Page 11 of Falling for his Fake Wife

Chapter Six

Leo was fumingwhen Lucy hadn’t been there in the morning. She didn’t even call in. What was she doing? Leo wondered. After contacting HR, he had finally gotten her cell phone number and called her close to 10 a.m. She politely answered and reminded him that she had an appointment that morning and was off half the day. She had never taken time off before.

While he was in her personal record, he reaffirmed that she was happily married to Cliff Lovely, which was not actually in her personal file at all. In fact, her emergency contacts had been Sera Dean, mother, and Mabel Scott, sister. No husband was listed, but you didn’t have to list your husband for that.

Since Thursday night, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. Not that her being in a sweatshirt and jeans was sexy at all, but the contrast from her work attire to her home attire had been striking. He didn’t think she went home and stayed in the same skirts and blouses she wore at work, but he had also never pictured her in tight jeans and sweatshirt that said “O hi” in a bar for a night on the town. It was her smile and laugh he couldn’t stop thinking about. It was something she never did at work.

At five minutes to twelve, she came in the door, carrying a cup of coffee and her notebook. Her outfit was black slacks and a red sweater over a white shirt. Nothing overtly sexy, but on her, it simply was. Her heels were red to match the sweater.

“Sorry, I forgot to remind you I had an appointment this morning,” she said curtly.

“I couldn’t read it in your calendar,” he replied. He hated that no one could read it, but usually, it didn’t matter.

“Sorry about that.” She shrugged as if to say she was not sorry at all.

“What else is on the calendar today?”

“Meeting with marketing at three, and then you have Addison and Amelia’s recital tonight,” she reminded him without taking her eyes off him. It always amazed him when she did that.

“I also have a meeting with Kelly about Aubrey,” he stated.

“What time?” she asked but didn’t get ready to write it down. In fact, she hadn’t opened the notebook yet.

“Six, before the recital. Which I did remember also,” he pointed out, as if one event would impress her.

Not that he was going to tell her that he hadn’t actually remembered, that the recital had slipped his mind when he had been talking to his first ex about their daughter. How Lucy managed to keep everything straight, he didn’t know. He sure as hell couldn’t.

“Just remember that she’s nineteen and has to learn some things the hard way,” Lucy said. She had never given him advice before.

She even sounded sincere about it, like she actually cared. Though every time any of his kids came into the office, she made a point to make them feel special. It was just how she was.

“I’ll try to keep that in mind.” He looked at her, but she was looking out the window behind him. Her mind wasn’t there today.

“Thanks. I have a sister her age, and Aubrey reminds me of her. Just tell her to stay away from the guy she was hanging on that night. He’s not what a nineteen-year-old needs in her life,” she said, tapping her toes. Some days she was like a kid who hated to be there, and her feet just wanted her to leave.

“I’ll mention it. You know him?” he asked, and her toes stopped.

Lucy bit her lip a moment and then said, “I dated him a while back. He cheated on me, and I have no doubt that he’ll cheat on her.”

Suddenly, he hated this guy even more. No longer was it about him leaving his daughter in a bar. How could he possibly cheat on Lucy? What kind of man could find someone better than this woman? What kind of man was Lucy interested in? Where was Cliff in all this?

He had no idea what to say. “Sorry about that, Lucy.”

“I just don’t want her to get mixed up with him. She deserves so much better than him,” Lucy stated, and he wondered why she had wasted her time dating a man not good enough for his daughter.

Her words warmed his heart. In that moment, he decided he was going to use her to find a woman exactly like her for him to marry. If she was this warm and caring, she had to know others just like her. Meanwhile, he knew of none that came even close to fitting that description.

He went out on a limb. “Lucy, if I change my meeting with Kelly today, would you be available for a working supper?”

Looking surprised, she said, “I guess. I drove today, so I’m available.”

“Good, I can order something in. I want to talk to you and get your thoughts on something,” he replied critically. She was going to help him with his plan to stay in the city. She would be perfect.

His plan was a little out of the ordinary, but he needed some help. There were just things he couldn’t do alone.

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