A Sip of You(94)

She gestured to one of the fancy modern chairs near her desk. Dutifully, I sat, unbuttoning my coat and unwrapping my scarf now that I was warming up. Parker lifted the phone and spoke quietly. I heard my name but not much else.

A moment later, she replaced the receiver and said, “May I get you something—a latte or a bottle of water? Whatever you like.”

I wasn’t thirsty, but I sensed Parker wanted something to do. “Water would be great,” I said, looking around the reception area. Like William’s office, the décor was minimalist, but here and there Parker had managed to add a bit of color. A red pillow on one chair, a small colorful abstract print above her desk.

She disappeared around a corner and returned a moment later with a cold bottle of water. She also held a glass filled with ice. I took both but set the glass down and drank from the bottle. My hands shook slightly, and I didn’t want to spill.

I waited. Parker waited. She tried to look busy, but we were both just biding time. Finally, her phone buzzed and she snatched it up. “Yes. Very good.” She replaced it and stood. “Right this way, Catherine.”

I jumped up and had a moment’s hesitation about what to do with the water bottle. I left it on Parker’s desk and gathered my bag. Parker opened the door to William’s office, and I stepped inside.

It was exactly as I remembered—stark and stylish—and I looked toward William’s desk as Parker closed the door behind me. He was seated behind it, and immediately my mind flashed to our video chat from the other night. He’d been behind the desk then too, but he’d been wearing glasses. There was no sign of the glasses now, but I could still envision him behind the desk, watching me as I touched myself on screen. I felt my cheeks flame and took a step inside. I wasn’t feeling as brave as I had on the way over. I felt very much the intruder.

William stood up, his expression unreadable, but I saw a flicker of something in his eyes. His gaze snapped to the chair before his desk and then back again. I followed his look and noted we weren’t alone. The man in the seat across from William faced away from me, showing only the back of his head, but there was something familiar about him nonetheless.

Something very, very familiar.





Nineteen




The man turned, and I gasped. It was Beckett.

For a moment I couldn’t process it. Everything was strangely surreal, like a scrambled image that made no sense. Why was Beckett in William’s office? Beckett didn’t belong here. Beckett and William had nothing in common except…

Me.

Oh my God. I stumbled back a step. I took a deep breath, forcing oxygen into my chest, which felt tight with panic. Beckett had just accused me of thinking everything was about me. So maybe this wasn’t about me. That didn’t mean it wasn’t weird—my best friend and my boyfriend. Why hadn’t they told me about this? Was this something else they were hiding from me? Something bad? Had something happened to a friend? Someone in my family?

“What is this?” I blurted out, looking from William to Beckett. “What’s going on?”

Neither man answered. My heart pounded even harder in my chest. What was wrong? What couldn’t they tell me? They would have said if it was my family, so it had to be something else. “Is this what you’ve been so secretive about?” I asked Beckett. I looked at William. “Is this another thing you can’t tell me?” Still neither one of them spoke.

I looked from Beckett to William and felt tears burn my eyes. I had to get out of here before I started crying. “I’m sorry. I can see I’m intruding. I’ll get out.”

“Cat—”

“No, Beckett. It’s okay. I’ll just go.” I looked at William. He looked concerned, and I didn’t want his concern at the moment. I just wanted to run before I started sobbing. The paper of the envelope brushed my arm, and I reached into my bag and yanked it out. “Here, you can have these. Maybe we can talk about it later when you’re…not so busy.” I tossed the envelope on the table in the center of the room and turned to leave. Before I could reach the door, William was beside me. He took my arm and swung me around to face him.

“Catherine, calm down. This is not what you think. There's nothing secret about this.” He gestured to Beckett, who had risen now.

“Really? Nothing secret? I didn’t know about it.”

William’s hands rested on my upper arms, holding me firmly in place. I didn’t fight him. I was still holding back tears, but it was difficult to resist those stormy-grey eyes, especially when he had his gaze leveled directly on me. “Beckett has been wanting to tell you about this since the beginning. He stopped by this afternoon to ask if he could. He said he told you he signed an NDA.”