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He gleams at Steve in my arms. “So this is the new office mascot?” he says, scratching Steve’s head. “I’ve heard lots about him.”
I ignore him too, grabbing a mug from the side and pouring myself a strong coffee. “How’s it going?”
“All good.” He picks up a file and heads out. “I’m just off to Sharman House. The annual inspection for their equipment is underway. I want to swing by and make sure everything is set to run smoothly.”
My ears prick up, and I swing around to face Peter’s back. Sharman House? The firm Lo works for operates out of Sharman House. “I’ll come,” I blurt.
Peter looks over his shoulder, his forehead heavy. “You want to come?”
I nod, lowering and placing Steve on the floor when he starts to wriggle. “Sure. Always good for our clients to be aware of my continued interest in their business.”
Peter’s suspicious face is warranted. I have a whole team of people to make sure our existing clients are taken care of. “Why?”
I shrug nonchalantly. “It’s a big contract. The landlords have a lot of companies operating from Sharman House. They need to keep them happy, therefore we need to keep the landlords happy.”
Peter relents easily. “I’ll meet you in the foyer in ten.”
“See you there.” I head back to my office, buzzing at the thought of potentially seeing Lo.
The crowd has dispersed from Pam’s desk, and she looks at me as I pass, then looks at my feet. “Where’s Steve?”
I slow to a stop, looking around my feet, too. No Steve. “Shit.” Darting back to the café, I scan the space for him, my search turning up no results. Damn, where’d he go? “Steve?” I call, heading down the corridor. “Steve!”
“Looking for this?”
I turn and find Sam, one of our interns, holding Steve in her arms, her face buried in his furry head. I breathe out my relief and go to claim him but pull back when I notice Sam has her coat on and her bag over her shoulder. My conniving mine starts hatching a plan. I can’t take Steve to Sharman House, and Pam might quit if I lumber her with him again. “Doing anything nice for lunch?” I ask, trying to sound as casual as possible.
She eyes me with all the confusion she should. In the six months Sam has been here, I’ve never asked her that question. “Meeting a friend at the café in the park.”
The park? Perfect. “Want to take Steve with you?”
“You want me to walk your dog?”
I give her a pleading face. “I have a really important meeting. I need a babysitter, just for a few hours.”
“But my lunch is only an hour long.”
“Take the rest of the day off.”
“Okay,” she accepts easily and drops Steve to his paws. “Lead?”
“Oh.” I look down at Steve, thinking. Fuck, I need to get that sorted. Casting my eyes around me, I search for something, anything that’ll work for now.
“Your belt?” Sam says, nodding at my trousers.
She’s brilliant. I unfasten the buckle and yank it out, handing it to Sam, then turn and dash back to my office. “Thanks, Sam.”
Pam’s looking for Steve again when I pass her desk. “He’s being looked after,” I assure her, grabbing my phone and jacket. “I’ll be back in an hour.” I head down to meet Peter.
Chapter Sixteen
As I stand in the lobby of Sharman House with the team of system engineers undertaking the maintenance inspection, I find my eyes constantly swinging to the bank of elevators every time one of the doors slides open. Each time, I breathe in, hoping one of the people who exits will be Lo going on her lunch break. She doesn’t appear, and I become more disheartened each time.
Once we’ve been signed in and presented with visitors’ passes, we’re escorted to the control room where the chief engineer gives us a rundown of the equipment checked so far. The building is vast, with twelve floors and endless detectors and cameras on each floor.
“Have all the companies been informed of the maintenance underway?” I ask, scrolling down the clipboard of firms working out of Sharman House, my eyes hovering over Lo’s company, Red Well.
“Yes. We’ve made a start in the basement.” Peter looks to the chief engineer. “And we’re moving up to make a start on the second floor by five?”
“One of my men will head up to the second floor to make sure they’re ready for us, just as soon as he’s put that detector back together.”
Red Well are on the second floor. “I’ll do that,” I say casually, passing the clipboard to the chief engineer. “The blueprints?”
I’m passed an A3 sheet of paper detailing the camera and sensor locations on the second floor. I scan it, appearing to look interested. I’m not. What I’m actually doing is hoping I get to check up on Lo. “Thanks.” I let myself out of the control room and head for the elevators, swiping my visitor’s pass to get through the glass barriers. I check myself out in the mirror as I ride up to the second floor. My eyes aren’t as bright as usual, and my jaw bristly. “Damn you, Steve,” I mutter, exiting when the doors slide open.
