‘Er, yes.’
‘What? How?’
‘I don’t know. We bumped into each other and I guess we’re sort of … friends?’ She’s not sure why she says that like a question. ‘Or potential friends, at least.’ Darcy lets out a low whistle. ‘Please don’t tell Mark,’ Lissa adds. She’s not sure if Ash will have already mentioned it, but if not, she doesn’t want Mark to hear it from Darcy, like office gossip.
‘Come on, would I?’
‘I’m not sure I should answer that.’
Darcy makes apffsound and waves her hand in the air. Then she rests her hand on her chin, leaning towards Lissa. ‘So this thing with Ash …’
‘It’s not a thing,’ Lissa says quickly.
That message she got from him, though.Because I want to see you.It could be innocent – she wants to see Darcy, doesn’t she? Admittedly, her insides don’t fizz if Darcy tells her she wants to see her, but that’s her problem. It isn’t Ash’s fault.
‘Hmm. Okay. Well we can add it to the agenda for Thursday. Item one.’
Both of them straighten as Liam opens his office door, heads their way. They make a very obvious show of answering emails as he approaches.
‘Raring to go after a good break, I hope, ladies?’ he asks, running his thumb and forefinger over that stupid beard.
‘Oh absolutely,’ Darcy says brightly. ‘I’ve got all kinds of ideas for companies we might be able to pitch for.’
‘Well that’s great. I look forward to hearing about them all in the meeting.’ He walks away, over to Mark’s desk.
‘You know,’ Lissa mutters, ‘if you keep that up, he may very well fire you before you have enough saved for travelling.’
‘Nah, I’m too good at my job.’ Said with a confidence that Lissa envies. ‘Besides, I can definitely come up with some ideas of companies to approach. How long do we have until the meeting?’
Lissa checks the time on her phone – tries not to be disappointed when there’s no message from Ash waiting for her. It’s Monday morning, for Christ’s sake.
‘Ten minutes,’ she says.
Darcy grins and rubs her hands together. ‘Easy.’
Lissa laughs, shaking her head. And selfishly wonders how the hell she’ll survive in the office if Darcy leaves before she does.
Lissa moves through the crowded bar, spots Ash in the corner waiting for her. Or, it seems, not exactly waiting for her, but chatting to a tall woman in a skin-tight black dress. He laughs at something the woman says – the easy laugh that she’s starting to know so well. The woman is twirling a strand of chestnut hair around her finger, leaning towards him over the table in a way that makes Lissa grit her teeth.
She catches herself as she takes another step forward, under the low concrete ceiling of the cellar bar that Ash suggested they try. Is shejealous? She’s not allowed to be jealous. Ash is perfectly entitled to hit on beautiful chestnut-haired women if he wants to. Her insides don’t seem to quite agree with her on that front, though, because as the woman gives him a big flirtatious smile, Lissa’s shoulders tense, and she has to fight a strong urge to shove her away from the table that Ash has quiteclearlyreserved for him and someone else.
‘Hey,’ she says loudly as she reaches him, needing to project her voice over the chatter.
‘You’re here!’ He sounds delighted, enough to make her shoulders relax a little. He reaches over the table to give her a kiss on the cheek, her skin prickling where his lips make contact.
‘I’m here,’ she agrees as the other woman slinks off back to the bar, wearing a disappointed expression. ‘Made a friend?’ Lissa asks as she sits down.
‘Steph,’ Ash says with a nod. ‘Visiting from Texas.’
‘She’s American?’
‘Yep. Got the accent and everything.’
Lissa hesitates. She should probably ask – it’s what a friend would do, right? ‘Do you want to … call her back?’
Ash raises his eyebrows. ‘Not particularly. Doyou?’
‘No, I just meant …’ Her cheeks are heating now. ‘Nothing. Forget about it.’
