There was a pause and Evelyn held her breath as she waited to hear Longineu’s response.
“That sounds great. I’d love a chance to get to know you better too.”
Good grief, it sounded as if they were going on their first date. But Evelyn didn’t care. This was perfect. One on one, private location—Luke could ask all the questions he wanted. Yes. Please say yes, Luke.
“I have a busy week coming up,” said Luke. “Let me check my schedule...”
No, you son of a bitch. You agree to whatever day that man wants!
“Hmmm. I can do Friday evening.”
“Friday it is. I think there’s a club opening happening that night. I’ll make sure you’re on the list.”
Club? What kind of club did too-rich-for-their-own-good tycoons go to? She supposed she’d find out soon enough.
“I look forward to hearing from you,” said Luke.
She listened for any sound of them leaving or final good-byes, but didn’t hear anything. Maybe Luke wasn’t one for long good-byes. Guys tended to be more short with the pleasantries. Especially once they got what they wanted.
Evelyn let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Two more nights and she might be all set to get arrest warrants. So close, yet so far...
“Excuse me,” said a masculine voice from the hallway.
Evelyn was able to contain her surprise this time and calmly removed the earbuds before she turned to face the one person she didn’t want to see. Brian Longineu. She let the confusion show on her face. “Hello. Can I help you?”
He had a sheepish grin on and she tried to determine how genuine it was. He had crow’s feet in the corners of his eyes and some of the hair at the top of his temples was starting to go gray, but Longineu was still an attractive man.
This was also the man Joslyn had blackmailed for six figures a month and the one who put a hit on Emma out of fear for what she would discover.
“I was looking for the restroom. Could you point me in the right direction?”
Every nerve was on high alert and Evelyn made sure her breathing stayed calm and smooth. “The executive bathroom is right around the corner.” She pointed in the direction of Cali’s desk. “It has the little man figure on the door, so you should see it.”
“Fantastic. I must’ve missed it coming in. Thank you, Ms....”
“Peterson,” she supplied. She had a feeling he wanted her to stand and shake his hand, but Evelyn stayed put. She didn’t want to invite more conversation, so playing the bitch card might be best.
“Thank you, Ms. Peterson,” he finished. He gave one more small nod of thanks before he turned to leave. She managed to keep herself at her desk for a good fifteen minutes before she finally jumped up and made her way across the hall to Luke’s office. Once she saw that he was alone, she slipped in and shut the door.
Luke glanced up from his computer and smiled.
A bit of her worry faded away as she saw how happy he looked. “That proud of yourself?” she asked.
“What? Not a football fan?”
“You did that on purpose?”
“Hell yeah. I thought you’d appreciate a bit of an education on the wonders of college ball.”
She snorted. “I’m trying to protect you and you’re trying to put me to sleep.”
He held up his hands. “You said to bond with him.”
“Smart ass,” she muttered even as a smile crept into her mouth. She almost hated to burst Luke’s good mood with what just happened. “I have concerns...” she said carefully.
Just like that, his face fell. “Why? Everything seemed to go great on my end.”
She nodded. “On your end. Longineu showed up at my office right after he left yours. He asked for the bathroom.”
“He could’ve just had to piss.” But Luke’s face didn’t seem convinced.
“He could’ve asked you. Or Cali. Not wander into a strange office to ask me. There’s only two options I can think of.”
“Like?”
“Either he suspects I’m not who I say I am—”
“Which makes no sense because he shouldn’t know you exist.”
“Or he wanted to hit on me.”
Luke leaned back in his chair. “Now that makes sense to me.”
Well, it was nice to know Luke thought she was hit on material. Er, not nice. Not something her asset should be thinking about her. “It makes me uneasy. How sure are you that Cali is loyal?”
Luke went dead serious. “One hundred percent certain.”
“Even the nicest people can be desperate. Has she had any money trouble that she’s mentioned recently?”
“With the amount we pay her, I don’t think money problems are possible. None of my people would be giving away my personal business. What about your end?”