He looked around, taking in the high ceilings, the warm light streaming in the windows, the long wall of honour hung with framed accolades and photographs.
‘Quite the set-up,’ he said with an admiring nod.
‘Thank you,’ I replied, allowing myself a moment of pride.
Seeing HQ through Tommy’s eyes was a pinch-memoment, a reminder of how much we’d accomplished in a relatively short time – a far cry from when it was just me and an Instagram account.
Only Claude seemed to think we should be doing more – something to worry about later, when my one true love wasn’t standing in the middle of our office.
He wandered over to the wall, peering at the commendation we’d received from the Lord Mayor of London for our work with a women’s shelter.
‘This is incredible, Ally,’ he said, his eyes coming back to me. ‘I had no idea?—’
‘That it wasn’t all lipstick and sex positivity?’ I asked, raising my brows impishly.
Banter was so much easier than giving my heart a look-in, especially with it hammering in my chest and screaming at me to run away.
Tommy gave me a self-deprecating smile. ‘Touché.’
The screaming eased off a little, Tommy’s easy good humour a potent foil for my internal disquiet.
‘I don’t suppose you get that sort of acknowledgement in your line of work?’ I asked, genuinely curious.
He perched on the edge of Maya’s desk and folded his arms, his biceps straining against his shirt. Very distracting.
‘Er, no. Nothing like that – usually just some vague headline about something mildly significant happening someplace no one’s ever heard of.’
I nodded. ‘Like a tiny resort island in the Aegean Sea.’
‘Exactly.’
Why are you here? Why are you here? Why are you here?
‘You’re probably wondering why I’m here,’ he said. NowIwas the goldfish.
‘How do you keep doing that?’ I asked. ‘Reading my mind?’
‘It’s not mindreading. At least, not this time,’ he said with a slight smile. ‘It’s just what I would be wondering.’
‘Oh, so, whatareyou doing here then? Are you on assignment?’
He shook his head. ‘No, I, er… I took a leave of absence.’
‘Oh,’ I said, my eyes wide with surprise.
‘Yes. It’s been back-to-back assignments for some time now and… well… I needed a break.’
‘A break,’ I repeated – not a question, just affirming that’s what he’d said. But what the hell did that mean? Was he talking about a long weekend? A month? Ayear?
And there was something else bothering me. ‘So, what did Trudy say about that? Isn’t she your boss?’
‘Sorry? Oh, no. She just led the Kovalec assignment, but I doubt we’ll work together again. It’s a large network.’
‘Ah – so same for Elsa?’
‘Yes.’ I perked up at his reply and Tommy gave me a knowing smile. ‘I know you didn’t like her.’
‘Well, no. But to be fair, I did spend the first few days thinking she was your girlfriend. She could have been the loveliest person in the world, and I still wouldn’t have warmed to her.’
