Page 115 of At His Beck & Call

It’s incredibly patronizing as he pats him on the shoulder, but Noah smiles as he passes, stepping out of Tom’s path and gazing after him as if he were some kind of god.

Once Burton is out of sight, Noah turns to me, walking into the room, a folder clutched to his chest.

“Morning, Mr. Heath,” he says, his eyes bloodshot and tired as he holds the folder out to me.

The image of him sitting opposite Lissa in the restaurant, making her laugh with a candle between them, flashes through my mind. I take it out of his hand a little too forcefully.

“Morning, Noah, what’s this?” I ask.

“Some info on James Davenport,” he says, pointing to the file as I open it. “I took the liberty of having him followed when I discovered some strange activity on his social media.”

“Anything significant?” I ask, my heart hammering.

“Oh, I should say so.” I glance at him, my fingers tightening on the folder in my hands. I open it, looking at the photographs inside with a jolt of satisfaction.

“Good job. Thank you.”

“He’s… Lissa’s husband, right?” he asks, his brows lowering as he fixes me with a long stare.

“You went on a date with her recently, didn’t you?” I ask, and his cheeks turn scarlet. “They’re separated if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“N—no,” he says, but his gaze doesn’t leave my face, his lips twisting as he gives me a long, unblinking stare. “I just wondered what this has to do with this firm.”

I pause, kicking myself for mentioning the date. “It doesn’t matter,” I say slowly. “I needed it done, and I don’t answer to you. That’ll be all.”

He stands in front of my desk for another few seconds, glaring at me with that same irritated expression, before he turns and walks out.

An uneasy feeling grows in my chest as I watch him leave. I get up and close the door, tapping the file against my thigh.

Chapter 40

Lissa

Istand in line at the coffee shop, feeling as if I might pass out from exhaustion. I’m not sure how just one night without sleep has knocked me on my ass, but I feel completely drained.

Tramping through the snow at five in the morning was definitely not on my bingo card for the year. As quickly as I could, I grabbed a cab since my checking account is chock-full of cash, thanks to Oliver.

I felt terrible for showing up on Bethany’s doorstep so early, but she took one look at us and just dragged us inside, barely saying a word.

She got me a glass of water, made me breakfast, and told me not to worry about Henry as she put him to bed, saying she would drop him off with Jenna later.

Bethany didn’t ask what had happened, but I could see the ‘I told you so’ look in her eyes and decided to leave before she could say it out loud.

I grimace as I step forward in line, clutching my phone in my hand. The memory of opening my bank account last night and seeing that huge deposit sends a fresh wave of nausea through me.

I had been lying in bed, blissed out from the sex, looking forward to curling up beside Oliver during our first real night together. I had only opened my phone because it had lit up beside me with a notification.

The look on Oliver’s face when I had challenged him on it was by far the worst part. He seemed totally confused, as if I had accused him of something terrible.

And why wouldn’t he? He paid me generously for a service I was hired to provide, and I threw it back in his face.

It wasn’t Oliver’s fault that my heart had become entangled in his beautiful home, his adorable dog, and the time he spent with my son.

Our time in front of the fire had felt like the start of something real to me, where I could forget everything else and just bathe in the warm, soft glow of his company. I’d never experienced anything like that, where I felt so safe, soseen.

And then I went and ruined it.

Since leaving Oliver’s house, I’ve been thinking nonstop about calling Sterling House. I could call Pippa right now and tell her that things with Oliver aren’t working out. I wonder if she could get me a new client. Bethany says it happens that way all the time.