Marrying Mr. Wrong (Dirty Martini Running Club #3) - Claire Kingsley Page 0,9
aisle from me and he was one of my favorite people here. He’d been so helpful in showing me the ropes when I’d first started, and now we chatted all the time. Today he was dressed in a brown button-down shirt with a sweater vest and brown slacks. It was a lot of brown, but that was Steve. What he lacked in fashion sense, he made up for in niceness and an unexpected sense of humor.
“Did you buy a present for Millie?” I asked, gesturing to the bag. Steve was sort of a crazy cat lady, except a guy and he only had one cat. But Millie was very important to him, even though she was basically the meanest cat I’d ever heard of.
“I did. I’m hoping these new toys give her something else to do in the evenings when I’m trying to eat dinner.”
“Does she try to steal your food?”
“No, she doesn’t like human food. But she jumps on my shoulder and puts her tail in my face.”
By tail in his face, I was pretty sure he meant butt in his face. Gross. “Doesn’t Millie weigh like twenty pounds?”
He shrugged. “More or less.”
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
“Her claws are quite sharp, yes.” He said that in the same pleasant tone someone might have used to comment on the nice weather we’d been having.
“Well, I hope the new cat toys do the trick.”
My desk phone rang, so I picked it up. “Shepherd Calloway’s office. This is Sophie.”
“Hello Sophie. My name’s Oliver Carrington,” the voice on the other end said, and I smiled at his charming British accent. “I’m with Camden Cox’s office.”
My smile disappeared and my stomach did a belly flop. Camden Cox? Why was someone from his office calling here?
“Hi, Oliver. What can I do for you?”
“I was hoping you’d ask that. There’s something quite important you can do for me. Mr. Cox would like to set up a meeting with Mr. Calloway as soon as his schedule allows.”
It was hard not to giggle at his pronunciation of the word schedule. So cute. “What is this regarding?”
“A potential investment opportunity.”
Unfortunately, I had bad news for him. Mr. Calloway rarely took a meeting that he didn’t ask for himself, and he’d asked me to keep his calendar more open than usual in case Everly needed him. “I’m sorry Oliver, but Mr. Calloway’s schedule is very tight. I really don’t think I can fit anything in.”
“That’s a terrible disappointment. Are you sure?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Hm. Give me a moment, darling. I’m trying to come up with a suitable bribe.”
I laughed. “Who are you trying to bribe? Me, or Mr. Calloway?”
“You, of course.”
“In that case, I love chocolate-covered strawberries.”
“Consider it done.”
I laughed again. “I wish it were that easy, but there’s not much I can do. He’s totally booked.”
“You’re a tough nut to crack, aren’t you Sophie? I’m mildly daunted by your superb gatekeeping abilities.”
“It’s a big part of my job.”
“I can sympathize. But I won’t give up quite so easily. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon, darling. I’ll be in touch.”
“But, Oliver, I really—”
He hung up.
With a soft laugh, I hung up the phone.
About an hour later, Nina, our receptionist, brought a delivery to my desk. It was a small black box tied with a red ribbon.
“What’s this?” I asked as she set it down.
“I don’t know. Someone dropped it off. There’s an envelope with your name on it.”
“Thanks, Nina.”
She went back to her desk and I pulled the envelope out from under the ribbon. It simply said Sophie on the back. Inside, it read,
Dearest Sophie,
I hope this little gift encourages you to find a single hour in your boss’s undoubtedly crowded schedule. There’s more where this came from.
All my love,
Oliver Carrington.
I opened the box to find a decadent array of fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate—white chocolate with a milk chocolate drizzle, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and a few that had little sprinkles or chopped nuts. They looked delicious.
“Soph, do you have an admirer?” Steve asked, glancing at the open box from across the aisle.
“No, nothing like that. Do you want one?”
He smiled. “If you don’t mind sharing.”
“Not at all.”
He came over to my desk and chose a milk chocolate strawberry dipped in coconut flakes.
After he left, I eyed the rest, trying to decide what to do. On the one hand, I didn’t particularly want to do any favors for Camden Cox. Although he had helped me off that balcony and it was probably silly to be mad about something that had happened twenty