Page 20 of Sin

My brain completely stalls.

“What?”

She nods enthusiastically. “Yep. Mr. Sinclair took a leave of absence.”

I stare at her. No, that doesn't make sense. Yesterday he practically strong-armed himself onto my project.

“Tate and Blaze are covering his responsibilities while he's gone.” She lowers her voice conspiratorially. “I heard Blaze saying Mr. Sinclair is taking a vacation with his wife.”

A vacation with his wife for two months?

“How romantic is that?” she gushes.

Romantic? I can think of several other words and none of them are romantic.

I force a smile. “Is Tate in?”

“Yep.”

“Thanks.”

I turn immediately and head in the opposite direction. Tate's office door is open. Unlike his brother, Tate actually enjoys interacting with other humans.

He looks up from his desk when I appear. The second he sees my face, he winces.

“Oh.”

I step inside. “Oh?”

“I'm guessing by that expression you've heard.”

I shut the door behind me.

“Who in the hell takes two months off in the middle of a project?”

Tate leans back in his chair. Normally he'd laugh or make some smartass comment. Instead, his expression turns surprisingly serious.

“It was important.”

I fold my arms.

“More important than a project he insisted on personally overseeing twenty-four hours ago?”

Tate sighs. “Apparently.”

The answer only irritates me more.

“That's unbelievable.”

Finally he says, “Laurel, you seem awfully upset about this. I thought you’d be happy to not be working with him.”

Heat immediately crawls up my neck.

“I’m upset because it's unprofessional.”

One blond eyebrow rises. “That's your reason? Look, between me and Blaze, we'll keep your project moving.”

“I don't want Blaze.”