“I don’t. I’m pretty upset that this wasn’t found earlier.” She shook her head. “But I still don’t want to throw her under the bus.”

“And I respect you for that,” he said. “But you may also want to be prepared for her trying to pin it on you.”

“What?”

“She sounds like that type,” he said. “At least in these circumstances.”

“Ugh, she is. And especially if she thinks this might ruin her partnership chances.”

“Could she make it look like it’s your mistake?”

Audrey bit her lip. Colette might try to blame her. The waiter, seeing the pause in conversation, came to take their order. After he left, she said, “Only if she argues that she thought I’d finished pulling documents when I handed it over. But I’m pretty sure I sent an email outlining what still needed to be done, and that included the rest of discovery. I’ll check when I get back. But do I send an email to both Hunter and Colette—or just Hunter first?”

“What’s your gut?”

“Send it to both. Otherwise, I’ll look like I’m screwing her over.”

“I agree. Nothing to be gained by not telling both at the same time. How will you explain why you didn’t alert them immediately to the possibility of these missing boxes—especially when Colette is responsible for discovery? You could’ve let her make the find.”

“Except Mrs. Rothman asked me not to tell anyone unless I found something.”

“And you can tell Colette separately you didn’t want to point out the hole in the production unless there was good news.”

“Good angle, but I don’t want to write her that there was a ‘discovery hole.’ She’ll feel attacked and go on the offense.” She took a sip of water. “I’ll write that I acted per Mrs. Rothman’s instructions—which is what I did.”

“Yes, I’d keep the note positive—all good news, etc.,” he said. “But then call Hunter afterward to give it more of a personal touch and show how excited you are. You should write it and call him tonight.”

“Bonus points for the late-night work.”

“Unfortunately, yes. And I want you to get extra credit if you’re not coming home with me now.”

She held his hand. His beautiful hands were warm and solid around hers. “I wish I were. Just a few more weeks, and then I’ll have a whole week off. You may get bored of me,” she said flirtatiously.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of you,” Jake said, his eyes becoming blue pools, his hand tightening around hers. “And my sister said she still learns things about Ned all the time.” He looked at the calendar on his phone. “We should plan a vacation together.”

She asked, “What about that second week in December?”