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‘You got it, then?’ He looked up when she tapped on the door, pushing the papers in front of him aside.
‘How did you know?’
‘I saw the courier delivery for you on the reception desk this morning.’
‘Okay.’ Charlotte sat down. ‘So I had a delivery. It could have been anything.’
‘That’s just the first of my observations. The second was that the envelope was my father’s stationery.’
‘So you went to the Sherlock Holmes School of Medicine, did you? You’ll have to do better than that. It could have been a letter from him telling me that there was some kind of problem.’
‘Ah. Yes, it could.’ Edward leaned back in his chair, the tips of his fingers touching to form an inverted V. ‘But then you wouldn’t have been looking like a cat that’s just got the cream all afternoon.’
‘I haven’t!’ That Edward had noticed the letter and known where it was from was hardly surprising. That he’d noticed her was still a new enough experience to make her shiver with pleasure.
‘Yes, you have.’ Edward gathered up some papers and stuffed them into his briefcase. ‘Let’s go.’
He picked up the heaviest of her shopping bags and ushered her out of his office.
He nodded a goodnight to Ethan Hunter, who had appeared from the lobby, and kept walking when Ethan spoke.
‘Do you have a moment, Charlotte?’
‘Yes, of course.’
It was all very well for Edward to walk on ahead, as if they both just happened to be leaving work at the same time, rather than together. But the canvas shopping bag with ‘Smart Girls Recycle’ emblazoned across it was hardly going to be his.
‘Mrs Ashe asked to speak with me before she left.’
‘Is there a problem?’ Charlotte had thought that the session with April had gone well, but generally clients stopped to complain, rather than praise.
‘She was very pleased with the way that April’s procedure has been handled, and she especially mentioned how well you’d looked after her. I hear you even gave her some make-up advice. Well done.’
‘Oh! Thank you, Ethan.’ Perhaps it was relief, but she thought she saw a flicker of warmth in Ethan’s normally impassive face. ‘It was very nice of Mrs Ashe to take the time to speak with you.’
‘She mentioned that Edward was very kind, as well...’ Ethan was clearly a little perplexed by the concept.
‘He always does his best for every pati
ent.’ Now probably wasn’t the time to go into any apparent change in Edward’s demeanour.
Ethan nodded. ‘Yes, of course. And it’s always good to hear that our clients value our people as much as we do. Passing their praise on is one of the more pleasant duties which falls to me when Leo’s not around.’
‘I appreciate it that you did. It means a lot.’ Charlotte smiled up at Ethan and made a move towards the exit.
Ethan walked with her. ‘You have a son?’
He’d clearly decided that this was one of those getting-to-know-you moments that a good employer should take with his employees. Charlotte wished he’d chosen a time when Edward hadn’t been waiting for her outside.
‘Yes. Isaac’s five.’
‘Must be quite a handful, then. Was he the boy I saw Edward playing with in his office a couple of weeks ago?’
‘Um... Yes.’
‘I’ve never seen Edward look so animated.’ Ethan was smiling now. A little distant, as if he was thinking about something else at the same time, but definitely a smile. ‘You and Edward make a good team.’
Charlotte swallowed hard and decided to interpret good team in a purely professional context. ‘Isaac has a way of involving people. I suppose all children do...’
