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Elle blinked at her. “Harry will make time. This is your family’s company we’re talking about.”
“I don’t see what that’s got to do with it.”
Elle and Harvard shared a look that Rachel couldn’t quite interpret.
“You really don’t, do you?” Elle said. “Harry cares about you; you’ve been friends since uni. You’re the reason he was able to set up his programming company in the first place. Before you guys bought into Benson Security. This will be important to him because it’s important to you. That’s how friendship works, Rach.”
Rachel arched an eyebrow at her. “It astonishes me just how naïve you are. The world doesn’t work like that. Harry’s moved on. He’s busy with his own life, and he has no interest in mine.”
“Wow,” Elle said. “What happened to make you this cynical?”
“What happened to turn you into such a Pollyanna?”
“Honey,” Elle said, “I was born this way.”
“Hello,” a voice called. “Anyone in there?”
“Remember your covers,” Harvard ordered as the door opened, and he moved to stand slightly in front of Rachel.
“Oh my, you do take your responsibilities seriously, don’t you?” Cousin Samantha purred as she eyed Harvard’s protective stance. “I swear I don’t intend Rachel any harm. There are no weapons on my person, but you’re welcome to frisk me if you’d like.”
Harvard just gave her a polite smile. Sam smiled back before turning to Elle, and that’s when her jaw dropped. The sight almost made Rachel laugh.
Putting on her best boss voice, she stepped around Harvard. “That will be all, Elle. We’ll go over my schedule later. Samantha, this is my new PA, Elle Roberts. HR sent her up. Elle, this is Samantha Talbot, director of marketing.”
Elle gathered her things and stood, beaming at Samantha. “It’s lovely to meet you. I’m so excited to be working at TayFor. My last job was behind the reception desk at a local cat rescue place; this is going to be so much more fun.” With that, she left the room, closing the door behind her.
“I don’t know what to say.” Samantha seemed genuinely stunned.
“Are you here for a reason?” Rachel asked, letting her impatience show.
Not that it bothered Samantha. “Yes, I came to get you for the board meeting. I wasn’t sure if you’d remember where the conference room was located.”
“Unless it’s moved in the past ten years, then I remember fine.”
“Has it really been ten years since you were here last?” Samantha hooked her arm through Rachel’s and led her out of her office. “Do grab her bag,” she called over her shoulder to Harvard. “Oh, I remember. That was the summer you interned for your father and I worked on the PR for the new drug launch. We had fun then, didn’t we? I miss those days. Even now that you’re back in London, I don’t see you nearly as much as I did when we were still students, and that says a lot given that we studied in different cities.”
“People get busy,” Rachel said as they walked down the corridor to the corner of the building where the conference room sat.
“Well, get unbusy because I’ve found the most delightful little boutique full of bridesmaid dresses that are to die for. And, of course, wedding dresses,” She added, almost as an afterthought. “We are going to visit it. No excuses.”
“You found the perfect bridal shop between Saturday night and this morning?”
“I might have started looking last week as soon as I heard the news of your engagement.” Samantha pouted. “Don’t be mad at me. We both know you need me for this.”
What she needed was some serious counseling to help her assess her life choices.
Harvard stepped in front of them to open the conference room door, handing Rachel her handbag as he did so. “I’m going to familiarize myself with the building while you’re in the meeting. Text me when you’re done, and I’ll escort you back to your office.”
“I hardly think that’s necessary,” she said. “I can practically see the door from here.”
“Just humor me until I’m confident you’re protected while inside TayFor.”
Even though she knew it was all pretend, Rachel couldn’t help the little flip her heart did at his words. Especially seeing as she was very much aware of the photo tucked inside her bag, and the fact that she hadn’t felt truly safe since the night it was taken.
It seemed the all too observant man read something in her demeanor that bothered him, because he leaned in to whisper, “I can stay if you need me.”
She stepped back with a jerk, holding her head high. “I’m fine. Thank you.”
