figure with him. He punched in the numbers his partner was seeking, then increased his pace to a brisk walk. Time to get back to work.
It took him fifteen minutes to make his way to Falcon’s offices at Bondi Junction. He made a call to the bank as he drove, leaving a message for his business banker, Peter. Sometime between now and this evening he needed to decide whether he was going to put an offer in for the wharf apartment, and he couldn’t do that without Peter’s imprimatur.
He parked in the garage beneath the building and made his way up to the fourth floor. He could see their receptionist, Julie, talking on her headset as he approached the double glass doors to reception. There were a couple of people in the waiting area and he checked his watch. He didn’t have any appointments until midday and it was only ten-thirty, so they were probably for Greg.
“Yo, Julie,” he said as he pushed through the glass doors.
“Rhys. You’re back.” Julie shot a glance toward the waiting area, her brow furrowed.
“I am. Like I said I would be.” He reached for the handful of phone messages with his name scrawled across the top.
“I’m expecting some people at midday, okay?” He headed for his office.
“Wait,” Julie said, stopping him in his tracks. She lowered her voice. “There’s someone here to see you. I told her that you were busy and to leave her name so you could set up an appointment, but she insisted on waiting.”
He was aware of movement in the waiting area. He glanced over and saw a tall, slender woman rising to her feet. She was dressed conservatively in tailored navy trousers and a navy dress shirt, her hair pulled into a neat ponytail. Her features were small and nondescript and his gaze slid off her face and back to Julie’s.
“I’m sorry,” the receptionist said anxiously.
“It’s fine,” Rhys reassured her.
The woman walked toward him and he put on his best professional smile and turned to deal with what was almost certainly an unsolicited pitch for the business’s telephone contract or office supplies.
He went very still as he found himself staring into warm, cinnamon-brown eyes.
“Charlie.”
CHAPTER FIVE
SHE WAS VERY PALE. His gaze raked her from head to toe, taking in her businesslike—almost uniformlike—clothes, the sensible shoes, the no-nonsense hairdo.
She looked completely different from the woman he’d spent the night with two months ago. That woman was sultry and lithe and sexy. This woman looked as though she’d be great at doing his taxes.
His gaze returned to her face. She was watching him closely, her expression guarded.
“Rhys,” she said. Her voice caught on the single word and she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry to drop in on you like this, but do you have a moment to talk?”
He was still trying to catch up with the idea that she was here. That after dashing off a note then leaving his apartment in the early hours, she was suddenly at his place of business, wanting to talk.
“I was pretty sure I would never see you again.” It sounded like an accusation and it was his turn to clear his throat.
Her hands were clutched together at her waist. “Is there somewhere we can talk?” she asked.
He glanced over his shoulder. Julie was watching them with avid eyes. She was young, as were a lot of his team. He didn’t particularly want the entire staff knowing about his personal life. Especially since most of them had been at Café Sydney the night he met Charlie.
“There’s a coffee shop across the road.”
He automatically took Charlie’s elbow to guide her to the door, but after a few steps she slipped free. He eyed her as he hit the button for the elevator.
“What’s going on, Charlie?”
She glanced up the hallway toward the stairwell, almost as though she was looking for an escape route.
“Maybe we should wait until we’re across the street.”
The elevator arrived. She stepped inside and he followed. He was getting over the shock of seeing her so unexpectedly, his brain starting to work again.
It had been two months. And since she was the one who had walked out on him, he guessed she must have a powerful reason for suddenly making contact with him. A number of options sprang to mind and he didn’t like any of them.
Her head was bowed, and his gaze gravitated to the delicate hollow at the nape of her neck. He’d kissed her there, pushing her hair to one side. She’d