“Miss Bennett,” he says.
I blink.Why is he talking to me?“Oh..."Get it together,"please, call me Lucy.”
Something flickers in his eyes. Amusement? Interest? I’m not sure. I am too busy trying to keep my cool, and I am not sure if I am even doing that well.
“I’ve been wanting to introduce myself for a while,” he says, voice smooth. “You are a hard one to track down. So, when I saw you here this evening, I had to come over and say hi.”
I laugh, a little embarrassed.What do I say to that? “Hi.”
He gives me a blinding smile, and I can feel the heat on my cheeks.
Deidre raises an eyebrow, clearly entertained, Dr Lenon chuckles lightly, and I feel like I am in some sort of twilight zone.
Graham’s gaze stays on me. “I’d like to talk sometime.”
“Of course,” I say automatically, because this must be about my work.
He reaches into his jacket and slides a card into my hand, slower than necessary. Intentional. His fingers linger as he closes my hand around the card.
“I’ll look forward to it,” he says.
As he walks away, Deidre leans in conspiratorially. “Lucy,” she whispers, “that man was flirting with you.”
I laugh. “What?No. He absolutely was not.”
She grins. “Oh, sweetheart. He absolutely was.”
I shake my head, still smiling. “You’re imagining things.”
Why would someone like him flirt with me?
I tuck the card into my purse, and we finish the dinner meeting.
As I gather my things, heart steady, shoulders relaxed, my mind keeps bouncing back to Graham. Was he flirting with me? No... And does it even matter? It's not like I have anything to offer someone like him. It's not like I even have the time... My focus needs to be on Mom and Em.
Outside, the night air is cool and grounding.
I breathe deeply.
I did well tonight.
I landed another client, a big event that will do good for their cause and mine.
Now I just have one more thing to take care of.
Chapter 5 - Julian
I sent the driver away.
That alone should have told me I wasn’t thinking clearly.
The car door closed with finality behind me, the restaurant’s glow dimming as I stepped onto the sidewalk. Chicago breathed around me, the traffic humming, voices overlapping, the sharp scent of cold air and damp pavement. Fall. The season where everything looked alive right before it died back.
I started walking.
Movement helped. It always had.
My father’s voice replayed in my head, calm and absolute.
