He pushed his hands into his pocket. “Yeah, I do. You’re upset.”
“Not because I want to be.” I looked up at him. “I’ll figure it out. Until then, the avoidance thing is working for me.”
Thomas nodded once. “I’m sorry. Upsetting you is the last thing I want to do. You, um…you look gorgeous. Were you meeting someone?”
I made a face. “No, I’m not meeting someone. I’m not dating. I don’t date,” I snapped. “Not that I don’t expect you to,” I said, motioning to the restaurant.
I began to sit in the driver’s seat, but Thomas gently held my arm.
“We’re not dating,” he said. “I was just helping her with darts. Her boyfriend is in there.”
I glared at him, dubious. “Great. I have to go. I haven’t eaten.”
“Eat here,” he said. He offered a hopeful small smile. “I can teach you how to play, too.”
“I’d rather not be one of many. Thank you.”
“You’re not. You never have been.”
“No, just one of two.”
“Whether you believe it or not, Liis…you’ve been the only. There has never been anyone else but you.”
I sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. I’ll see you at work on Monday. We have an early meeting.”
“Yep,” he said, taking a step back.
I slid into the driver’s seat and then stabbed the ignition with the key. The Camry made a dainty growl, and then I backed up and pulled away, leaving Thomas alone in the parking lot.
The first lit drive-through sign I saw, I pulled in and waited in line. Once I received my non-Fuzzy burger and small fries, I drove the rest of the way home.
My sack crinkled as I shut my car door, and then I walked to the lobby doors, feeling abysmal that my brilliant plan for distraction couldn’t have been more of a failure.
“Hey!” Val called from across the street.
I looked over at her, and she waved.
“You’re a hot bitch! Come to Cutter’s with me!”
I lifted my sack.
“Dinner?” she yelled.
“Kind of!” I called back.
“Fuzzy’s?”
“No!”
“Gross!” she yelled. “Liquor will be more satisfying!”
I sighed and then glanced each way before crossing the street. Val hugged me, and then her smile faded when she noticed my expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“I went to KC Barbeque. Thomas was there with a very tall and pretty blonde.”
Val pursed her lips. “You’re way better than her. Everyone knows she’s a total skank.”
“Do you know her?” I asked. “She is Polanski’s assistant.”
“Oh,” Val said. “No, Allie is super sweet, but we’re going to pretend she’s a skank.”
“Allie?” I whined, puffing out a breath like the wind had been knocked out of me. The name sounded exactly like the perfect girl who Thomas could fall in love with. “Kill me now.”
She hooked her arm around me. “I’m packing heat. I can if you want.”
I leaned my head onto her shoulder. “You’re a good friend.”
“I know,” Val said, guiding me to Cutter’s.
I FORCED A SMILE FOR AGENT TREVINO while stopped at check-in, and then I steered my Camry toward the parking garage. I was already in a foul mood from the weekend, and the fact that it was Monday wasn’t helping matters.
Thomas was right. I did hate driving on the freeway, and that annoyed me as well. I found a parking space and pushed the gear forward into park. Then, I grabbed my purse and brown leather messenger bag. Shoving the door open, I stepped out to see Agent Grove struggling to get out of his blue sedan.
“Morning,” I said.
He simply nodded, and we headed for the elevator bay. I pressed the button, trying not to tip him off that I was nervous to have him standing behind me.
He coughed into his hand, and I used that as an excuse to glance back.
My sleek ponytail whipped over my right shoulder as I did so. “Summer colds are the worst.”
“Allergies,” he grumbled, almost to himself.
The elevator opened, and I stepped on, followed by Grove. His pale-blue shirt and too-small tie made his expansive midsection look even more pronounced.
“How are the interviews going?” I asked.
Grove’s wiry mustache twitched. “It’s a little early to engage in chitchat, Agent Lindy.”
I raised my eyebrows and then faced forward, holding my hands in front of me. The seventh floor chimed, and I stepped into the hallway. I glanced back at Grove, who glared at me until the doors slid shut.
Val merged with me as I approached the security doors. “Open the door, open the door, open the—”
“We’re not finished,” Marks said with a grimace.
Val instantly switched on a smile and turned around. “For now, we are.”
“No, we’re not,” Marks said, his bright blue eyes flaming.
I pushed open the door, and Val took a step backward. “But we are…so we are.” When the door closed in Marks’s face, she turned back around and squeezed my arm. “Thank you.”
“What was that about?”
She rolled her eyes and puffed out a breath. “He still wants me to move out of my condo.”
“Well…I wouldn’t like my boyfriend living with his wife either.”
“Marks is not my boyfriend, and Sawyer is not my husband.”
“Your status with Marks is debatable, but you are definitely still married to Sawyer. He hasn’t signed the papers yet?”
We turned into my office, and Val shut the door before falling into a club chair.
“No! He came home from Cutter’s one night, going on and on about how Davies was a mistake.”
“Wait—Agent Davies?”
“Yes.”
“But you…”
Val’s nose wrinkled, and when recognition hit, she jumped out of the chair. “No! Ew! Ew! Even if I were a lesbian, I’d much prefer ChapStick to lipstick. Agent Davies looks like a reject from a Cher look-alike contest with all that”—she circled her face with her index finger—“stuff on her face.”
“So, when you said you experienced both Sawyer and Davies, you meant because he’d cheated on you with her.”
“Yes!” she said, still disgusted. She sat back in the chair, keeping her butt on the edge, while letting her shoulders fall back against the cushion.
“If you say that to anyone else, you might consider clarifying.”
Val let that thought simmer, and then she closed her eyes, her shoulders sagging. “Shit.”
“You’re not going to forgive Sawyer?” I asked.
“God, no.”
“What keeps you there, Val? I know it’s your condo, but that can’t be all there is to it.”
She lifted her arms before letting them slap to her thighs. “That’s it.”
“Lie.”
“Well, now,” she said, sitting up and crossing her arms, “look who is honing her craft.”
“More like common sense,” I said. “Now, if you’re going to be a bad friend, shoo. I have work to do.” I shuffled papers, pretending to be disinterested.
“I can’t forgive him,” she said, her voice small. “I’ve tried. I could have forgiven anything else.”
“Really?”
She nodded.
“Have you told him that?”
She picked at her nails. “Pretty much.”
“You need to tell him, Val. He still thinks there’s a chance.”
“I’m dating Marks. Sawyer still thinks I’m hung up on him?”
“You are married to him.”
Val sighed. “You’re right. It’s time. But I warn you, if I put down the hammer and he doesn’t budge, you might have a new roommate.”
I shrugged. “I’ll help you pack.”
Val left with a smile, and I opened my laptop, input the password, and began scrolling through my emails. Three from Constance marked Urgent caught my eye.
I directed the mouse to the first email and clicked.
AGENT LINDY,
ASAC MADDOX REQUESTS A MEETING AT 1000. PLEASE CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULE, AND HAVE YOUR CASE FILE IN HAND.