Page 96 of At His Beck & Call

“Uh. No. Just picking up Henry.”

“Gotcha.”

She rolls her eyes with a little smile as we reach a smart apartment block, with beautiful evergreens in the front covered in snow. Lissa presses a button for the fourth floor, and a face appears on a blue video screen, squinting at her.

“Who is that with you?” a voice says through the speaker.

“Uh… my boss,” Lissa says sheepishly, and there’s an audible sigh from the other end as the buzzer goes off.

We take the elevator up to her friend’s floor in silence, but I can tell Lissa wants to say something by the way she keeps fidgeting.

“What is it? Do you not want me to see Henry again?” I ask.

“No! No, not that, just… He’s with a friend of mine. Bethany. She’s another one of the EAs at Sterling.” She doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, shifting her weight. “She’s a lot taller and prettier than me.”

“Is she?” I ask mockingly. “Well, I’m not planning to cheat on you tonight, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Whoa, wait. Cheat on her? Shit. Lissa is not my girlfriend.

She stares at me, her mouth hanging open, but before I can correct myself, the elevator dings and she steps out into a long white hallway, where a willowy brunette is waiting for us by her door.

She looks at me with an assessing and extremely judgmental gaze.

“How is it that you two ended up together?” Bethany asks without preamble. “Were you secretly on a date with him or something?”

I don’t like her tone, spearing her with an assessing gaze of my own as I tug at my coat, dislodging some snowflakes still clinging to it.

I opt for the high road though, and offer her my hand. “Oliver Heath. Nice to meet you.”

She narrows her eyes at me but shakes my hand. “I’m Bethany. One of Lissa’s most protective friends.”

“There was a car crash, and I saw her across the street,” I say firmly. “I just wanted to make sure she got home okay.”

Bethany opens the door a little wider for us to enter. Her apartment is beautiful, sleek, and exquisitely furnished.

“He’s asleep,” Bethany says, smiling at Lissa. “Tuckered out half an hour in. But he ate a sandwich and two hot dogs before he fell asleep.”

Henry looks tiny, curled up on the sofa, his blond hair tumbling over his face.

“I’m calling you a cab,” Bethany says, and my stomach lurches.

“It’s alright, I’ll get them both home.”

Bethany turns to me, her eyes wary as she glances at Lissa. “I didn’t know her job required overtime hours.”

Wow, that’s bold.

“Bethany,” Lissa hisses softly.

“Running into each other was totally random,” I insist. “But I want to make sure she gets home safely.”

Bethany crosses her arms over her chest and huffs at Lissa as she comes back over to us, holding Henry in her arms. I take the bag hanging from her hand and the blanket she’s carrying, putting them over my shoulder. Bethany is watching me now, a frown on her face.

“Okay, well, I guess you’re heading home with your boss then,” she says, sounding bewildered. “Can you call me when you’re back safely, please? Are you sure you don’t want to just stay here?”

Lissa shakes her head. “No. I know you have an early start.”

“Message me when you get home,” Bethany says again, giving Lissa a long stare as Lissa’s ears turn pink. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Heath. I’ve certainly heard a lot about you.”