Page 62 of Champagne Nights

“Twelve thirty it is. I’ll see you then.”

“Bye, Mom.”

I took the last bite of my waffles and pushed the plate forward.

“Taking your mom to lunch?” Ingrid smiled.

“Yeah.”

“How’s Aubrey doing, Ethan?”

Even though I never told Ingrid what happened between us, she could sense something had, and she was brave enough to ask.

“Aubrey told me never to call her again. She wants to forget she ever met me.” I sighed.

“Oh boy. I’m not even going to ask.”

“Good, because I don’t really want to talk about it. I’m working on things, Ingrid.”

A small smile graced her face as she looked at me.

“I’m happy to hear that.”

“I have to get to the office. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Have a nice lunch with your mom, and tell her I said hi.”

“I will.”

Climbing into the limo, I shut the door. A perplexed look took over Harry’s face as he looked at me.

“What?” I asked.

“You didn’t slam the door today. That’s a good sign.”

“Just drive, Harry.” I sighed.

He let out a chuckle and pulled away from the curb. When I arrived at the office, I noticed Holly wasn’t at her desk.

“Lucy—”

“Bathroom,” she spoke without even letting me finish my sentence.

I turned around, headed to the bathroom, and opened the door.

“Holly, are you okay?” I asked.

“I will be, Mr. Klein. I’ll be at my desk in a second. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t rush. Take your time.”

I walked back to my office and found Charles sitting at my desk.

“Good morning. Are you into stalking your employees in the bathroom now?” He smirked.

“Very funny. Get out of my chair,” I spoke as I set my briefcase down. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I had a meeting this morning, so I figured I’d drop by before heading to the office.”

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