Page 110 of Honor

“Nice of you to dress the part,” Reid quips. “Where’s your suit?”

“Every one of them is hanging in the closet at my home.” Baden pinches the front of his T-shirt between two fingers. “Since this is a casual meeting, I am dressed for the part.”

I catch Reid’s eye quickly before he levels his gaze back on Baden. “Did you not make it home last night?”

“How is that any of your fucking business?” He chuckles. “By the way, good morning, Evie.”

“Morning,” I toss out as I step away from my desk. “I have a bunch of things to do today, so I need to get to it.”

“He doesn’t need more socks,” Baden calls after me as I make my way toward the elevator. “Or envelopes since there are thousands of them in the supply closet.”

“Shut up,” I hear Reid say. “Why did you take the stairs and not the elevator? Is it out of order?”

Since the elevator doors slide open as soon as I press the call button, I can answer that question for him, but I don’t. I step inside and take a breath. So much has changed between Reid and me, but at the office, I’m still his executive assistant, so I need to get moving so I can check off every task on my boss’s to-do list for today.

Thirty minutes later,I exit the elevator while cursing under my breath. I should have done what I always do when Reid sends me a task list. I should have read the entire thing before I bolted out of here.

If I had done that, I would have noticed that the ninth task on the list included returning two library books. According to the email he sent me, both books are sitting on the corner of his desk. He wants two new thriller novels to replace those. I can’t fathom when he has time to read because we spend so much of his time away from the office together.

I slide off my heels so I can hurry down the corridor. Since I have a pair of comfortable walking shoes in the bottom drawer of my desk, I’ll do a quick footwear change before I grab the books and sprint back to the elevator.

I stop just before I round the corner that leads to my desk, and beyond that, Reid’s office. Laughter fills the air. It’s obvious that Reid’s meeting with Baden and Vance is still ongoing. My immediate reaction is frustration because it means he’s late for a coffee meeting with a prospective client. He was scheduled to be at a café three blocks from here by now.

I make a mental note to stop by that café on my way to my next task. I’ll buy a fresh cup of coffee for the person waiting for Reid. I’ll tell my boss he’s late, and that will break up the partners’ impromptu meeting.

“We need to move forward with getting our hands on Azelius Spas,” Vance says, stopping me in my tracks. His voice is so loud and clear that I know he must be standing near my desk. That’s just a few feet from where I am. “You’re the one who talked about buying out Emmel’s too, Reid. You said being best man gave you an in with both of them.”

“It does give him an in,” Baden chimes in. “Think about it, Vance. He hadn’t seen Randall in years. You know Reid. Do youhonestly think he would have agreed to be the best man at this wedding if he wasn’t going to profit in some way?”

What the hell is going on?

Stunned by what I’m hearing, I close my eyes and rest my head against the wall of the corridor, just out of their view.

“I told you both I’m handling it,” Reid snaps. “Leave Randall and Charlotte to me. Get to work. I have a meeting to get to.”

That’s my cue to scram, so I take off toward the closest hiding place. It’s the washroom. I duck inside only to find Cleo fixing her hair in the mirror. This is the last place I thought I’d find her, given the fact that she has a private washroom attached to her new office. That’s one of her new perks as the manager of the senior analysts.

“Evie?” she questions as her gaze trails over my face. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I step closer to where she’s standing near the row of sinks and glance at the mirror above them. She’s right. I’m pale. My skin looks clammy. I feel as weak as I look. “I don’t feel very well.”

Her arm circles my waist immediately. “Sit down.”

She guides me toward a navy blue bench against the wall. I sit on it and instantly notice how hard my knees are shaking.

Did Reid agree to be the best man strictly because of profit? Was his angle this entire time to get the happy couple to sell their respective businesses to him? Is he truly that ruthless?

“I’ll go grab a bottle of water from the break room.” Cleo pats my shoulder. “Wait right here.”

I stop her by grabbing hold of her wrist. “Please stay for a minute. I’m feeling a little light-headed.”

She sits beside me. I breathe out a sigh of relief because I don’t want her to run into Reid in the corridor. The last thing I need at this moment is to face him.

We sit in silence until a full three minutes pass, and I hear Reid’s voice booming through the corridor as he calls for someone to hold the elevator for him. Once the ding signals its departure, I glance at Cleo. “I think I’ll be okay.”

“I’m calling my driver to take you home,” she tells me. “I’ll let Reid know that you’re ill. I’ll find someone to cover for you, so don’t you worry about a thing.”

Ditching work like this is not something I’ve ever done, but I’ve also never felt as though I’m falling in love before. Tears well in my eyes as I realize I may not even know the man I was ready to give my heart to.

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