Page 64 of Locke

She looks at the table for a moment.“I don’t know yet.”

“Has this happened before?Him showing up out of the blue like that?”

“No.”She wraps both hands around her cup.“It’s been calls and texts and a card that showed up at my apartment, which I still don’t know how he got that address.But showing up in person…” She shakes her head.“That’s new.”

“Then it’s escalating.”

“Maybe.”She says it like she’s hoping it isn’t true.“Or maybe it was a onetime thing.He was drunk.He made a bad decision.”

“He made a bad decision the night he put his hands on you the first time.”I reply evenly.“Drunk just makes it easier.”

She looks at me, and I know I’m not telling her anything she didn’t already know.

“You could get an order of protection,” I say.

“Based on what?He grabbed my arm on a sidewalk.”She shakes her head.“That’s not enough and you know it.I’d have to document a pattern, get a lawyer involved, and even then—”

“Talk to Patrick.”

The shift in her face is immediate.“No.”

“He has resources, Livia.People who can—”

“No,” she says again, quiet and final.“He’s my boss.I’m not bringing my personal problems to my boss barely a month into the job.I’m not that person.”

I look at her.“You’d rather handle it alone.”

“I’d rather it go away on its own.If I ignore him, he’ll get the message.”

“And if it doesn’t go away?”For some reason, it’s tearing me up, the thought this guy could come after her again.

She doesn’t answer.She takes a long drink of her juice and looks out at the LA street, so I let it go.

For now.

The silence extends as we watch people walking by.It’s weirdly comfortable and I’m not sure what to make of it.The morning sex, the run, the juice… it all feels unreasonably normal.

“Where’s the guilt?”I ask abruptly.

She frowns at me in confusion.“What do I have to feel guilty about?Breaking up with Grant?”

“No, not him,” I say with an impatient wave.“Where’s the guilt over us sleeping together?”

Her frown deepens and she traces the condensation on her cup with one finger.“I have it.It’s pushed down low.”She taps her sternum once.“I’m not sure what to do with it yet so I’m leaving it alone currently.”

“Reasonable approach.”

The corner of her mouth moves.“So, what is this?”She gestures between us.

She doesn’t appear to be anxious over the question, merely curious.

I think about it for a second.“It’s fun.”I hold her gaze.“Does it have to be more than that?”

I watch as she mulls it over before she finally says, “No, not really.”Her eyes lock onto mine and she smiles.“That helps.I can compartmentalize fun.I can work with you and keep the rest of it in a separate box.”

“So that alleviates the guilt?”I ask.

“Maybe.Maybe not.But we’re discreet about this, okay?Nobody knows.Especially nobody on this team.”