“Actually”—he smirks—“My office isn’t far from yours so yes; I was in the neighborhood.”
It still doesn’t answer my question.Why is he here?
“Is there somewhere we could talk, Willa? In private?”
Smart man. He’s already figured out that this office has ears. That or he’s tall enough to see people leaning in to listen. There are no secrets at McAllister Accounting, that’s for sure. “Um.” I don’t think Spencer would appreciate it if I took him into our conference room. I scan the hallway behind Spencer, trying to think of a place. The break room would only attract the nosiest of nosey people. I’m looking at you, Bonnie.
A whisper sounds from somewhere to our left. Bonnie. “The stairwell.”
I nod and point to at the exit sign. “Stairwell?”
“Sure.” Hudson turns on his heel, and I can’t help noticing his shoes. They look new and expensive. Setting my bouquet of flowers on my desk, I follow him through the office to the gray metal entrance to the stairwell. Hudson pushes the door open and holds it for me to step through. Once in the stairwell, I move to the far wall, opposite the door. The landing here is fairly large at about eight by eight feet and part of the ceiling goes all the way up to the top of the building. Cavernous is a good word to describe it.
Attempting a relaxed, casual look, I choose to lean my back against the wall. It’s an odd place to talk, especially with a man I just met.
“So, why are you here?” Might as well cut to the chase.
Hudson moves until he’s almost a foot away. Leaning his shoulder against the concrete wall to my left, he rubs his chin. “We have a bit of a situation.”
“Oh?”
“My mother heard from Barbara.”
“Barbara knows your mom?”
“They run in the same circles.”
“I see.” I don’t really. I’m doing my best to stay cool, calm, and collected. It’s not easy. Focused breathing is the key.
“She heard about you. Barbara mentioned that I referred to you as my girlfriend. So now, my mother, uh, wants to meet you.”
“Me?” I squeak. “Why?”
“My mother is––” Hudson sighs. “Difficult. She felt as though I was keeping things from her.”
“Why didn’t you just tell her the truth? That it was fake?”
We look at each other for a long moment. “Well, that’s a good question, Willa.”
Ithought so. And boy, do I like how my name sounds coming from his lips. It makes me feel things that I probably shouldn’t.
“I’ve given that some thought.” He smiles. “Has our little lie helped you with that ass, Spencer?”
I nod. It has. Spencer has left me alone, mostly. Except for the meeting with Mr. McAllister. “Oh, crud. That reminds me. Mr. McAllister, I meanMrs.McAllister really wants you to attend their barbecue this weekend. I’ve got the invitation for you and everything.”
Phew. I’m glad I remembered that. I think seeing him here out of the blue like this made me forget, well, everything. “He was adamant, actually, so I hope you can go.” I leave out the part where I felt like my job was on the line. Hudson doesn’t need to know that.
“Interesting.” He taps his chin. “My parents will be attending that same event.”
“Great. Then it’s settled.” I reach out and pat his forearm and can’t help noticing how firm it is. “That’s really doing me a solid, Hudson. I owe you.” Honestly, I do.
“I believe you do owe me a favor, Willa.”
Uh oh.
I take step toward the door. “I need to get back to work. It was nice seeing you again. And thank you for the flowers.”
“Hold on, Willa. Don’t you want to know what you could do to return the favor?”
