Page 25 of Married to Lies

A warm flutter filled my chest as I read his words again just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. This handwriting was different, and now I knew it as his. I peeled the yellow note from the wall and walked out of MyHome to the town car waiting in the loading zone.

George got out of the driver’s seat, opening my door and handing me a takeout box along with a paper bag with the logo of his favorite coffee shop in Denton, Barry’s Coffee.

“Have I mentioned I love you?” I said as I stared at the food.

He chuckled, red cheeks lifting as he did. “Never hurts to hear.”

“Well, I do.” I grinned at him and got into the back seat. The music he liked, classic rock, played on the radio while he pulled away from MyHome. Once buckled, I tugged the takeout bag open to see a Danish with plum filling. The sweet scent and gorgeous flaky crust had my mouth watering. “You’re too good to me,” I said.

“You deserve the best,” George reminded me with a pleased smile in the rearview mirror.

I ate the Danish on the way to the office, realizing it was the first food I’d been able to stomach all day. The warm car with George’s music playing made me feel more at ease too. If only George could drive me around town and never take me to my meeting with Conrad.

All too soon, though, we were in the Radiant Cleaning parking lot. As soon as I opened the door, cold wind attacked every piece of bare skin. I hated this time of year—Dallas didn’t get too much cold weather, but when winter hit, it hit like a linebacker.

Inside the building, I shivered despite the warmer air.

“Hiya, stranger, how can I help you?”

I jerked my head toward the voice, realizing there was a different receptionist sitting at the chair, her paper name tag tented on the counter. She’d written Courtneigh with hearts on either side in a pink marker. Interesting choice.

“I have a meeting with Conrad Hale,” I said.

Her eyes widened like I’d given her a juicy tidbit. “The big boss. Gotcha. Have a seat, and I’ll let him know you’ve arrived.”

I held back an impressed expression. Heart name tag aside, Courtneigh was already doing far better than the last two hires. “Sure,” I said and went to sit in the cushy leather chairs (without armrests, thank you very much. Nothing worse than sitting in a chair and having the arms cut into my wide hips!)

“Sir,” she said on the phone, “your six o’clock is here... Yes, would you like a drink?... Absolutely. Be there soon.”

A drink? Lucky son of a⁠—

“Would you like a water?” Courtneigh asked me. “Maybe a warm tea?”

“A water,” I said, surprised again.

She returned soon with two bottles of water, branded with the company logo. A small swell of pride filled my chest at the sight. “Thanks,” I said as I took a bottle from her, rolling it over in my hands to get a good look.

Soon, we reached Conrad’s office at the end of the hall, and Courtneigh held the door for me before following me inside.

Conrad practically beamed at her. “Thanks for this, B-um...”

“Courtneigh.” She reminded him with a smile. Then she curtseyed–actually curtseyed–and silently excused herself from the room.

He gazed after her, eyes trailing to her ass. My stomach turned for different reasons now.

Making sure the door was shut, I said, “You better not sexually harass her. She’s good, and we don’t need any lawsuits.”

Conrad glared at me. “I’m taken.”

“Taken?” I asked. “I didn’t know you were dating anyone.”

“Well, I am, and I’m very committed to her. You don’t need to worry.”

I dropped into a chair, putting my feet on his desk. “You’re right. Committed men never behave inappropriately with their inferiors at work. Got it.”

He glared at my feet, then looked back to my eyes. “Speaking of men who behave inappropriately at work, what did you find on Quentin?”

My spine instantly tightened, but I kept my voice cool. “I’ve looked like you asked me to and found nothing. Now will you please drop it?” I hoped that would be the end of it, but Conrad’s jaw ticked.