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“Hi.” I smack on my friendliest and most flirtatious voice. I know it’s wrong, but if I want to get up there, I have no choice. I glance at his name tag. “Mick. I need a big favor.”
“I’m sure you do.” He doesn’t smile, but he doesn’t turn me away either. I’d say he’s in his mid-fifties and looks fitter than me. If I made a run for the elevators, he’d probably catch me.
“My husband is upstairs working late, and I really want to surprise him.”
“Are you on the list?”
I frown. “The list?”
“Of approved guests. If he’s here and you’re on his list, you can go up. What’s his name?”
“Dominic Mancini,” I say although I’m certain I’m not on his list. He wouldn’t add me.
“And you’re?”
“Valentina,” I say. “Or Val.”
He clicks the mouse and reads the computer screen in front of him. “There you are, under wife.” He looks at my left hand. “I thought you were lying, what with no ring. I’d be awfully upset with my wife if she didn’t wear my ring. ID please.” He holds out his hand.
It takes me a moment before I dig inside my purse for ID. “Our marriage is new, so I haven’t changed my name yet.”
Am I even going to change my name? There’re so many decisions to be made.
He hands me back my ID and picks up the phone and listens, then he hangs up. He writes up a tag and hands it to me. “He’s not answering, but that’s common at this hour. I assume you know the way?”
“I do.”
“Here you go, Valentina Mancini.”
I smile sweetly because the man is doing me a favor. “Thanks, Mick.”
When I get into the elevator, I think about what Mick said. He’s right. We’re totally doing this half-assed. If we’re going to stay married, we need to be married. I need to decide on the name. I need to wear the ring. We need to move in together. We’re being idiots about all of this. Both of us are still too scared to jump right in.
The elevator doors open at his floor, and the hallway is dark with the exception of a few lights. I swear everyone at this company works crazy hours. Ash’s desk is all closed up, a picture of her and Molly near her keyboard. Dom’s office door is open with his desk lamp on, so I assume he’s here somewhere. I sit down to wait. When he doesn’t come after a few minutes, I wonder if he’s already left.
I figure I’ll be cute and leave him some little notes to find at random times, so he knows I’m thinking about him.
His desk is spotless. Who doesn’t have a pen holder or a pack of Post-it notes on their desk? I open the drawer on the left, finding the Post-it notes but no pens. I open the other drawer and spot a row of pens, highlighters, and pencils in separate compartments. I shake my head. He’ll never be able to live with Ryder and me.
Beside the pens is something black and silky with a note attached. I pull it out. Written in girly script handwriting on the note attached to the black silk thong is, “You know where to find me.”
I drop them and plop down in the chair.
Okay, think rationally, Val.
I pull out my phone and text him only to get a reply that confirms my suspicions.
Dom: I’m heading home.
Fucking liar. I snag the panties and shove them in my purse. All the convincing I did on the way up. How fucking stupid am I? Always Dom’s little puppet.
