"Hello?" Trey said through the intercom.
"Trey? It's me. I'm here with Sam. I was wondering if you have a few minutes."
"Uh…I'm in a middle of a conference call. I'll be at least another hour."
Her heart sank. "Oh, I'm sorry. Um, would you like to join us for coffee when you're done? Sam and I could meet you at that coffee place around the corner from here."
"Okay. I'll see you there," Trey said softly.
Kris knew her face shone with relief as she turned to Sam. "He's going to join us for coffee."
"Yes, I heard that," Sam responded with an understanding smile.
*******
Kris glanced at her watch again as she and Sam entered another shop.
"Time will not go faster no matter how many times you check it, you know," Sam said dryly.
Kris sighed. "Sorry. I just don't want to be late."
"It's only been half an hour, Kris. He's still on his conference call. If you head to the coffee shop now, you'll just fidget around on your ass."
"Don't you want some coffee yourself?"
"But you want me to leave you and Trey alone," Sam said with a laugh.
"We can go there now and order something while we wait for Trey. Then when he gets there, you can go and I'll meet you at Dylan's after. If I have my way, though, you'll be going home alone and I'll be with Trey tonight."
"Oh, Kris," Sam said sympathetically. "I really hope it works out for the two of you."
"Me, too, Sammy," she said quietly.
*
They just finished ordering their coffees and cakes when someone called out Kris' name.
Oh, fucking hell. No.
It was Blake, who was sitting alone at another table. He stood up and walked over to them.
"We seem to have this habit of bumping into each other," Blake said to Kris with a wide grin.
"Well, I suppose you do work around here," she responded with a wan smile.
"Did you get home all right last night?" Blake asked.
"Yes, I did. Thanks."
"You kept the taxi receipt, didn't you? Don't forget to have that reimbursed when you turn up for work in a couple of weeks."
"I won't, thanks," she responded, wondering how she could get rid of him.
"Did Kris tell you about last night, Sam?" Blake asked, casually sitting on the empty chair next to Kris. "Did she tell you how utterly professional and charming she was? They loved her."
"I'm glad. I was already deep into dreamland when she got home but she did tell me all about it this morning," Sam said politely.
Blake turned to Kris. "I'm really grateful for last night, Kris," he said, leaning closer and looking at her with soft, sincere eyes. "You didn't have to stay there so late but you did. You don't know how much PR that created for our studio."
"Oh, don't mention it," she said, as she sipped her coffee that was placed in front of her. It was too hot and a drop escaped the side of her mouth.
"Oops, sorry," she said, as she wiped it with the back of her hand.
"You missed a spot," Blake said, reaching over and cleaning off the speck.
She froze. "Blake, I think that's a little too inappropriate," she chided.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Blake said in surprise. "It was a reflex action. Anyway, I'll have to make sure I pay you overtime for last night," he continued with a charming smile, as if he just didn't make her uncomfortable.
"Thank you," she murmured, glancing at Sam and hoping her cousin had something up her sleeve that would make Blake disappear.
Sam gave her an almost imperceptible shrug.
Blake straightened up. "Unfortunately, I have to go, ladies. I have a meeting coming up in a few minutes."
Kris hid a sigh of relief.
"I'll see you at work in two weeks, Kris. That is if I don't bump into you again before that," Blake teased as he stood up to go.
"See you, Blake," she responded, glad he was finally leaving.
"Thank God, he's gone," she said to Sam when her new boss was out of earshot.
"I'd say he's certainly interested in you, Kris. It was obvious."
"I'll have to say something more forceful the next time he does something improper," she said, looking out the window.
She did a double take and squinted, trying to spot the man that had just disappeared amongst the crowd.
She thought it was Trey but it couldn't be. He should still be in his meeting. Besides, the man was hurriedly walking away from the coffee shop, not toward it.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Trey continued walking. Fast. He didn't have any destination in mind. His brain was too muddled to focus on such a detail. What was clear in his head was a picture of Blake wiping the corner of Kris' mouth.