"Del Burnette." Her hand lands in mine with no recognition of who I am in relation to Nicholas.
"Are you a friend of Lilly's?"
She shakes her head as a high pitched giggle bubbles from her throat. "I'm an old friend of Nick's."
By friend she means lover. I see it her body language. She had him, and now, she wants him again.
"I need to get back to work." I do. It's not a lie. I'm not going to let Nicholas or his lunch dates throw me off course. I have to present the final one of my design ideas to Sasha this afternoon. I have some last minute details to get in place before I do.
"I'll walk you out."
I turn at the sound of his voice. "I can find my own way out, Nicholas."
"I insist." His hand drops to my lower back.
I don't argue. I won't question him here. I can't. If I start in on that, I'll lose focus on what's important to me right now. That's my work. It's what I'll have when this falls apart, so I have to keep it together.
"Lilly called me last minute to ask if I'd meet her here." He speaks as we walk. "Del saw me across the room and sat down to catch up."
"You've slept with her?"
He stops us both as we near the entrance. "Yes, Sophia. It was a long time ago."
"She'd like it to happen again now."
"She would, but it won't."
I edge closer to the door, aware that I'm already late getting back to work. "You were holding her hand, Nicholas."
"I was."
"Can you explain why?"
He moves to allow a couple to brush past on their way out. "This isn't a conversation I want to have when you're in a rush."
"Is the answer that complicated?" I ask. "All I want to know is why you were holding hands."
"I'll explain, Sophia but I can see that you're in a hurry to get back to work."
I'm frustrated and I know that's apparent in my expression. My face is heating, my back tensing into countless tight knots. "You're making this more complicated than it needs to be. Just answer the question."
"It's not a cut and dry answer, Sophia." His tone lowers. "It's complex and I need time to explain my relationship with Del to you."
Relationship? The word hits me with the force of a slap in the face.
"When can you explain it?" I'm impatient and I don't give a fuck if he knows it or not. "You can come to see me at work when you're done here."
"I can't." He reaches for my hand but I pull back. "Sophia, please understand. There's nothing for you to worry about."
"Come to my office when you're done here and we'll talk," I repeat. "I want to talk about this today."
"I won't have time." He glances back over his shoulder. "I'm taking a late afternoon flight out to Boston. I'll be spending the night there."
"Why? I thought it was one interview. You said you'd be gone half a day at most."
"Cheyenne scheduled another tomorrow morning. Flying back and forth won't work. I'll stay the night and be back here tomorrow afternoon. I'll call you tonight and we can talk."
"No." I shake off the urge I have inside to stomp my feet and scream at him. "I don't want to talk on the phone. You said this is complex, so I want it to be in person. I'll meet you tomorrow night at your place."
