Page 18 of Sinful Beauty

I straighten at that. As if a woman can’t drink alone. “I like it here.”

“So you drink daily?”

“Sod off. How’s that your business?”

His close-lipped smile does funny things to me. I should finish this glass, wrap back up and face the winds whipping around the building. Get back to my warm apartment and comfy bed.

“You’re right, love. It’s not my business and I’m out of line.”

I release a sigh. He’s catching me on a bad day. “I come here regularly, but not every day.” Events sent me straight here after work, but if I won’t share with William, I’m definitely not sharing with an executive-level colleague why I’m seeking solace in a glass.

He lifts his pint and says, “To days we’d rather not talk about.”

I clink my glass against his and sip.

“Your boyfriend? Husband? Someone coming to meet you?”

“You like to butt your nose into areas that aren’t your business, don’t you?”

He snorts at that, and then I get another glimpse of that closed lip smile. A flicker of amusement before the weight on his shoulders wins out.

“I was going to suggest we order some food and get to know one another, but if you’ve got someone meeting you...”

“I’m not particularly hungry,” I admit. When I got the news about my father, I couldn’t finish the cheese I packed for lunch.

I feel his gaze on me. Studying me. Where will he go with this next?

“So your bad day was the type that wipes an appetite. Someone at work?”

“No.” The answer is immediate. Instinctual, perhaps. “Nothing to do with work, really.”

“Good.” He blinks as it registers what he said. “I mean, not good. Just, I’m glad there’s no one at the office I’m going to need to rebuke.”

From what I gathered, he doesn’t have the authority to rebuke anyone, but I appreciate the sentiment. “What’s your story?”

The conversation between Graeme and Nelson sparks a wave of curiosity. Were they right? Is his goal to reclaim what his family sold? To leverage nepotism for a swift ride to the top?

“No story.”

I give him an expression designed to make it clear I do not buy what he’s selling. Was Graeme right? Is he working to meet the terms of his trust fund?

“What are people saying? Are there any provocative theories floating around?”

“A source of employee gossip, I am not.” I’m smiling, but I’m quite serious. “I need my job.”

“Perhaps an alignment with me might be the smartest thing you could do for your career?”

“So you want Mr. Peltz’s job?”

He snorts and this time I see a flash of white. “Good god no. I almost didn’t make it through the three-hour afternoon meeting.”

There’s no need to study him. I can hear the honesty in his words.

“So you’re there because you have to be.”

“Is that the other theory?”

“There’s a trust fund or something?”

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