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“Why didn’t you just say you were the landlord?”
“I…” Shit. Walked right into that one.
“Is that a secret? Do you think it takes away from the business for Charlie to be using his brother’s office space?” She cocks her head, which I already know she does when she’s genuinely curious, not accusatory.
"Not exactly. It’s not a secret, but I do want the focus to be on Charlie and the business, not my involvement.” I’m not sure why I feel the need to phrase my answer in exactly those terms, but I suspect it might be useful later. Regardless, I need to steer the conversation to safer territory. “Are you ready to leave?” I ask. “I could get you set up with the new lock on your way out.”
Lisa glances around her office and, finding nothing left to pack up, she nods and walks toward the door. I step back to let her pass, letting my hand drift to the small of her back as I guide her toward the front door. I hear her quick intake of breath and pull back, unsure if that breath is due to shock over my forward gesture or the electric charge I feel certain she noticed.
At the front door, I show her how to arm and disarm the lock, and program a code specifically for her use. We test it a few times to make sure it works properly, and once satisfied, I turn off the office lights and shut the door. Then I walk her to her car, again placing my hand on the small of her back.
“Careful, it may be a little slick. I shoveled earlier, but any moisture turns to ice on this asphalt once the sun goes down.”
“Do all your properties get such personal service?” she asks.
I smile, noting the smirk in her voice. She’s flirting with me. “What makes you think I have more properties?”
“Just a hunch.” She unlocks the door. I step back to let her open it without moving my hand.
“Any plans for the long weekend?” I ask casually, hoping to distract her from this line of questioning.
“Long weekend?” She pauses, one foot already inside the truck.
I chuckle. “You’re just as bad as me. I didn’t realize it was a holiday until Simon said something tonight and then accused me of not ‘knowing my bloody holidays.’”
“I suppose I’m guilty of that, too. I’m so used to working from home it didn’t occur to me to check the calendar.”
“Do you have another deadline?”
“There’s always a deadline,” she teases, “but not one that falls tomorrow.”
We’re interrupted by the shrill ring of my phone. I hold up a finger, hoping she’ll stay out of the car until I finish my call, and press Accept.
“Hey,” I answer.
“Are you still at the office? I’m trying to reach Simon,” Charlie says.
“Simon left to go to the mountains for the holiday weekend. I’m just walking Lisa to her car.” She looks at me curiously. “Charlie,” I mouth.
“Shoot, I forgot about the holiday.”
“What’s up? Should I put you on speaker?”
“Yeah.”
I hit the button. “Go ahead.”
“I came across a funding event for the education industry. The deadline to submit the document is Tuesday, but I need Simon’s input on the technical portion and Lisa’s help to pull it all together. Lisa, is there any way you could coordinate with Simon?”
“Maybe I can help,” I interject. “Simon walked me through things last week, so I could probably cover it. Then we don’t have to interrupt his vacation.”
“You could write the technical portion?” Charlie asks.
“Not in explicit detail, no. But I could do a Cliffs Notes version. That’s probably all you need for the application, right?”
There’s silence on the other end as Charlie considers this. “That could work.”
I look at Lisa. “How does a Tuesday deadline sound to you?” I’m dangerously close, so close I can see the faintest of freckles on her nose.
