*
"I'll walk you to the station," Blake offered as they left the café.
"Okay."
They strolled in companionable silence until Blake asked her nonchalantly, "So, Kris. Is there a boyfriend back home who'll get disappointed if you stayed here in Sydney?"
She glanced at Blake's profile, surprised by the question.
"No," she answered truthfully.
"Great! I mean, I won't have to worry about you not being able to concentrate on the job because you're missing someone in Melbourne. If you get the job, that is."
She chuckled. "Honestly, Blake. You are the biggest tease when it comes to offering a job."
Blake chortled. "I'm sorry," he said, before touching her arm to stop her from walking. "I promise I'm working hard to sort this stuff out. If I can't, then no one can substitute for me while I'm away for the musical."
She looked at him uncertainly. "Geez, Blake. I hope you get everything sorted for your sake. Please don't worry about what I think. I know you'll have to make the decision that's best for your business."
He smiled. "I want to give the job to you. That way I'll have the opportunity to see if you'll be suitable for the Melbourne role. Just give me some time. I'll find a way. Don't worry your pretty little head about it."
As they proceeded toward their destination, a nagging feeling bothered Kris. Was Blake interested in her? She hoped he wasn't keen to hire her just because he fancied her.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"Okay. So we're all on the same page with everything?" Trey asked Dylan and Adam as they wrapped up their meeting.
"Yup," the two guys answered.
"Great. Anything else we need to talk about?"
"Yes," Dylan said. "I've been trying to hold my tongue about this for the last hour as I want to get this meeting out of the way first. Now that we're done, let me get Adam up to speed with what shocked me this morning."
"What?" Adam asked, his eager expression evident from the computer screen.
Trey took a deep breath. He knew this was coming. He was surprised Dylan hadn't grilled him straight after Kris left.
"Well," Dylan drawled, "When I rang up Trey earlier this morning to arrange this meeting, I said to him I'd be arriving in twenty minutes. Lo and behold, he told me to give him an hour. One hour. Adam, how much time did you need to drag yourself out of bed and have a shower so we could talk about a multi-million dollar deal?"
"I would have been ready in two minutes," Adam quipped. "Why would I even need to take a shower when only the two of you were going to see me?"
Dylan snickered. "Well, since I was coming here, I thought Trey might want to at least brush his teeth, so I thought twenty minutes was plenty of time."
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Dyl. Get to the point," Trey said in resignation.
"Yeah, what is this all about?" Adam queried.
"You want to tell Adam about it?" Dylan asked Trey, arching an eyebrow.
"You started it, you finish it," Trey responded.
"Okay," Dylan said, facing the webcam so Adam could see his full facial expression. "I walked in here and discovered that not only had Trey broken his own Rule Number One again, but he also broke Rule Number Two."
Adam gasped in surprise. "He brought a woman to his apartment again? She stayed the night? Holy hell. What's happened to you, bro?" he asked Trey.
"What do you mean what's happened to me?" Trey responded with a frown. "I thought I've made it clear to the both of you that Kris and I are having a three-week fling."
"Yes, I get that. But after our discussion the other day about her, I was surprised you took it even further," Dylan said animatedly. "Trey, I sincerely hope you're not leading her on. Kris is not just anyone. She's my future wife's and my sister-in-law's best friend."
"You've proposed to Ari already?"
"Not yet. But you know what I mean," Dylan said. "And don't change the topic."
Trey raked his hands through his hair. How was he going to explain himself when he didn't fully understand what was going on either?
"Dyl, I don't think Kris is interested in me for the long-term. You know what she's like. She's very frank and open. She said she was only after a fling and I believe her."
Dylan sighed. "Okay, granted that's the case, but what's with you breaking your rules?"
"What's wrong with me breaking my rules? They're my rules to break. But since you guys are so interested, I'll have you know I did it for convenience. And don't forget, Kris will be leaving in just a little over two weeks. She's not some Sydney chick who could knock on my door at any time," he said in heated defence.