Page 43 of Tempt

I shrugged and slid out of the booth. “This idiot has to use the toilet.”

It was actually kind of nice to sit down in a quiet space for a second. I was already anxious about seeing Theo, but having all the noise of the pub mixed with Margaret walking in was more than enough to turn me into a basket case. Peeing in peace was nice.

The last thing I expected was to find Margaret waiting for me at the sink when I walked out of the stall.

“Margaret… hello.” What the hell else do you say when your boss has clearly listened to you pee?

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m going to be painfully blunt right now because I hate games. Are you fucking Theo?”

I did my very best to act surprised. “No. Why do you ask?”

She sniffed and stood a little straighter, studying me very, very carefully. It felt strange to have her examining me so closely. In a toilet. “I just spent the afternoon with him and he was acting oddly.”

I made a face and moved to the sink to wash my hands. “I’m not sure I follow your logic there…”

“He very carefully avoided discussing your part in the redesign and I noticed your number in his recent calls list.”

This time my surprise was genuine—at both Margaret seeing Theo’s phone, and at Theo not clearing me from his call list. Or using a fake name.Sheesh. This was Sneaking Around 101. Maybe he was one of those geniuses who wasn’t street smart, just book smart. Or maybe he was lazy. Or maybe he just didn’t care.

Or maybe he cared too much.

Margaret cleared her throat and cocked her head. “Areyou seeing him?”

Yes. No. Maybe?EvenIdidn’t know the answer to that anymore.

“No, but he did call me the other day to ask about a walk-through on the building before construction starts.” Not a lie, not the truth.

“He called youpersonallyabout that?”

I dried my hands. “Thisprojectseems to be very personal to him. I gather many of the things he’s doing are out of character.”

“You do have a point,” she murmured, suddenly looking very apologetic. “I’m sorry I sandbagged you in the toilet.”

Such an emotional reaction from someone who didn’t seem to possess emotions. It made me wonder… I grabbed her arm before she reached for the handle to the door. “Why does it matter so much? This is the second time you’ve warned me away from him.” Was there more to her feelings for him? Or was this about his past?

“He’s my friend and I watch out for him,” she said while staring at my hand on her arm. “Besides,” she looked up and into my eyes, “it doesn’t matter if you aren’t seeing him, does it?”

I took my hand back before things got awkward. “No.”

She reached for the door and pulled it open, but paused before she walked out. “I just thought it was strange that his car was still sitting outside.” And then she left before I could say anything else.

Theo was sitting outside waiting for me? I groaned and banged my head against the door. Keeping this… whatever it was with Theo… from Margaret was proving to be significantly harder and more complicated than I hoped.

And now she was sitting at a window that would give her a direct line of sight to me hopping into his car. So I had no choice but to wait. Luckily it only took two beers for Margaret to leave with her friend.

I held my breath as I watched her pause at Theo’s car and knock on the window. He lowered it and smiled, a phone pressed to his ear and a laptop glowing on his face. They chatted for a moment and then she left. But I swear he grinned at me through the window the minute Margaret left.

So I said my goodbyes as they moved to the dartboards and made a break for it while I could. Theo had the car door open and was waiting on the street by the time I got outside.

“Hello darlin’.”

I kissed him on the cheek. “How’d you know I was here?”

He shrugged. “Pub down the street from the building. I was dropping Margaret off when I saw you through the window. I figured I had the right pub.”

I sighed dramatically. “And here I thought you were either psychic or stalking me.” Which also would have explained my weird feeling earlier.

He frowned. “Stalking is not my style, sweetheart.”

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