Chapter 7♥Men Are Fools in Love
Edward stayed completely out of the way on Monday. He showed up late and headed straight to his office. Rosa and Elinor were neck deep in training anyway and gave him nothing more than a distracted wave as he came in.
His one and only goal: to not spook Elinor into quitting.
It didn’t require much effort to stay in his office. He had the digital equivalent of stacks of paperwork to do, so he spent most of the morning updating client records and processing trade tickets.
He had planned to head into nearby Devon for a lunch appointment with a client, but the guy cancelled last minute because of work conflicts. It happened often. People wanted to make financial plans, but they were too busy trying to make money today to worry about the future.
Rosa cracked his door and peered in. “She won’t bite, you know.”
“You don’t know that. By the way, my eleven o’clock cancelled. He texted my personal cell number.”
“You really shouldn’t give that out.” Rosa wrinkled her nose. “It’s pointless to lecture you though, isn’t it?”
“Whatever you prefer.”
She growled. “You’re making it worse. Should I order lunch then?”
“Sounds good. Let Elinor pick.”
That earned him a smile. Rosa closed his door, leaving him in peace. At least until his cell phone rang less than a minute later. Perhaps he should listen to Rosa about giving the number out. Except it wasn’t a client. It was Lucy.
He almost let it go to voicemail so he could see what she wanted before answering, but curiosity got the better of him. Apparently, the silent treatment was over. It made sense. Her book was almost here, and she probably had a mile-long list of tasks. He had a feeling his name was on that list and she was about to cross it off as soon as he answered.
“Hi, Lucy.”
“Edward. Long time no see. Too long. I thought I’d drop by with lunch. Do you still break at eleven-thirty?”
“I… uh… yes. We eat at eleven-thirty.” He tapped his phone against his forehead, hating how trapped he felt. He couldn’t tell her not to come. This wasn’t a whim or a nice gesture she’d suddenly thought of. She was a woman on a mission, and if he told her they didn’t need lunch, she’d find another way to fulfill whatever her mission was. At least with lunch there was a defined beginning and end.
“Great. See you in a bit.”
After Lucy ended the call, he immediately paged Rosa’s line and told her to come see him for a minute.
While he waited, he picked up a stress ball off his desk, one a client had given him, whether out of gratitude or diagnosis he wasn’t sure. He tossed it up in the air and caught it, leaning back in his chair and putting his feet up on the desk so he could get more height. A little higher and it would almost reach the ceiling. He tossed it again and the door opened. It was Elinor. The ball came down on his face, and he sideswiped his water bottle off his desk in an attempt to get his feet down. The water bottle rolled across the floor and hit the wall with a thunk.
Elinor coughed, putting her fist to her mouth and clearing her throat. “I… um…” A silly grin spread across her face. “I’m sorry.” She began to laugh and couldn’t stop. Every time it seemed like she had it under control, she’d look at him again and it would start all over.
“Thanks a lot, Elinor.”
She wiped a tear away. “I totally needed that. Thank you.”
“For humiliating myself?”
“For being human. Sorry I startled you. Rosa left to go pick up the food. I don’t have a car so—” Her eyes widened. She hadn’t meant for him to discover that last part, it seemed. Although, he should have known. She mentioned her need to go car shopping the night they met.
“Did Marianne or your mother drop you off this morning?”
She didn’t answer. Apparently, she was uncomfortable with lying, which only made him like her more.
“Did you walk?”
“It’s not that far.”
“Elinor. I’ll drive you home after work unless they can pick you up.”
“You will not.”
