AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well…yes. Isn’t that what you do when you’re trying to get the best out of people?”
“Lie?”
“When you were testing my limits at the gym, my arms were getting shaky, and you told me I could do it.”
“And you did.”
“But you didn’t know that. You were pushing to get the best out of me. Why can’t you do the same now?”
Will pulled into a parking garage and parked the car. He sat quietly for a moment while Charlotte waited for him to indicate what to do next. The way he was acting, she half expected him to call it off.
He turned in his seat to look at her. “Charlotte, when we started all of this, I expected you to fail. I didn’t think you had what it took, but I was wrong. No matter what happens today, I want you to know that you’ve impressed me in so many ways. Every day, you go above and beyond what I think you’ll do. I pushed you hard because I needed to know if I could trust you to do the job, and you have far surpassed my expectation. There is no one in the world I’d rely on to pull this off besides you. You’re amazing.”
“Oh. Thank you. That’s a good lie.”
“I’m not lying.”
“Then why are you frowning?”
“Because I am. Are we going to do this or not?”
Now, she was more confused than ever. “Yes. Okay. Let’s do this. Is this where we’re meeting him? In a parking garage?”
“No. He has an office in the building across the street. We’re meeting him there.”
“I don’t remember seeing his office mentioned in any of the reports.”
“This isn’t where we usually visit him. It’s the first time I’ve been here, but this is where he is today, so this is where we’re meeting.”
“That’s good then, right? He’s not going to murder us in an office building.”
Will gave her a sideways glance. “You want me to lie to you…or…”
“No. Let’s just go.”
They got out of the car, and he led her toward the exit, but she put a hand on his arm to stop him. “Wait.”
“What? You want to call it off?”
“Stop saying that.” She took a couple of deep breaths, then nodded. “Okay. I’m ready.”
She smiled at him, eyes sparkling with confidence. His gaze dropped to her mouth for a second before he turned away and headed toward the exit.
“Good. Let’s go.”
* * *
Her stomach was a bundle of nerves and her fingers played with the strap of her purse when they entered the building, but the rest of her oozed a makeshift confidence while Will spoke to the woman at reception.
“Hi, there. We’re here to see Antonio.”
“Tony?” Her eyes drifted to Charlotte, who did her best to show her distaste for being made to wait.
“Yes, sir. If you’ll head to the elevators. I’ll tell him you’re on your way up.”
“I appreciate it”—He leaned forward slightly, squinting at her name tag—“Carly.”
Charlotte set off for the elevators, not waiting for Will, who quickly caught up. “You’re in a hurry.”
