asked. “He isn’t going to be making any hiring decisions.”
“I just…wanted to meet him,” Elise said. “I’m interested in the company, and…and he must be a real visionary. A genius.”
Rebecca’s face softened slightly. “He is very good at what he does,” she said. “I suppose, if you’re passionate about pharmaceuticals, it makes sense that you would want to meet him.”
Hope flared in Elise’s chest. “So, do you think—”
“I’m afraid not,” Rebecca said. “His schedule is absolutely full, and as I said, he’s only here for a few days. I’m sorry. I’m not going to be able to bother him with something like this.”
Elise nodded. She still wanted to get this job, and she knew there was nothing to be gained by continuing to push at this issue. She would have to let it go for now.
Still…something had been achieved here today. She knew where Lucas was and where he was going to be for the next three days. The only question now was, what was she going to do about it?
She got through the rest of the interview. She wasn’t sure she had performed as well as she could have, but she managed to keep herself in the moment enough to answer Rebecca’s questions. Finally, Rebecca put down her pen and got to her feet.
“Thanks for your time today,” she said. “We’ll be in touch about next steps.”
“Thank you,” Elise said. “I look forward to hearing from you.”
As she headed for the door, she couldn’t help glancing over at the office Lucas had gone into. The door was still closed.
It would only take a moment to run over there and knock on that door.
But she didn’t have the nerve. Everyone in the whole office would see what she was doing. Someone would probably stop her before she ever made it to his door. And the last thing she wanted was for Lucas to see her being dragged out without having the chance to tell him about her pregnancy. She would look like some stalker who had tracked him down out of desperation to see him again. He wouldn’t understand the truth about why she wanted to talk to him.
The whole drive home, Elise wrestled with what to do. The one thing she knew was that she couldn’t let this opportunity get away. Lucas was here until Thursday. After that, he would be returning to Boston.
If she got the job at Quadra-Well, her odds of seeing him again would increase exponentially. She would hope to hear from them soon with good news. But she couldn’t just sit back and wait. She had to be proactive.
She wanted him to know that she was pregnant with his baby now, so he could make a decision about how involved he wanted to be.
And beyond that, I want to ask him to be involved.
It was the first time she had truly realized that. She didn’t need Lucas to help her raise her child, but she wanted the child to know his or her father. She was intent on making sure that happened.
One way or another, I will speak to him before he leaves town.
Chapter 12
Elise
By the next day, Elise had a plan.
She parked her car outside of the Quadra-Well building and went inside. The receptionist smiled at the sight of her.
“Back again so soon? I take it the interview went well!”
Elise returned her smile. “Actually,” she said brightly, “I think I may have dropped one of my earrings in the interview room. Would it be all right if I went back and looked for it?”
“Oh,” the receptionist said. “Nobody turned in any jewelry.”
“It would probably have been in the corner, by the plant in there,” Elise said. “I doubt anyone would have noticed it.”
The girl looked hesitant. “I could go and check for you,” she offered.
“I wouldn’t want to take you away from your desk,” Elise said. “I’ll be in and out, I promise.”
The girl still looked like she might tell Elise no, but just then, the phone rang. She answered it and held up a finger, telling Elise to wait.
Elise grinned and held up her own finger, deliberately misinterpreting the signal. She hurried back toward the interview room before the receptionist could stop her.
There was no sign of Rebecca Moss. Elise breathed a sigh of relief. If Rebecca had seen her, she would most likely have intercepted her right away. But no one else here knew who Elise was.
Well—almost no one.
As she passed by a conference room, she saw him through the glass windows.