thinks?”
She chuckled. “That’s the face of someone who doesn’t care what anyone thinks.”
I grinned and winked. Patricia had worked for me for five years, and over that time we’d developed a great working relationship. I relied on her enormously.
Pushing open the door to my office, I immediately spied breakfast waiting for me. Overnight oats, a skinny omelet wrap, and a flat white.
“Thanks, Patricia,” I threw over my shoulder.
“Welcome,” she called back.
I closed the door, set down my briefcase, and hung up my coat by the door. Two days spent holed up in my apartment had left me restless, and I was anxious to start the day. Despite working until midnight last night, I still had sixty-five emails awaiting my attention from our London office which had been open for business while I slept.
Patricia had already marked the most urgent ones. I tore my wrap in half and devoured it while replying. I’d almost finished when a brief knock at the door interrupted me and Elliot entered.
“Morning.” He flopped onto the chair opposite mine and swiped the other half of my wrap.
I snatched it back. “Get your own.”
“I’ve had my own.” He shot me an impish grin. “Still hungry.”
“You’ve got hollow legs. Wait until you turn thirty. You’re gonna have a paunch.”
Elliot snorted, patting his stomach. “Never gonna happen. Gotta keep the six pack in place. Brienne loves licking my abs.”
My head rolled back against the chair. “Please, spare me the details.”
“How was Paris? Did you take your Asian friend along for a little mile-high action?”
His teasing turned my mind to Athena. I hadn’t heard from her since I’d put her into a car at the airport, not that I’d expected to. And if I hadn’t expected to, why did my chest ache?
“Paris was fine.”
He laughed. “Point taken.” And then he touched a hand to his forehead. “I forgot to tell you because you haven’t been here. Athena’s back.”
I arranged my face to show a modicum of surprise. “Really? Why? Wasn’t she supposed to be away longer?”
He shrugged. “She missed me. What can I say? I’m irresistible.”
“You’re an ass.”
“Yeah, so you tell me—several times a week. Listen, there’s something I need to bring up at the board meeting this morning. I’ll cover it off at the end. No need to change the agenda.”
My skin prickled. “Is that so?” I said curtly.
He linked his fingers together and stretched his arms overhead. “Nothing to be concerned about.”
Now I’m even more concerned.
He stood, taking my coffee with him. “Boardroom in thirty?”
“Yes. And there better be a replacement coffee at the head of the table.”
“I’ll speak to Patricia,” he said, then disappeared through the door.
I wandered over to the window and stared out at the Manhattan skyline, my mind racing. I’d have questioned him further if I thought for one second it would have gotten me anywhere. Elliot had worn that look… the mischievous one. The secretive one.
I didn’t like it.
Athena and board meeting being mentioned in the same breath caused a ball of dread to take root in the pit of my stomach. If Elliot was planning to merge the two, he’d have a hell of a fight on his hands.
I arrived for the meeting early. When I pushed open the door to the boardroom, my gaze fell on Oliver intently bashing away on his keyboard. He lifted his head, held up a hand in greeting, and returned his attention to his screen.
“How come you’re working in here?” I asked.
“I’m hiding,” he replied.
“From who?”
“Mom. Saw her heading toward my office as I was coming back from a meeting. Hence I ducked in here.”
“Why are you hiding from your mom?”
Oliver leaned back in his chair, twirling a pen through his fingers. “Annie is struggling in school with a couple of subjects. Mom thinks she should have private tuition to help her catch up. I don’t agree. I think that’s pushing her too hard, too early.”
Annie was Oliver’s seven-year-old daughter, and he was extremely protective of her given that his wife, and Annie’s mother, Sara, had left them both when Annie was still a baby. At first, he kept hoping she’d return, but when that didn’t happen, he divorced her. She didn’t even turn up for the hearing. It had taken him a long time to move on and, even now, I wasn’t sure he really had. I think that spark of hope simply wouldn’t be extinguished.
I stroked my chin. “Maybe she’s right. You don’t want her getting too far behind.”
He fixed me with a stare.