. I just needed to think about my next steps and what to do.

I stared at the portfolio as if I expected to find the answers written somewhere, but I didn’t. It was just basic information about Joseph; like the school he taught at and the home he once lived in. That wasn’t surprising because Joseph had invited people over at one point before, and he got in trouble with the school board. But it was also stated that a bunch of people who were seen speaking with him in the past have no recollection of their conversation.

I was honestly surprised I wasn’t anywhere in the portfolio. If they were really keeping a close eye on him, I thought that I would be. But much to my relief, I wasn’t.

Moments later, Morgana returned to my office. I quickly dropped the portfolio as if I was caught doing something I shouldn’t have been doing. She gave me a wide grin and clapped her hands together.

“Okay, I got approval!” She said happily. “Let’s go!”

“Approval for what?” I asked. “And go where?”

I was afraid to know the answer.

She gave me a weird look.

“To leave,” she told me. “And we are going to his house!”

“To who’s house?” I knew I was acting dumb, but I couldn’t help myself. I had to stall and pretend that I knew nothing. My heart was racing at lightning speed, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.

“Joseph Evergreen’s house,” she said with an exasperated sigh. She ran around my desk and grabbed my arm. “Come on!”

There was no way she actually knew where Joseph lived; this had to be a huge misunderstanding. But I couldn’t deny her or else I would look suspicious.

“I don’t have a car; are we taking a cab?” I asked, trying my best to keep up with her long strides as we walked out of my office.

“I have a car we can take,” she assured me.

Ashley looked up from her demand, her eyes narrowed.

“I see you’ve made a new friend,” Ashley said, folding her arms across her chest.

“We are going on a business run,” Morgana informed her. “We will be back soon.”

Ashley glared at me with daggers, and I felt incredibly nervous suddenly. I gave her a sheepish smile which I knew didn’t reach my eyes and followed Morgana out of the building and toward her waiting car which sat parallel parked in front of the building. I was amazed she even found parking; noticing the alarmed look on my face she smiled.

“You have to get here early to get parking,” she shrugged as she got into the driver’s seat. “I’ll probably lose the spot once we get back, but whatever.”

I sighed as I buckled my belt. Within seconds she was speeding away from the building.

There had to be a mistake, there was no way she actually knew where we lived. But as we left the city over an hour later and started toward the little neighborhood that we lived in, my heart fell deep into my stomach. She actually knew where Joseph lived, which meant she knew where I lived.

This wasn’t happening.

If I could sink into the seat and disappear, I would in a heartbeat.

Despite us going in the direction of the house, I still had hope that it was a misunderstanding and that she didn’t actually know where he lived. All hope was lost though once she pulled into my driveway and parked the car.

She had a pleased some on her face as she turned to look at me.

“Here we are,” she announced, motioning for the large house that stood before us.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I asked, “Are you sure he lives here?”

She nodded.

“Yup; he was spotted leaving here this morning,” she explained. “I have a friend who lives in this neighborhood, and she was leaving at the same time as him. She remembered seeing a very faraway image of him at one point, so she already knew what he looked like. She’s a huge fan and it took everything she had not to approach him. She called me and told me all about it.”

I felt sick to my stomach; if she saw Joseph, did she see me too? I didn’t leave the house much earlier than him. Then again, she probably would have said something if she had.

Without another word, Morgana quickly got out of the car and started to walk toward the front doors.

I followed her in a panic state.

“What are you going to do?” I asked in a harsh whisper even though I knew Joseph wasn’t even home.

“Knock on the door,” she shrugged.

“You can’t just knock on his door,” I nearly shrieked.

She paused to look at me.

“It’s part of the job,” she said in return. “Sometimes we have to do things that make us uncomfortable. All I’m going to do is see if he’s here; if he is, I’ll see if he’s open for an interview.”

“And if he’s not?” I asked; I knew my voice was coming out squeaky, but I didn’t care.

She gave me a smirk and then turned back toward the house without answering my question. I wanted to argue some more and demand real answers, but she remained quiet and continued to walk up the driveway and toward the house.

With a racing heart, I followed her and waited behind her as she knocked on the door with all her force. After a few minutes of no response, she started to knock again.

She sighed and then turned to me.

“He’s not home,” she pouted.

I started to feel relaxed; if Joseph wasn’t here, that meant there was nothing more for us to do right now. We could go back to the office, and I could convince her to let me do this myself. I didn’t need a partner on this project. I’m sure Joseph would let me use him to succeed on this project, but I couldn’t do that with Morgana breathing down my neck.

Before I knew what was happening, she was trying the door handle. I gasped, wondering if Joseph remembered to lock the door. To my relief, he had.

She groaned and then looked around at the windows.

“I have an idea,” she said, walking toward a window. “Give me a boost, I’m going to try and open it.”

I gasped loudly without meaning to.

“No!” I said a little too quickly, halting her. “I mean, we can’t break into his house. That’s a felony.”

She rolled her eyes and waved me away.

“Sometimes we have to do what we have to do,” she said, shrugging like it was no big deal. “Don’t you want this story to be successful?”

“Yes, I do,” I said, folding my arms across my chest. “But I’m more than capable of doing this on my own. This is my first project, and I don’t want or need help with it. I’m not breaking and entering into his house to get this story finished.”

“But what if he’s gone for a while?” She asked, her brows furrowed together. “Don’t you want to get this done as soon as possible so you can prove that you are the best for the job?”

“I can prove myself on my own time,” I told her firmly, finally finding my voice and putting my foot down. “This is my project and I’d like to do it my own way. If I need help, I’ll ask. But for right now, I’m going to ask you to kindly back off.”

She looked startled but then she sighed and nodded.

“Fine,” she muttered as she started toward her car. “Come on.”

I sighed in relief as I started to follow her, but then I froze when a familiar car pulled up to the curb. Morgana noticed too and paused to look at the visitor, probably hoping it was Joseph, but I was relieved to see that it wasn’t.

However, when the owner of the car stepped out, my entire heart fell deep into my stomach, and I thought I was going to get sick all over the driveway.

Esmeralda.