Page 20 of Secrets, Scandals and Baby Shoes

“Understood.” Gabriel straightened his glasses and stepped out from behind his desk. “I’ll get on that right away. If it would help, I could also set everything up to have your calls forwarded there.”

“Perfect.”

Ten minutes later, Lucy was back outside Dominic’s old office with her box. She opened the door to see that Elliot was now on the phone. Based on what he was saying, he seemed to be talking to a Keype employee about something. Lucy stepped inside, set the box down, crossed her arms, and looked pointedly at Elliot until he sighed and bid the other party goodbye.

“I thought we discussed this,” he said. “Couldn’t you find another office?”

“We did discuss this.” Lucy smiled. “You said we couldn’t both work here because there’s only one desk, and you made a good point.”

“I also pointed out thatIshould have the desk, but you’re still back,” Elliot added.

“True. I am back. Gabriel? Tory?”

The door swung open again as the two employees carried a desk inside. It was a couple inches smaller than Elliot’s, but it would do the trick. Lucy directed them to set it down.

“Just push it right up here,” she added. Together, they pushed the desk until the long edge pressed against the edge of Elliot’s desk. Gabriel disappeared to wheel in a chair. When he returned, Lucy sat at her new desk, directly across from Elliot, so close that, if they both reached out, their fingertips would have brushed.

“I’ll grab your computer,” Tory put in.

“Thank you, that would be wonderful.”

Tory and Gabriel exited while Elliot stared daggers at Lucy across their desks.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, but this isn’t going to work. How will we hold meetings in here? How will we get anything done when we’re so… close together?”

“It won’t be a problem for me.” Lucy began unpacking her photo, plants, and other small trinkets she kept on her desk. “We have plenty of conference rooms for meetings. And I can work here just fine. I may not be used to the work of a CEO, but that means I can do without the perks, too. Can you?”

Elliot sighed. “Fine. But in a few days, when you regret this, I’m not helping you move that desk out.”

“No problem.” Lucy smiled sweetly. Just then, Tory returned with her computer, and Lucy distracted herself by getting everything set up the way she needed it.

In truth, Lucy found Elliot’s nearness deeply distracting. She was curious about what he’d been doing for the last ten years — and what had happened to turn him from a goofy college boy to a cold businessman. But Lucy also knew that being a co-CEO was more important than finding out anything about Elliot. She needed to maintain distance, focus on her work, and try to get things done.

The rest of the day passed slowly. Lucy was painfully aware of each of Elliot’s movements. Despite herself, her eyes tracked him when he got up for coffee or to make a call. Each tap of his keyboard sounded like a hammer.

For her own part, Lucy did her best to familiarize herself with the documents left for the new CEOs, but it was a lot of business and legal jargon she didn’t understand. It was true that she was much more familiar with the creative side of Borderless than the business one. If she could have asked Elliot for help, she wouldhave, but it seemed better not to show any weakness in front of him. Instead, she spent half the day on Google trying to figure out what everything meant.

By the time evening came, she was exhausted, but her inner stubbornness forbade her from leaving until Elliot did. So, she sat at her desk, working, until after seven that night, when Elliot finally stood, stretched, and packed his backpack.

“Did you have a productive day?” she asked sweetly.

“Not really.” Elliot sighed. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yep.”

Then he left. Lucy waited five more minutes to be sure he was gone before she followed. Working with Elliot was going to be nearly impossible, but she would do what she had to. Even if that meant starting every morning on the receiving end of Elliot’s icy stare to prove she had a right to be there.

CHAPTER 10

ELLIOT

The first day in the office had been yet another disaster. Elliot understood that Lucy didn’t want to let him be CEO on his own. Though she said it was because she didn’t trust him, Elliot suspected it had more to do with her innate stubbornness. Just like her brother, Lucy wouldn’t be happy until everything was exactly as she wanted it. And if she wanted something, she didn’t seem to care how complicated it made things for other people.

Maybe she wouldn’t be happy unless Elliot was miserable. After all, what other reason could she have had for pushing her desk into his office? There were plenty of other offices that would have been more comfortable, but she’d chosen to do the exact thing that would inconvenience Elliot the most. That had to mean something.

Elliot was so annoyed that he didn’t go back to his hotel. Instead, he found himself storming around Manhattan, up and down the blocks until he reached Central Park. It was a beautiful early autumn day, though darkness was starting to fall now, and he should have enjoyed the walk. Rather, his thoughts bouncedback and forth between his annoyance with Lucy and his sadness at missing Elliot.

That was the other thing, wasn’t it? Lucy still had so much of Dominic, from his trust fund to the things he’d left behind, even his apartment. At least, he assumed she’d inherited all that. Elliot had nothing of Dominic’s besides that office. He wanted to cling to the one last piece of his best friend that he still had.

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