Page 22 of Irresistible Second Chance

I wanted to kick myself. Why was I telling this woman everything? Was it a side effect of my anti-nausea pills?

“Yes and no. We dated for a few months, a long time ago. We were practically kids. It wasn’t anything serious.”

“Puppy love?” she said with a smile, “Isn’t that what you Americans call it?” She looked amused and continued, “Do you not think it’s unethical to be involved with a coworker?”

Her comment caught me off guard and I immediately switched into work mode. “Well, we’re not involved anymore. And I assure you our prior relationship has no bearing on any decisions I make for the company. I keep my personal and private affairs very separate.”

“But you all have history that could possibly impact how you make decisions.”

“The only thing that impacts how I make decisions are the numbers and the people behind them.”

She titled her head, thinking, “And does Chris think the same way?”

“Chris values measurable results and trusts his gut.” I frowned, “What’s this all about, Lucia? Are you having second thoughts on working with R&K because if so---”

She shook her head. “No, no second thoughts at all.”

She stood up then and excused herself.

That encounter had me confused. What just happened? This whole time I had thought Lucia’s interest in Chris was personal, but now I was starting to believe it was a lot more than that.

Lucia had kept Chris and I out for the entire afternoon. Once we returned, it was dark and I was exhausted. I didn’t know how to broach the subject to Chris. He and Lucia spent a lot of time talking among themselves when I had been incapacitated below deck waiting for the anti-nausea pills to kick in. I wasn’t too sure how to read their behavior.

As soon as we got to Chris’ house, Robert surprised me with a call.

“I need to take this,” I said to Chris disappearing down the hall as fast as my crutches would carry me.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Robert asked warmly. “I meant to catch up this morning, but now my sister’s kid came down with the same thing. It’s been madness here.” His twin sister, Robin, lived five minutes away and I know they saw each other often.

“I broke my foot.”

“Are you kidding me? How?” I quickly went over the story, and he laughed. “Seriously, Sydney? A monkey?” He started laughing again and I rolled my eyes.

“It caught me off guard. You would have done the same.”

“Doubtful,” he said. “I hope you heal quickly. I’ve never broken a bone and knock on wood that I don’t have to experience that as an adult. When you get back, take the next two weeks off.”

“No, I want to go to work.”

“We’ll just play it by ear, ok? Anyway, what else is going on? Fausto and Lucia seemed to be really taken by Chris. Sorry, I sprung him on you, but you all seem to be getting a long ok, right?”

I thought about what to say, “Yes, everything’s going fine but I don’t know…Lucia invited us on her yacht today and she was asking me questions about Chris that were a little odd.”

“How so?” Robert was shrewd and I liked how he took me seriously and valued my opinion. “Do you think she has cold feet and is going to back out?”

I quickly reassured him, “No, I don’t think so.”

“Do you think Chris is a liability somehow?”

“No,” I said a bit too strongly. “Definitely not. If Chris were a liability, I would have definitely told you. Also, full disclosure, Chris and I know each other from years ago.”

“Oh, I wasn’t aware. That isn’t a problem, is it?”

Robert was good at reading between the lines. “I assure you Robert, my history with Chris has no bearings on how I’m approaching this assignment. Our relationship is strictly professional. Any feelings that were there have long dissipated.”

“Hmmm….he came highly recommended, and I trust your judgement. Maybe Lucia has personal reasons for looking into Chris’ background.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

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