Page 22 of Checkmate
His hand covered hers, holding her tight against his chest. “Thank you for your unwavering belief in me.”
“Always,” she promised, kissing him once. “I’ll see you tonight, yeah?”
She pulled away one last time, shrugging on her coat and straightening out her hair. Alex moved behind his desk that she had been naked on not too long ago and set to work, their escapades clearly long forgotten.
Barely glancing up at her, he nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be home as soon as I’m done. Don’t wait for me if I’m running late.”
She watched him for a moment before opening the door. “Okay, well. I love you.” She thought she heard a muttered reply before the door closed behind her, but she couldn’t be sure.
Smiling at Sophie as she passed, she made her way through the building, trying to put Alex’s change in mood out of her mind. It wasn’t the first time he had switched to business mode on her, after all. But something was leaving a sour taste in her mouth.
He wasn’t usually so rattled. Especially not by a client, no matter how lucrative the contract was. But the hand through his hair, the tight-lipped smiles and the way his eyes avoided hers.
Something was definitely amiss.
She couldn’t help but remember the look on Sophie’s face, and the way the woman seemed to relish knowing something Erica didn’t.
As she reached her car, she glanced up at his window, debating heading back inside to check on him. If something were wrong, she wanted to do what she could to help.
Everything inside her was telling her to stay away from that office. The feeling was so overwhelming that she clung to the car door to catch her breath.
She always believed in trusting her gut feeling and something was telling her she wasn’t ready to know what was happening up on the top floor of the building.
Forcing herself to get into the car, she started the engine and spared one last glance towards Alex’s floor.
Realistically, what good could she do?
She couldn’t think of any solid reason the London Group had the jitters, and as such, no idea how to fix them.
She pulled out of the parking lot and signalled for home. Joining the early morning traffic, she switched the radio on to her favourite station and let the music wash over her.
With Cyndi Lauper belting out a banger, Erica forced Alex and his company from her mind and cast it instead to the evening festivities.
Despite her earlier reluctance, she was looking forward to seeing her brother and his wife tonight. It had been a while since they last had a get-together, after the two of them swanned off on their honeymoon.
They had been neighbours for five of the seven years she and Alex had lived at their current address, and while most people couldn’t stand living so close to a sibling, Erica and Josh were close enough that it worked.
And she loved him even more for giving her such an awesome sister-in-law.
Liv was a beautiful girl with the most stunning green eyes. She worked in the beauty industry and always looked immaculate. They were the epitome of opposites attract as Josh spent all his time in sports, enjoying his job as a PE teacher.
It was the first time she’d be seeing them since their return from their honeymoon, and now she was excited to get the evening started.
By the time she pulled into the driveway, muttering to herself about the potential menu for the evening’s meal, the London Group was far from her mind.
She let herself into the house, grabbing the mail from the table as she padded down to the kitchen to boil the kettle.
Flicking the kettle on, she dumped her mail on the counter, and opened the fridge doors, inspecting the contents inside.
“Lamb perhaps,” she muttered, her eyes lingering on the artichokes. “Or perhaps beef.”
“I’d go with the chicken.”
Erica jumped at the feminine voice, looking over her shoulder to see their maid standing in the doorway.
“Sorry, Miss Erica,” Gloria said. “I frightened you.”
“No. Well, I mean yes. But it’s okay.” Erica chuckled and turned to face the older lady. “I’m sorry Gloria, you move around so silently, you startled me.”
