Page 24 of From London, With Love

“And you trust my judgement?”

This isn’t a typical interaction with Anna, and it’s throwing me off. She’s typically quite fiery and will say what’s on her mind without a second thought. “Anna, I’ve never known you to beat around the bush like this. What’s going on?”

“I really think you should reconsider your stance on an assistant.” I’ve barely opened my mouth to respond when she continues, holding up a hand. “Before you argue, I want you to listen. I watched you this morning, during that meeting. I say this with the utmost respect, boss, but you were so out of it, and that’s not normal for you at all.”

A few stray cinnamon strands have come loose from Anna’s bun, and she tucks them neatly behind her ears. Through the tortoise frame of her glasses, bright green eyes bore into mine, expectant.

“Here I was thinking perhaps you’d just come to visit a friend without ulterior motives.” Anna’s eyes widen slightly, before she pulls her lips down in a dramatic frown. A deep laugh ripples through me. “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right.

A small gasp falls from her lips, and then her entire face lights up like she’s just won the lottery. She claps her handsonto her thighs. The sound echoes around the office and her diamond engagement ring glints from her excitement.

“Finally, he listens!” Anna flips open her laptop, hitting keys and clicking buttons like her life depends on it. “I’ve only been trying to subtly persuade you for months. What made you change your mind this particular time?”

“First of all, you were as subtle as a cannon.” A wide grin breaks out across Anna’s face. “Secondly, I forgot to fill out my diary for today.”

Anna’s jaw drops slightly, and her eyes widen. Having known me for as long as she has, she’s well aware of how Type A I am when it comes to my diary.

“Oh, Carter,” is all she can say. “Don’t worry, we’ll find you the perfect EA. I’ll put some feelers out and see if there’s any potential from word of mouth before going through an agency.”

Leaning back in the chair, I cross my arms over my chest. “You’re simply the best; thank you, Anna.”

Rising from her chair, Anna continues firing off emails as she walks out. A quick glance at my watch says I’m a few minutes late in meeting Dex downstairs.

I find him waiting by the front doors in the foyer, deeply engrossed in his phone. “What could possibly have caught your attention like that, Dexter?”?

It seems he didn’t have the slightest inclination I was approaching, if the way he jumps out of his skin is any indication. The item holding his attention so intensely goes flying upwards. Reaching out a hand, I manage to catch it before it falls to an almost certain death, as Dex recentres himself.

“What the fuck Carter,” Dex says a little too loudly, causing some of the passing office staff to glance in our direction. “You don’t sneak up on a man like that when he’s watching porn.”

My eyes almost pop out of my head. “You weren’t, please tell me you weren’t,” I mutter.

Dex merely winks at me, turning on his heel in pursuit of a lunch spot. It seems I won’t be getting an answer anytime soon. For a smart guy, my best friend does some dumb things. Which is precisely why it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if he were telling the truth.

We wander down Oxford Street toward a local cafe, catching up on the week so far. Whilst the promotion has been a bit of a steep incline for Dex, it sounds like he’s finding his feet. From what I’ve heard around the firm, the junior associates are stoked to have him leading them. I’ve known for a while that Dex would be a great leader; not only is he one hell of a lawyer, but he’s incredibly personable, which is exactly what our up-and-comers need.

By the time we collect our lunch and find a table, I’ve finished telling Dex about ending things with Molly. With how busy things have been, we’re hardly had the chance to catch up on a personal level.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand though, mate,” Dex says around a rather large mouthful of baguette. “If you weren’t even keen on Molly, why have you seemed so off with the fairies lately?”

Scoffing, I look up from my lunch and see Dex’s eyebrows pulling together. I keep my face neutral as I respond, unsure where this is going. “Care to elaborate on when I’ve been off with the fairies?”

Now it’s Dex’s turn to scoff. “Oh, come off it.” There’s the smallest note of exasperation in his voice. “You’ve hardly been present in meetings. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard someone have to repeat themselves because you zoned out.”

Dragging my fork through the Greek salad in front of me, itdawns on me that the son of a bitch might have a point—especially given the way I completely zoned out this morning whilst picturing her. Then there’s the whole diary mishap, although I could blame that on workload to disprove Dex’s point.

Taking another mouthful without responding, my mind subconsciously drifts to the striking woman with eyes that could take a man’s breath away. This isn’t the first time she’s crossed my mind since our initial meeting. Hell, it isn’t even the tenth time. What is it about her that’s left such an impression on me? So much so that I’m noticeably spacing out in meetings and work conversations?

Maybe it would be good to talk this out with Dex? It might get her off my mind.

I place my fork down and lean back in my chair. Purposefully not locking eyes with Dex, I finally speak.

“Don’t overreact when I say this, but there’s someone I can’t get out of my head.”

A dramatic noise comes from across the table, causing me to look up and see Dex’s reaction. He’s got one hand clasped over his mouth, failing to stifle the gasp that was probably heard down the street. The other hand has slapped down on the table, rattling everything it holds.?

“Thank you for toningdownthe dramatics,” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm.?

“You didn’t really expect me to react calmly to this news, did you?” Dex asks, still shocked. “Carter, you’re my brother and I love you, but sometimes I’m deeply concerned about the lack of interest you have in women.”

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