There wasn’t much else to do but to usher her under my desk and put the chair back in place. Because that’s what good friends did.
“I’ll explain later,” she promised from her hiding spot.
The huge desk was enclosed on three sides, which made it a pretty good place to hide. I was still standing in front of the desk, unsure what to do next, when a guy in a perfectly tailored suit strolled in. I didn’t know if I should look at his artfully mussed dark hair, his gorgeous face, or his piercing blue eyes. I wondered if he was lost, and if I should offer to show him the way back to the highway.
“Sorry, we’re closed,” I said. I was most likely giving off some major creeper vibes with the way I was staring at him.But come on! When do you ever get the chance to look at a GQ model in real life?
He was leaner than Mason and his hair was shorter. And maybe his arms weren’t as nice, but it was hard to tell through the suit jacket.And why the hell am I comparing him to butt-face?
“Where is Maisie?”
“I don’t know. Have you tried the bakery three streets over?”
He raised a brow, most likely his version of an eye roll. “I saw her run in here.”
Well damn, I didn’t have anything to reply to that. Maybe I could pretend to be blind. But it was probably too late for that since he had to have noticed me blatantly ogling him.
I would never admit to anyone that I was even thinking it, but I was relieved when Mason stepped through the door with a scowl on his face. I even considered making him coffee. The feeling thankfully passed after a few short seconds.
“Can I help you?” he asked the new guy.
“Hi, I’m Oliver Thorpe,” new guy answered and held out his hand. “I’m looking for Maisie.”
“As in Thorpe Holdings?” Mason asked. There was something akin to awe in his voice.
“The very one.”
Mason moved to stand in front of me and shook Oliver’s hand.
“Nice to meet you. If you want to book your car, Stella is happy to do that for you,” Mason said.
“No, she’s not. Stella needs to close the office and go home,” I answered. Mason really was nice to everyone but me.
“Thanks, but I don’t need any work done on my car. Only bought it a few weeks ago,” Oliver said. “I really need to talk to Maisie though.”
Mason pointed at me. “Her name is Stella.”
Oliver nodded. “Nice to meet you, Stella. Now can I talk to Maisie?”
Mason looked from me to Oliver. I pursed my lips, pretending to think. “Not sure when I’ve seen her last, sorry.”
“Look, I saw her run in here. I know she’s hiding, so she won’t have to talk to me,” Oliver said.
Well, things just got interesting. I’d never heard of Oliver, and Maisie was an over-sharer. She told us everything. From what she had for lunch to how many times she had gone to the toilet that day. Her not telling me and Willa something set off all the alarm bells in my head.
He held out a handbag to me. “Can you make sure she gets this?”
I pushed past Mason, who refused to move to the side, and took the bag. “Sure. No problem.”
“Thanks. And tell her I’ll see her at my sister’s birthday party.”
He left without a backward glance. As soon as he started his car, I whirled around and dropped to my knees behind my desk. “Who the hell was that?”
Maisie was biting her lip and shuffled out from under the desk. She sat down in front of me and shrugged. “Just some guy.”
“Liar. I want to know what the hell is going on.”
“Nothing is going on. He thinks he has some sort of claim on me. But he doesn’t. Now, can we forget this embarrassing scene ever happened?”
