AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Louisa scoffed, because she knew that meant he’d bribed them to bend the rules and get his way. “It smells delicious. I’ll get us some plates.”
There was a little kitchenette in the back of the gallery that got used during artist launches and vernissage evenings.
When she returned to her office she saw Sebastian had moved two chairs to the front of her desk, so they could sit next to each other as they ate. She stopped for a second in the doorway, admiring the cozy domesticity of it. It was notsomething she’d ever had before, and she’d always assumed she would have to hide the cunning side of herself if she ever wanted a serious relationship.
“Stein has quite the unexpected find,” Sebastian said before turning to grin at her.
She handed him the plates and he started pulling the food out of containers, pausing only to push a page of Stein’s report toward her. The information on the very first line was startling.
“The ex isn’t in Canada,” she said in surprise.
“It gets better, go on.”
She read quickly, absorbing the information. Theo’s ex was called Mena, abbreviated from Philomena, Reid. She’d applied to the phD program in paleontology at the University of Alberta, but then after a few months of studying had changed over to a Masters course.
She’d spent two years in Alberta studying dinosaurs before taking a job in a small museum in New York.
“She’s here!” Louisa exclaimed. Really, half their work had already been done for them. “This is perfect.”
“I wasn’t expecting it to be this simple,” Sebastian agreed as he finished plating their food and handed Louisa her lunch; a piece of salmon and a salad. There were slices of fresh crusty baguette in an open container between them.
“Thanks,” she said, putting her plate down and tucking the report just to the side so she could continue reading as she ate.
Sebastian put out his leg so his ankle brushed against hers, a lone point of contact as they ate. Louisa continued looking over the report.
“I didn’t have time to read any farther than the first page,” Sebastian said, “I’ll have Stein keep digging and see what else he uncovers.”
Louisa looked up suddenly, a thought occurring to her. “She doesn’t have a boyfriend, does she?” she asked with dread.
Seb shook his head, his attention on his food.
Louisa breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
“Would you have let that stop you?” Sebastian asked, looking up at her. There was no judgment in his eyes, just curiosity.
With friends, or past boyfriends, Louisa would have lied and said thatof courseit would have stopped her. She would probably have pretended to be offended and declare that she’d never break up a happy couple just for her own bit of fun. With Sebastian though, she could be truthful. “I’m not sure.”
He nodded, like that was exactly what he’d expected her to say.
“Did you tell Stein why you wanted her investigated?” Louisa asked, changing the subject.
“No, although I pay the man enough to keep his mouth shut. We said this was going to be our secret.”
“Yes,” she said with a burst of delight. It was their little secret. “That’s true.”
The two of the lapsed into silence, both of them reading and eating.
Mena, she learned, was a curator at the new Allardyce museum. The late Mr. Allardyce had been a collector of dinosaur bones, and he’d gathered a large collection. In his will he’d ordered his house to be converted into a museum.
Louisa looked up from the report, Sebastian was reading over her shoulder, and now he pulled the page across the desk so he could finish reading it. He paused after he read about the museum, an idea forming: “I could host an event in her museum, something for charity and make sure the curators attend.”
“Yes…” Louisa considered. “Do you think that would be a little too obvious? Too much of a connection. The other night you were denying that you even remembered the tontine and now suddenly he sees his ex at your party. It would seem a little too obvious to me.”
“You, my darling, might be a little paranoid.”
“Perhaps, but, I’d rather we were paranoid than found out on our first attempt.”
Sebastian leaned back in his chair. “Do you have any ideas?”
