Page 6 of Boxed In

She thought back over their phone conversation. He’d been flirting with her. Hadn’t he?

Maybe they could keep the banter going in person.

A noise at the door made her go rigid. When she whirled around, she saw Luke and breathed out a sigh.

“That was fast. Thanks for coming.”

“For you—anything.” A cocky smile flashed across his face as he strode into the room, glancing from the computer to her and back again. “So what’s going on with this puppy?” he asked.

“It froze and now it won’t boot.” As she answered, she realized that it was after hours, and they were alone in the office together. At her invitation.

Was he thinking about that, too?

He went over and fiddled with the keyboard and got the same non-response that she had.

When his cell phone rang, he pulled it out, checked the number, and scowled.

“Who’s that?” she asked.

“A client.”

“And you’re not going to respond?”

“I’m busy.”

He put the phone on the desk, then sat down and started typing on the keyboard.

“I see what’s wrong,” he said.

“Thank God. What?”

“Give me a minute.”

He typed some more, and the screen flashed to life again.

“It’s fixed?” she asked.

“Uh huh.”

“What were you working on?”

“I’m logging in a shipment of antiques.”

“Like what?”

She waved her hand toward the crates. “All of that stuff.”

oOo

Luke got up and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. When Decorah had called back, he hadn’t been able to respond in front of Olivia.

But the shipment was almost certainly what Frank was waiting for. In it was supposed to be an antique wooden chest with flowers and stuff on it. Frank hadn’t had a picture, but he’d said it would be distinctive.

“What if I helped with the unpacking?”

“Would you?”

“Sure.” He walked toward the cases, then stopped at the table where she’d set the objects she’d already removed. The box was there. At least, it looked like the right box.

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