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“Liv, you are a good fit for this company. Please don’t take my words the wrong way. Clients love you, and so do the rest of my staff.” He grimaced. “Other than Luke here, of course.”
I rolled my eyes. Obviously.
“I’m very concerned about the effect your relationship—” He paused. “—or should I say, non-relationship, is having on the rest of the office. I want to propose that you two agree on a truce. Right here, right now. I’ve been discussing it with Avery, and I know I made a mistake keeping you apart after that first disastrous week and hoping things would work themselves out. I’m going to get you working more closely together.”
Picking up his glass of water, he took a sip before continuing. “Luke, I’m bringing Olivia over to the Delny Drinks project, and you’re going to work together on it, as a team. Luke, you’ll be in charge, but that doesn’t mean you get to throw your weight around and treat Olivia like a slave. She’s very talented, and if you take the time to listen to her, I believe you can achieve something special. I want daily updates and a breakdown of who is doing what so that you’re both pulling your weight equally.”
He scratched the back of his neck. “Also, Avery and I, well, we want you to come for dinner with us. We both agree that some time spent together out of the office environment with a neutral party to mediate might help to smooth things over somewhat.”
I sank low into my chair, feeling so very small. I knew that Luke and I had our problems—okay, so that may have been downplaying it—but I felt awful that it had spilled over into everyone else’s lives. I mean, the man was bloody irritating, but I didn’t dislike him that much that I couldn’t treat him with polite indifference. I hoped. I’d tried this morning, after all. Surely I could do it again.
Next to me, Luke’s face twisted in a grimace, but he remained silent.
Ethan stared at us imploringly.
“Please, at least try this truce. For the sake of my sanity, if nothing else. Give it two, maybe three weeks.” He threw his hands up. “At least you will have tried.” He added ominously, “And if that doesn’t work, we’ll look at the next steps we need to take.”
I gulped and glanced at Luke out of the corner of my eye. His chiselled jaw was set mutinously, but even from my sly sidewards gaze, I could see the worried frown on his face.
Right. I would have to be the bigger person.
I turned to face Luke, holding out my hand.
“Truce?” I asked hesitantly.
Our eyes met and held.
My heart skipped a beat.
His gaze raked over me searchingly; then he sighed and lowered his eyes.
“Truce,” he said in a low, reluctant voice. He reached out his hand and clasped mine.
8
Luke
Fucking Ethan and his blackmailing ways. I’d been in a foul mood all day, ever since he’d essentially forced me into the stupid truce with Payne. As for our weird interaction this morning—nope, wasn’t even going to go there.
I connected my Bluetooth headphones to my phone, and my chillout playlist filled my ears, the laid-back, mellow beats relaxing me somewhat as I made the familiar journey to the retirement complex.
Molly sat behind the reception desk, tapping at her computer keyboard. She raised her eyes to meet mine, a faint blush staining her cheeks.
“Can I go on up?” I asked, and she nodded. I smiled and made the familiar trip to the second floor. Stopping at the third door along, I lifted my knuckles, giving a soft knock to the painted wood.
“Come in,” called a faint, feminine voice. I entered the room, and my eyes went straight to the bed where a tiny, frail figure lay sleeping. Seeing her asleep sent dread rolling through my stomach.
“How is she?” I directed my question to Jodie, the care assistant I’d come to know over the years I’d been visiting Martha.
Jodie’s tired eyes met mine. “Luke, she hasn’t got long left. I’ve seen all the signs before.” Her lined face crinkled as her mouth twisted sadly. Jodie was always honest and direct, and I appreciated it. Still, the news wasn’t what I wanted to hear, at all. I coughed to clear the sudden lump in my throat.
“You can stay with her for a bit, but she may sleep through your visit.”
“That’s okay, I just wanted to see her.” Crossing the carpeted room, I settled in the chair next to the bed, gently taking Martha’s worn, small hand in mine. Jodie nodded and slipped out of the room, leaving us alone.
I brushed a strand of downy silver hair away from Martha’s pale face and began to tell her about my day. I shared my feelings and frustrations, letting everything spill out of me. Even if Martha had been awake, she would have listened without interruption. She was the one person I knew would never judge me, and always allowed me to draw my own conclusions.
Concluding my spoken thoughts, I stood to leave. I fussed with Martha’s blankets, tucking them securely around her, then dropped a light kiss on her head. She’d remained asleep for the duration of my visit, an all-too-common occurrence these days. I worried about her, even more so after hearing Jodie voice my fears.
