Page 52 of Best Laid Plans

Bailey gave me a triumphant look and stomped away, probably to fix her clothes.

While I waited for Charmaine, Diego arrived. He greeted me professionally and we shook hands.

"We're really excited to see the next steps of the project." Diego leaned against Charmaine's desk.

He was a handsome man. Dark, curly, long hair that came below his collar. He had a neatly trimmed beard. Chocolate brown eyes. A seriously toned body rippled under his dress shirt. He didn't have a tie or suit jacket. His suit pants hugged his ass in all the right ways.

Objectively, Diego was hot as hell. Subjectively, he could walk around naked in front of me, and I'd still be wanting the man who'd just fucked his fiancée in his office while I stood a few feet away.

"Are you staying the night in Sentinel?" Diego asked.

"No, I'll go home after the meeting." No way would I stay the night here. I was afraid of being in this town to the point that I drove very carefully as soon as I was in Pete Fontaine's jurisdiction. I didn't need trouble with the sheriff.

"You sure? There's a new steakhouse in town." Was he asking me out? Or was he merely being nice to a colleague?

Before I could respond, Anson marched out, followed by Charmaine. He looked like a thundercloud.

"I'm sorry for the delay, Nova. Diego, can you take her to my office? I'll be right back."

Anson left, and Charmaine grinned. "Told him about the show Bailey put on, and now he's angrier than a rattlesnake in a shoe box."

Diego looked at me inquiringly. I shrugged. I may be from Sentinel, but I wasn't going to indulge in gossip unless I was listening to it.

"Bailey came out of his office, and let us all know that she and the boss were…ah…busy." Charmaine rolled her eyes, her meaning unmistakable.

"Anson wouldn't do that," Diego said confidently.

"I know that. And that's why I didn't appreciate it none too much that she put the show on for Nova."

I gaped at Charmaine. "Excuse me?"

"Honey, we all know about you and the boss from all those years ago. This is Sentinel; everyone knows everythin' about everyone. She wanted to stake her claim on him 'cause he's getting ready to break off the engagement," Charmaine explained.

Diego stifled a laugh. "Now, now, you know not to gossip about the boss, Char."

"Please," she said petulantly, crossing her arms, "I'm talkin' to you both, which ain't gossip. I'm just…ah…informing you about the state of the affairs."

Diego took me inside Anson's office, and we sat at the conference table.

"He talks about you," Diego said softly as I rummaged through my backpack to find what I needed for the meeting.

I looked at him. "I want to keep this professional," I murmured.

"We're way past that, and you know it," he drawled. "You're here because of your relationship with him."

There was truth in that. Anson wouldn't have asked me to be a project manager on such a significant development but for our history, but for him wanting to find some way to humiliate me.

"Please, Diego." I opened my laptop, not looking at him. "I respectfully ask you not to bring up my personal life or my past. We're here for Sentinel Heights, and I'd like to stick with that."

"And I'd believe you, except you look at Anson with such sadness and longing in your eyes that it breaks my heart."

Tears pricked my eyes at being seen by someone, even if I didn't like it. Someone had noticed my pain, the one I kept hidden behind professional armor.

"Please," I begged. I was desperate not to be weak now. It was taking so much energy to stay professional, to not break down and cry each time I saw Anson.

Diego didn't speak for a long moment, and then finally said, "When you're ready, we can talk. I've known Anson for years. I see your pain, and I see his. He joined the military right after Yale because he was running away. He was there for four years, and came back when his father died. Larue Homes was a mess, and he spent the last four years bringing it back up."

"Why are you telling me this?"

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