Page 20 of Stuck with the Hot Boss
‘You really enjoy food, don’t you?’ said Leo, with a half-smile.
Evie nodded. Baklava tended to stick to the roof of your mouth.
Leo took the first bite of his gözleme. He closed his eyes and tilted his head heavenward as he chewed.
He came back to earth to find Evie laughing at him and made a rueful face. ‘As I said. Old habits are hard to break. But I swear, if I never see a poached chicken breast again it’ll be too soon for me.’
They cleaned their plates in companiable silence and split the bill. Then the reality of their situation hit once more, and they shared an apprehensive look.
‘Any ideas?’ said Leo.
‘Not a one,’ said Evie. ‘Let’s head back to the office and work on it. But let’s not walktooquickly.’
Chapter Eleven
Double K’s offices had a small meeting room called ‘The Pod’. The ‘d’ on the sign had been vandalised by an unnamed employee so that it now read ‘The Poo’. Fortunately, Keith thought it was funny, so Kev wasn’t wheeled in to deliver rough justice.
Evie and Leo were holed up in The Poo, working through her list of possible reasons why Keith and Kev would have asked her about Leo. They dismissed number one – normal practice, nothing to worry about – because it hadn’t seemed atallnormal to Evie. Likewise, they dismissed number four – some vague even huger risk – because they had enough to be going on with, worry wise. They boiled down reasons two and three and decided this: one or other of them, maybe both, were at risk of losing their jobs.
‘Well, if we’re being let go,’ said Leo, ‘then I guess all we can hope for is a decent pay-out.’
‘But at Monday’s team meeting, Keith said Double K was on track to make a tidy profit,’ Evie told him. ‘Seems unlikely that would have changed radically in less than a week.’
‘And as you scolded me over lunch,’ said Leo, ‘neither of us has been given even a hint that our performance wasn’t up to scratch.’
‘Scoldedis harsh,’ said Evie.
‘But accurate.’ Leo smiled. ‘And deserved. My head has been up my arse for so long now, I can carry out my own colonoscopies.’
Evie felt a tingle all over. This new funny Leo was pushing all her buttons, and she warned herself to proceed with caution. Banter and scorching physical attraction and the heady buzz of secret collaboration did not a strong relationship make. All right, now she thought about it, theydidmake a pretty solid foundation, but there was still alotof work to do.
Patience, Evie.
Leo sighed. ‘I think we have to admit defeat,’ he said. ‘We don’t know the real reason and unless we confront Keith and Kev, we never will.’
‘The last person who confronted Kev was never seen again,’ said Evie.
‘Seriously?’
‘Yes, they emigrated to Australia a week later and disappeared. Rumour has it they were eaten by a crocodile.’
Leo raised a sceptical eyebrow. ‘I’m pretty sure Kev had nothing to do with that.’
‘Areyou?’ said Evie, meaningfully.
‘Idiot,’ said Leo, amused.
‘Card-carrying and proud,’ replied Evie. ‘So – what now, boss?’
‘Oh, yeah.’ Leo sounded less than thrilled. ‘I’m in charge, aren’t I?’
‘And one hundred per cent responsible for our decisions.’
Leo gave her a look. ‘Good thing they pay me the big bucks then.’
‘Oo, that stung.’ Evie clutched her chest. ‘Nevertell me how much more than me you’re making.’
But Leo had gone into thinking mode. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. Tapped his fingers together for a minute, then sat up straight.
