“Tomorrow then.”
She left his office feeling lighter than she had all week, then immediately crashed into Derek in the hallway.
“Ow! Derek, what…”
“Hide me.” He ducked behind her, peering around her shoulder. “She’s here.”
“Who’s here?”
“The girl. Coffee shop. She’s in the lobby.”
“The one you spilled an entire latte on?”
“Cappuccino. And it was an accident.” He made a strangled sound. “Oh god, she’s looking this way.”
Ava turned to see a pretty brunette talking to Cassandra at reception. “She’s cute.”
“She’s terrifying.”
“You work with demons, Derek.”
“Demons don’t have her smile.”
The brunette finished with Cassandra and headed toward the elevators. Then she veered toward them, holding something.
“Mr. Liu?” She held up a wallet. “You left this at the coffee shop yesterday.”
Derek turned the color of a fire hydrant. “I… you… wallet?”
“You ran out pretty quickly after the cappuccino incident.” She smiled, warm and genuine, and Derek stopped breathing. “I thought you might need it.”
“Words,” Ava hissed. “Use words.”
“Thank you,” Derek managed. “That’s… thank you, Emma.”
“You remembered my name.”
“Hard to forget when it’s on your name tag. Not that I stare at your… tag. Your name tag.” He was spiraling. “The tag with your name on it.”
Emma laughed. “Well, I should get back. But maybe next time you could stay long enough to actually drink your coffee?”
“Yes. Coffee. Drinking. I can do that.”
She left.
Derek slumped against the wall. “I used words.”
“Barely.”
“She smiled at me.”
“She brought you your wallet.”
“She remembered me.”
“You threw coffee on her.”
“Spilled. Technically.” He straightened, clutching the wallet like a lifeline. “I have to go back there. Eventually. Work up the courage.”
