Page 38 of The Perfect Deception
She fidgeted. When he opened his mouth to speak, she turned to his bookshelves. Of course. Bending down, she examined the law books on his shelves as if they were the most fascinating things she’d ever seen. He examined the shape of her rear, which he found much more intriguing.
“Are you ready for lunch?”
“Sure,” she said.
With his hand on the small of her back, he ushered her out of the office and downstairs to the restaurant off the lobby. She was silent. He didn’t know what to make of it. Once they’d been seated and looked at menus, he put his aside.
“So, what did you think of the office?”
“Um, it was very nice.” She squirmed.
He frowned. What was going on?
She sighed. “Adam, why did you invite me to your office?”
Well, that was a little trickier. “Because you hadn’t seen it. I thought you’d like to.”
“The building or the people?”
“What do you mean?”
She blew a strand of hair out of her face. “I mean, did you want me to meet the people you work with or see the place you spend hours of your day?”
He shrugged, confused. “Dina, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Do I embarrass you?”
He stared at her. “Why would you think that?”
“Because every time I’m with you and we meet someone you know, you act like you don’t know me. Because rather than introduce me to the people who are your supposed best friends at work, you rushed me by their offices before I had time to even wave.”
Oh God. “Dina, you’ve got it wrong.”
“Do I?” She rose and dropped her napkin on the table. “I don’t think so. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go clear my head. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Dina, wait!”
He rose to go after her, but was stopped short by a body in his way.
“Hey, Adam, how are you?”
Stephen, a guy in another law firm in the building, came up to him.
“I can’t talk now, Stephen, I’m sorry.”
“You know, you really need to manage your time better.”
Adam stopped short and swore to himself. He couldn’t get away from his reputation even if he wanted to. The desire to straighten out Stephen’s assumption made him start to turn back, but he shook his head. Now wasn’t the time. He needed to find Dina and fix her assumptions first.
But when he looked for her, she was gone.
Chapter Eleven
The buzzing intercom pulled Dina out of a daydream that evening. The daydream in which she and Adam had a relationship rather than the bargain they’d struck. With a sigh, she rose from the table where her dinner sat untouched and looked at the video screen on her security intercom. Adam’s image greeted her and she jerked back.
If I wait, he’ll get bored and go away.That would be best for both of them. She needed time to get herself fully on board with what they were to each other—a means to an end. He wasn’t interested in her, not beyond body chemistry.
Leaning against the cool steel door, she repeated, “We have an agreement,” over and over in her mind.