I looked around to make sure we couldn’t be overheard. “Did you know there’s talk about the company being bought out?”
Hayley’s eyes widened. “No! Did Peter tell you that? Why would he tell you that?”
“Because there’s a chance the Tempo project I was hired to manage may not get off the ground. Which means I would be out of work. Which means my Visa would be cancelled. Which means I’d have to move back to America.”
Oh shit. I’d have to move back to America.
I felt panicked, which was odd given that only a couple of weeks ago the idea of moving home would have seemed like a blessing.
Hayley patted my arm. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. Peter is a lot of doom and gloom most of the time; don’t take him at his word. You’ll be just fine.”
“Right. Just fine.” I chewed on the inside of my lip. “I should get these numbers crunched then.”
“Alright, darling, crunch those numbers. I’ll come by later for a cuppa.”
I nodded, pulling up the spreadsheets I had been agonizing over for days.
I had only been working for ten minutes when my phone buzzed in my purse. I had remembered to turn down the ringer.
“Who is it? Is it Lucas?” Mark asked, peeking over the divide between our desks.
I frowned at him. Why was it any of his business who called me? And why was he asking me about it? I didn’t realize he was so rude.
But it seemed as soon as I lifted my phone to my ear, I had everyone’s attention. It was weird.
“Hello?” I asked quietly, heading towards the front door. I stepped outside and even though it was noisy, it was better than having a dozen people waiting to see who was calling me.
“Hi.” His soft voice in my ear made me instantly smile.
“Hi.”
I felt as though everyone walking by me was listening to our conversation. Being with Lucas was making me incredibly paranoid.
“I know you’re at work but I wanted to see if you could come over this evening. I’d like to make you tea.”
“You want to make me tea? Is your tea special or something?” I joked.
“Sorry, let me speak yank. I want to make you dinner. Does that work for you?”
“So wait, tea is dinner? But I thought tea was a drink. Can’t you just call it meal I eat in the evening so we’re all clear?”
“Dear god, okay, so we’ll call it dinner from here on out. Happy?” Lucas chuckled.
“No. I think I like tea. We can stick with that,” I said.
“You’re so confusing sometimes,” he complained good-naturedly.
“It’s why you like me.” I swore everyone was staring at me. I was getting a complex.
“One of the reasons anyway,” Lucas replied. “So tea? My house? Say eight? I’m finished with training at seven.”
“That sounds nice. Do I need to bring anything? Dessert? Wine? A flame thrower?”
“A flame thrower? What kind of tea are you expecting?” Lucas asked. I could hear people talking in the background. “Okay love, I’ve got to go. So I’ll see you at eight. I’ll send a car to bring to you my house.”
“You don’t need to send a car. I can get there myself,” I argued. Though I appreciated how he wanted to look after me, I didn’t want to set a precedent of him taking over my life, including how I got from A to B.
“I know you can get here on your own. I trust your capabilities, but indulge me, Morgan. I’d like to know you will get here safely.”
