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“I’ll off-set the carbon footprint,” Andrew drawls. “Besides, I wanted to check up on you.”
“We’re having dinner tonight,” Rufus says stiffly.
I don’t hear Andrew’s next murmured question. And I really shouldn’t be listening to this conversation… I glance back at my desk, knowing I should pack up and head out.
I don’t move.
“Uh…” Rufus has that slow, careful drag in his voice, when he’s trying to think of the answer the person he’s talking to wants to hear. “She might be available? I’ll have to call her. No, it’s all right, I’ll give her a ring after you leave.”
She? Her?Herwho?
“Because she works during the day, Andrew. I can’t just interrupt my…fiancée…because my business partner decided to fly halfway around the world and wants to meet her!”
I pull back from the closed door as if I’ve been burned by the eavesdropping. And in a way, I have.
Puzzle pieces desperately try to fit together in my head. I think about what Rufus said before his partner arrived.Personal business. One of us should have a good day.
“Fine, let’s have dinner. I know you want to meet her, and I assure you, we are both touched. Can’t wait for tonight, in fact.” Rufus says this all very firmly, his voice lifted a little, but not loud enough that I could hear if I weren’t an inch away from his door.
My fiancée. We are both touched.
What the fuck?
Rufus isn’t engaged.
And he doesn’t say things likeWe are both touched.
“End of conversation, Andrew! For fuck’s sake, I need to do some work this afternoon.” I smile despite myself at his frustrated swearing. We both do that. He’s so mild-mannered right up until the second that he loses his cool, and then it’s f-bombs galore until the problem is solved.
The threat of being discovered listening chases me back to my desk. My heart pounds in my chest and my eyes are hot. I want to cry at the thought of Rufus having a fiancée that he’s kept from me, even though that’s ridiculous. He doesn’t owe me any explanation about his personal life. I’m just his assistant.
But I can’t cry at my desk, and my stupid computer won’t turn off until I’ve saved a few things I was working on. I’m furiously closing tabs when Andrew steps out of the office. “See you in a few hours,” he tosses over his shoulder at Rufus, sounding suspiciously cheery.
I keep my head down as he strides out.
Then my computer blessedly powers off, and I grab my purse from the drawer I keep it in.
Silently, I follow Rufus’s business partner out the office door.
Rufus told me to leave for the afternoon.He also told you to say goodbye.But I couldn’t do that without breaking down in front of him, and there’s no way I could explain why I’m a mess right now.You have a girlfriend? You are engaged?
I don’t deserve answers to those questions.
There’s a crowd of people at the elevator, so I head for the stairwell, fist turning white from the grip I have on the purse strap running across my body. I’m probably not going to make it back to my empty little studio apartment on the other side of the city before I break down.
I’m going to have to quit my job. I can’t work for a man who triggers this kind of reaction in me, even if he’s done nothing—
I skid to a stop on the landing.
Below me, Andrew is on the phone. “I’m telling you, there’s no way he actually has a fiancée. He’s such an idiot. It’s hilarious making him dance like that. You should have seen his face when I suggested he call her in front of me.” He guffaws. “Can’t wait to hear what excuse he makes up for why she can’t make dinner tonight. Meanwhile, I have you on my arm, my sultry sex kitten.”
My eyes bug out of my head.Sultry sex kitten?Who says things like that out loud? On the phone? At work? While being mean about someone they’re supposed to be business partners with?
“I’ll let you go and get all dolled up,” he continues smoothly. Too smoothly. Gross. “I need to do a few things here, then I’ll collect you at six. Yeah, the reservation at Meadowchurch is for six. It’s fine if we’re late. Gives him more time to worry about his cover story.”
The hot, frustrated tears that had threatened before have now turned into pure fiery adrenaline coursing through my veins.
Meadowchurch is the best steakhouse in the city. It’s where all the top business people go to be seen.
