Page 19 of Indiscreet

CHAPTER FIVE

Astrid: Merry Christmas. Hope you enjoyed yours, though I wish you’d have come over.

Gia: Thanks. I slept in and opened presents. Thanks for the new robe.

Astrid: You picked it out lol and you are a liar. You worked!

Gia: A little.

I laughed out loud. She was right. I had logged into my work email and cleared most of my inbox. I’d also gotten a jump on some of the new marketing and advertising proposals. I wasn’t complaining. I loved every minute of it.

Astrid: I just wish you’d take some time to rest and enjoy yourself. BTW, how did the mixer go?

Gia: It didn’t go great.

Astrid: Oh, come on Gia. You must have met someone.

I bit my lip. What could I share? The Agency hadn’t said I couldn’t speak about it, but while I wasn’t exactly feeling bad about what I’d done, I didn’t want to share with her about the orgy or what I had done.

Gia: I did meet a couple of guys, but I don’t think we connected.

Astrid: You didn’t find your match at this one, but it was only your first. Don’t give up. Go to another one.

I blew out a breath. No thanks. The thought of going back to another mixer wasn’t something I was sure about. I hadn’t wanted to bother Liz until after the holiday, but when I tried after Christmas, I wasn’t able to reach her. I also had no response to my query for the remodel; my brief encounter with Dane Westbrook was over. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try a matchmaking service again. In the meantime, I’d had enough of staying inside my house so I decided to go to the gym, and I told Astrid as much.

Astrid: Wear something cute. Who knows who you might meet there.

I smiled and put my phone away. I hadn’t thought of looking cute, but I had put on a new pink and gray track suit. I wasn’t a regular at the gym lately and had to search for my pass. Since it was Christmas vacation for a lot of people, I thought it would be less busy, but it wasn’t. Begrudgingly, I snatched up a couple of too-heavy free weights to perform a toning routine I remembered from years past. I was on my third rep when a pair of turquoise athletic shoes crossed my line of vision. A glance up revealed they belonged to Liz, who was dressed in a gray track suit that was zipped up under her chin and looked out of place in the humid atmosphere of the gym. I looked at her face and did a triple take. She was pale with a red tinge around her eyes, a far cry from the Liz I had seen a few weeks before.

“What’s wrong?” I asked after we greeted each other.

Her eyes darted away from me. “Holiday blues. I might be coming down with something too. Sorry I haven’t been in touch after your night out.”

I lowered my brows. It was clear as rain that there was more to it. I decided to try another approach. “It’s completely understandable. You were on vacation just like me. How about we share a smoothie now, if you have some time?”

She hesitated but then agreed, though when we were in line to place orders at the juice bar, she refused everything but water. When we were comfortably seated, Liz turned and looked at me, but I couldn’t quite read her expression. “How did the mixer go?”

I lifted a shoulder. “I met a few people, but I don’t think it’s for me.”

More time away from the event and the fact that no one at Dane’s company had replied to my remodel inquiry had led me to see it in a different light.

She sighed heavily. “Good. You don’t need to go there again. There are plenty of other places to meet eligible men.”

“That’s quite the change in attitude since you signed me up,” I joked, swatting her arm playfully. She winced, and I raised my brows. “Are you in pain?”

She wouldn’t meet my eyes. “It’s just the strain from exercise. I’ll be fine. I’m glad I ran into you. I’m sorry I was so pushy about going to The Agency. I shouldn’t have done that. I wasn’t thinking. I was acting like a stupid school girl.”

“You weren’t,” I said, frowning. “You’re being way too hard on yourself. It wasn’t all bad. I met Dane.” I couldn’t hide the smile or the heat that rushed to my face. “He was charming, but he was busy hosting.”

She gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Dane’s in a relationship—”

“He’s in a relationship?” I repeated incredulously.

Dane had offered me a threesome with his friend, but he was in a relationship? Maybe the relationship was open? Whatever he was doing was a tangled mess I didn’t want to get involved in. I glanced over at Liz, and it seemed she was miles away.

“Yes,” she affirmed. “At least that’s what Sir—”

“Sir? Why are you calling him that—are you two role-playing?”

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