Page 8 of Chic Steel

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ELLA

He didn’t come back.Or call.

I lock the door and wave at Maddy, doing the same next door. “How was your day?”

“Long.” She sighs. “Yours?”

“It was okay.” I pause. “Someone left their wallet today.”

“Did they come back?”

“No, he didn’t. It was an hour ago, so hopefully he’s not frantically searching for it.”

Maddy tilts her head and slings her handbag higher on her shoulder. “He was in around eight?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you look for a business card or a number to call?”

I shake my head. “I haven’t looked.”

“You should call him,” she says.

“Isn’t that an invasion of privacy?”

“He’s the one who left it. Besides, he might not remember where he left it.”

“What if there isn’t a number?”

She shrugs. “Hand it in to the police? See you tomorrow.”

I turn down the street to head home and ignore the wallet burning a hole through my bag. Should I have left it at the store?Maybe. But I don’t like the idea of leaving Oliver’s stuff there. It shouldn’t matter to me, but it does. It unsettles me that he’s missing something. How will he pay for anything?

“Lily, I hope you’re here!” I yell when I arrive home.

“In the kitchen.”

I burst through the door and dump my bag on the floor. “I need help.”

“Is there a body?”

A glance at the stove confirms Leo’s here, and I turn to Lily who’s relaxing on a barstool. “He left his wallet.” My voice cracks, which is a new low for me.

Get a hold of yourself. It’s just a wallet.

She drags a stool out for me and I collapse onto it. “Who did?”

“He did.” I stress the words and widen my eyes dramatically.

“Business guy?” Leo asks, draining pasta water down the sink.

I nod desperately.

Lily gasps. “He came in?”

“He left his wallet. Lily, what do I do?”

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