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“So, does he make you happy? What does little Miss think of him?”
“Yes, he does make me happy. He's funny, and sweet, and smart, and caring. Piddle loves him, has done since about half an hour after she met him. He adores her as well. I think they're a match made in Heaven. Did I tell you that he has a cat enclosure in his backyard?”
The two women continued chatting back and forth for some time before Cass dropped a bombshell.
“Allee, I thought you should know...apparently Stuart approached Uncle Dom's house a couple of months ago, about two weeks after you saw him. He knocked on the door and everything.”
Allee's heart froze.
“What did he say, do you know?”
“I don't know for certain, but old Mrs Milton, the lady across the road from you, saw Uncle Dom last week, and she said he approached her and told her he was an old friend of yours and that he'd been given that address for you. She said she'd mentioned you'd moved but didn't know where, and you were still working in the city as far as she knew. She can't remember if she told him who you worked for or where your office was, but I thought you should know. I've told Antonio to put the word out that nobody is to let on where you are, but we don't know if he's found out or not.”
All of a sudden, the room felt cold and dark, and Allee couldn’t breathe. Getting up to close all of the blinds and curtains and checking the doors and windows were securely locked, but she still felt exposed.
“Allee, I didn't mean to scare you! Don't panic or anything, just relax. You aren't alone, you have friends, and you have a hot new guy to protect you if needs be. Just be aware, okay, hun?”
Allee swallowed painfully and tried to reassure Cass that she was fine before quickly ending the conversation, promising to call the following weekend.
Moving upstairs, she finished checking that all the windows and balcony doors were locked and secure, closing the drapes, shutting out the darkening gloom before rummaging around in the bottom of her wardrobe. She hauled a sleepily protesting Piddle from the corner of the wardrobe, holding her close, squeezing so tightly that the cat struggled from her arms before bolting down the stairs. Allee followed, once again checking that all the doors and windows were secure, apologising to the cat for the overly protective hug.
Sleep would not find her tonight.
Chapter Nineteen
It had been a couple of weeks since Allee had stayed at Noah’s, and the normalcy surrounding her at work had helped Allee push Cass’ news about Stuart to the back of her mind. When she arrived that Monday morning, several others were already there before her. Darryl was at his desk, as was Sammy. With the review embargo date on Guardians III: Return of the Warrior only a little over a week away, the office was gearing up for a media event. Darryl and Sammy were both working overtime to ensure that everything was running smoothly.
As she walked in, Darryl and Sammy both looked up and waved, Darryl beckoning her over. She wandered back to Darryl's desk, leaning against it on one hip.
“Are you ready for the insanity yet? After this is all over, you'll have well and truly earned the bonus that we're likely to get.”
Allee smiled, looking forward to the challenge ahead.
“Hey, this sounds like it could be fun! Organising flights and accommodation for Gareth to come up and wow everyone with his mad marketing and publicity skills, setting up the office to entice mainstream media to come and check us out, as well as organising one hell of a shindig at the end of it – what's not to like?”
“Well, good luck with it all because you'll need it!” Darryl laughed and shook his head.
Allee grinned and headed back to her office, needing to get things organised for the following week.
As she sat down, she saw the inter-office messenger icon flashing, and she opened the tab to see a comment from Noah. It had been sent privately, and she grinned as she opened it, reading its contents:
So, I arrived at work hoping you and I could have a coffee, only to find that you were completely immersed in your laptop. I think I'm jealous of it now – you've been entirely focused on it, and I keep imagining your fingers on the keys. Dammit, I want your fingers pressing my buttons instead!
Love you xoxo
Allee giggled, then looked up as she heard movement at her door, Noah standing there, grinning back at her.
“I see you've read my message then?” he said.
“Uh-huh. So, I see you want me to push your buttons?” Allee taunted, then gulped at the loaded look Noah gave her.
“Always.”
“Dinner tonight at my place?” she asked, her voice cracking at the end.
Noah nodded, swallowing hard himself, before winking and walking back to his desk. Allee breathed out heavily, fighting to regain her composure. She had work to do, and the faster she got it done, the faster tonight would arrive.
With a gloomy and overcast sky Tuesday morning and knowing that the studio would also seem dull due to the leaden skies, Allee decided that she would brighten up the office herself. She hauled herself out of bed, smiling at the memory of the night before. Noah had arrived just after half six, having gone home himself to shower and change. He'd brought a bottle of wine, as well as a thermal bag of 'goodies', that he had said was for dessert. He'd refused to let Allee see what was inside, so her eyes had kept drifting to it during their meal.
