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That’s when I glimpse the cheetah heels. A memory catches in my head: Nora walking out of our first meeting with her head held high and her shoulders squared, those animal print shoes the only hint of the wild, fun, funny woman beneath her arrogant exterior.
What the fuck is she doing here? And why did she change her shoes? She was wearing lower heels today. I remember because she’s started to keep a few pairs of them at my house, tucked away in my closet beside my row of oxfords and loafers.
I quicken my steps and round the corner, drawing up short when I see it is in fact Nora, standing at Aiden’s door. She’s facing away from me, talking to him while he sits at his desk. My stomach drops. At the same time, my eyes catch on her ass—it looks like a fucking peach in that skirt—and a single, hot pulse of desire lands between my legs.
This woman is making a goddamn mess of me. Keeping my hands off her right now is torture, but I comfort myself with the knowledge I’ll get to touch her all I want when I take her home. Which, hopefully, will be sooner rather than later.
For a second I stand there, mind racing to come up with an excuse why I’m not at the gym right now. Workout canceled? Achy hips from all the sex we’ve had? Or do I just go with the truth?
I pass Brooks at his desk.
“Dude,” he says. “You okay?”
Too late. Nora glances over her shoulder and her eyes land right on me. They go wide with surprise. “Theo! What are you doing here?”
“I could ask the same of you,” I say as I slowly approach her. “Everything all right?”
Her eyelids flutter. “Yeah. Fine. I’m—it’s—I’m running late . . . I was just about to leave . . .”
It’s a lie. She knows it. I know it. And apparently so does Aiden. He appears in the doorway.
Only it’s not Aiden. It’s Paula, Aiden’s boss, global head of sales and trading. She’s wearing a sharp pantsuit and a frown.
“Hi, Theo,” she says in slightly accented English. “Are you looking for Aiden too?”
That means Nora’s also looking for him. I glance at her and notice her cheeks are bright pink, a shade lighter than her lips. “I am.”
“The two of you, come in,” Paula says, motioning to Nora and me. We do as we’re told and step inside the office, standing a step too close. Paula closes the door behind us.
“I had a five fifteen meeting with Aiden,” I say, because I’m confused and tired and would very much like to get Nora naked, and I know lying will only make this meeting—whatever it’s about—that much longer.
Nora’s head whips around to face me. “I had a six o’clock with him.”
So she did lie. Why?
“He was in the office this morning,” I say, turning to look at Paula, who’s standing behind Aiden’s desk. “Is he not here now?”
“He is not,” Paula says. “Aiden has been terminated.”
My insides lurch. “What?”
“Why?” Nora asks, her arm brushing mine as she raises her hands in an expression of what the hell?
Paula steeples her fingers on the desk. “I cannot divulge that information. But I can tell you he’s been fired for cause.”
Nora looks at me from the corner of her eye. Wow.
The pieces come together inside my head. Wall Street Bathroom’s been talking about a major shakeup happening behind the scenes at A&T. Something to do with a managing director stealing a client’s wife at a conference.
It was Aiden.
Holy shit, it was Aiden! That conference he invited me to—that was in Phoenix. Aiden’s been sketchy ever since, showing up late to work, disappearing early on Fridays. It’s because he was sneaking around with someone else’s wife.
Judging by the spark that erupts in Nora’s gaze, she’s hit on the same idea. While the two of us were busting our asses trying to make money and salvage a client relationship, Aiden was busy blowing one up. Probably while getting blown by that poor client’s poor wife.
Wow.
Aiden is gone.
I want to grab Nora’s hand. Tell her and Paula everything. With Aiden out of the picture, I can’t help but feel that the possibility of a happy ending with Nora just grew exponentially. We don’t have to worry about Aiden being jealous or weird about our relationship. People might forget he and Nora were ever a thing, which means dating me might not be the hit to her reputation we’ve feared. Out of sight, out of mind.
The desk will have a fresh start, and so will Nora and I.
“I had no idea,” Nora manages.
Paula just shakes her head. “You can come to me for whatever you need while we figure out what our next steps are. You both said you had meetings scheduled for this afternoon?”
