She said, looking down at the ground, ashamed of her confession.

"Broke?  There's no way...."

"There is when your father makes poor business deals and assets are frozen.  I have no way to get any money in my accounts because they are all attached to my father.  According to the lawyers, the Panama Papers investigation could take years to clear the money in my trust fund that I was supposed to receive when I turn twenty-five."

"Odette, I'm so sorry.  I had no idea, this is a terrible situation.  I don't mean to be rude, but how does it involve me?" I asked unsure of my role in this mess.

"Logan, you know Odette is well-educated and comes from good breeding.  There's got to be something we can do to help her.  I'm not saying we buy her a house or give her money.  Odette is far too proud to accept charity, but you've got a lot of connections," Mom interjected.

"Why didn't you tell Dad about this?" I asked my mom.

"I'm trying to follow the doctor's orders and help keep him out of stressful situations.  You know if he knew about this investigation, he would blow up," she replied.

"That's a good idea, but I don't know where we'd put someone with advanced degrees in science and medicine in our company.  I'm just not sure how to help," I replied knowing there wasn't anything for her with HPG.

"You know, Logan, I know someone who was in a very similar situation as Odette," Rory said only loud enough for me to hear.

"Oh, really.  Who's that, Ace?"

"Paris," she whispered.

"I remember now.  The crappy apartment with the 'doo-wop' group that lived downstairs.  That seems like a lifetime ago," I replied thinking of how I hated that Rory lived there.

"I think I remember her saying something about possibly expanding her business.  Could Odette possible handle someone like Paris?  We both know she's not the easiest to get along with...."

I turned my attention back to Mom and Odette.  "Let's put out some feelers outside of the publishing group.  A friend of ours may be looking to expand her business and it falls under Odette's expertise.  I can't guarantee anything, but give us some time.  Until then, my mom can see to your needs.  We've got some properties available for you, on a short-term basis."

I wasn't sure if the Paris option would pan out, but it was our strongest possibility.  I hoped this would appease them both for the time being until I could figure out something more concrete.  I had nothing against Odette.  We just didn't work together, and through no fault of her own.  She just wasn't Rory.  I couldn't get Ace out of my head, and I don't think I ever could if I had to live without her.

"Merci beaucoup, Logan!  This is more than I could have ever asked for.  I thought your mom was crazy to even suggest talking to you!  I really didn't want to bother you, especially on your honeymoon.  You have always been one of the kindest people I know," she said and turned to my wife.  "Rory, you are a very lucky woman!  I only hope I can find what you two have."

Odette had been put in a terrible situation, and she wasn't a bad person.  I wanted to help her because she deserved better than her father's poor decision-making.  She was an intelligent, capable person.  I walked Odette and my mom out.  I saw the relief and gratitude on her face.  I couldn't help but wonder if our business deal was more about her father wanting security for his daughter.  He had to know this was coming, and now they are all paying the price.  Our world was a fickle one, and people would turn their backs on you in a heartbeat to save their own asses.  That wasn't the kind of person I was, and a lot of that was due to Rory's influence many years ago.

"I can't help but wonder if Odette's dad didn't know things were going downhill and wanted to make sure she was taken care of financially," Rory blurted out to me when I came back.

"I was thinking the same thing, Ace.  My breaking off the engagement whipped out the safety net.  Although, if my father caught wind of any of this, the engagement would have been off.  It was a business merger, not a relationship.  I don't know how Mitchum was in the dark about the poor business dealings.  Odette's father must have hid it very well," I replied.

"The secrets must have been buried well," she said pausing for a moment.  "I really do want to help her.  She's just a pawn in a losing chess match.  It's not her fault."

"I do, too.  She's been through a lot in the last month.  I can't help but feel partially responsible for all of this.  At the same time, I'm glad I did what I did.  I had to be true to my heart," I said looking into her eyes.  "Then it's decided.  We'll get ahold of Paris once we're stateside and see what we can do.  I'll also put out feelers to the guys for any other prospects we may not be considering."

"I'm going to head back to the bedroom to finish packing our stuff.  Go ahead and check with the guys for any possibilities," she said.

When Rory went into the bedroom to finish packing, I sat on the couch for a few minutes to think about what had just transpired.  It had taken a few minutes to sink in about Odette's position.  The Panama Papers were serious business, and if my family had been linked in any way to hers, we could be in a similar situation.  I consider myself lucky to have made the decision I did.  Even though I had no idea that my breaking off the engagement would leave her high and dry, I still feel responsible and want to help her.  Rory was right.  Odette was just a pawn in this stupid game, but with our help, she can rise above it and make something of herself.

Before I was able to shoot out a text to the guys, I got a message from Colin.

Colin: Would Rory mind if we tagged along back to the states with you today?

Logan: All three of you?

Colin: Yea, we don't want to be stuck here another day.  Duty calls for us at home.

Logan: Well, it is your plane, Colin.

Colin: Ok, we'll meet you there this afternoon.

Logan: Good, I had planned on one more quick stop before we go to the airport.

I saved the talk about Odette for the ride home.  I walked into the bedroom and saw Rory deep in thought.  I figured she was probably thinking about everything that had happened today.  Our relationship and lives had never followed a normal path.  I don't know why I thought it might now.  At least, I had one last surprise up my sleeve for Rory before we left Paris.

"I just got the message that our flight is delayed until alter today," I said.  It wasn't a lie, but not completely true either.  It was for a good cause.

"Oh, no!  Why's that?"

"Your favorite gents would like a ride back to the states with us.  I kinda already said yes.  After all, it is Colin's plane...."

"Hmmm.....I don't know," she said laughing.

"And to help pass the time, I've added one more stop to our Paris agenda.  We'll check out and go to our last mystery location," I explained with a hint of excitement in my voice.

After we'd finished packing, we checked out, and went to the car waiting outside.  I watched Rory as we headed toward our final stop.  When we pulled up in front of Shakespeare & Co., she was beaming.

"Wouldn't let me go by myself, so you're going to supervise?" she joked.

"I was planning on taking you here before you mentioned a bookstore this morning, and yes, you need supervision in here!" I said grinning from ear to ear.

I knew this would be the perfect ending to our trip, and I wanted to make up for some of the drama that happened because of me.  I had also noticed her looking up the bookstore online, so I figure it would be a slam dunk.  We walked into the store and her eyes lit up.

"When do we have to be at the hangar?" she asked beaming with happiness.

"Don't worry about it.  You stay as long as you want.  The guys can wait!" I said with a wink.  I knew they wouldn't leave without us.

"You are an enabler, Huntzberger!" she replied.  I watched as she walked away from me and into her world of books.  I went to find some coffee for Rory and myself.  I took a few minutes to explore the store and then made my way to the coffee.

I walked back to Rory, who was immerse in a pile of books.  I waved the cup in front of her face in an attempt to bring her back to our world.  She finally saw it, accepted, and returned to her cataloguing.

"What do we have going on here?" I asked knowing full well that she had an organization system well established.

"I've got the mountain down to small hills: Yes, no, and maybes," she explained pointing to each pile respectively.

"Should I bring the 'yes' pile to the counter?"

"yes, please," she agreed happily.  "I'm going to work on the maybes."

"You know you don't have to buy every book in Paris," I replied laughing.

My phone rang and I stepped away.

"Hey, man, what's up?" I said to Colin.

"You guys gonna get here soon?" he asked.

"We're just about done here at the bookstore," I replied.

"Bookstore?  You'll never get Mother out of there!  It might be quicker if I just buy the bookstore for her," he quipped.

I put my hand over the speaker on my phone.  "Colin wants to know if she should just buy you a bookstore," I said to Rory with a chuckle.

"Really?" she said in an excited tone, then busted out laughing.  "I'll be done in a few minutes!"

"Ok, we'll be there shortly.  She's nearly done.  Then we're on our way," I replied.

"See you then," Colin said and hung up.

She finished with the last couple of books and brought them to the cashier.

"Looks like we'll have to charter another plane to bring your books home," I said jokingly.

"It's your fault.  You knew what you were doing letting me loose in a bookstore without restrictions," she said gloating in her literary victory.

"I think I've underestimated the power of a bookstore over you, Ace!" I said and kissed her.

They loaded everything into our car, and we were off for the airport!