Page 28 of Thiago
“Thank you.” She slipped in ahead of him.
Employees and visitors milled around the lobby, entering and exiting, their footsteps echoing on the ceramic tile. One of the security guards at the desk nodded respectfully as they passed by.
After a short wait at the bank of elevators, they entered the cabin with three employees. Thiago’s hand briefly brushed hers as they made their way to the back, and a tremor of awareness went through India. It seemed like forever since they’d touched, and the brief contact ignited her skin, sending a spark all the way to her core.
The doors closed, and the employees whispered softly to each other in front of them.
“Nice lunch?” Thiago asked in his cultured, accented voice.
“Yes. Did you have a good one?”
They sounded stiff and formal, far removed from the teasing banter they engaged in when he came to her apartment. Granted, they weren’t alone and were always careful at work—except for the tense seconds the other day when he grabbed her—but their conversations had never been this stilted. The difference saddened her.
“Yes. It was a working lunch, very productive.”
The elevator doors opened, and the employees filed out, going in different directions on the floor. The doors closed, and India and Thiago were alone.
“We ate at Garlique,” he added.
She shot a look at his strong profile. “Your brother’s restaurant, right?”
He nodded. “The very first one he opened. Last year it won the James Beard award for outstanding restaurant.”
No mistaking the pride in his voice at his brother’s accomplishment.
“Impressive.”
Not that India was surprised. Benicio and his wife Rose, Thiago’s stepmother, had done an excellent job with their children. They were all accomplished in their own way.
“How was your weekend?” Thiago turned his dark eyes on her, and the air in the elevator contracted.
“Nice, thanks. And yours?” India purposely shifted the conversation back to him.
“Fine,” he said shortly.
The cabin stopped on the executive level.
“I assume you’re free this Friday?” Thiago asked as the doors slid open.
He asked the question she had hoped she wouldn’t have to answer for at least another day or two.
Tension tightened her belly as they stepped onto the top floor. The receptionist hadn’t returned to her desk yet, so the lobby was thankfully empty.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to see you on Friday.”
His eyebrows snapped together. “Again?” There was a massive amount of incredulity in the single word.
“My schedule is crazy right now.” The explanation sounded vague and flimsy to her ears. “I should be free next week Friday, though.”
A muscle in his jaw jumped, his irritation evident in the firm set of his features. “I see. Is this going to become a habit?”
“No. Like I said, my schedule is out of control right now, and I’ve had to… move some things around—our Friday night appointment being one of those things.”
Admittedly, she really was having a hard time juggling two additional men, and she’d only recently started. Surely the situation would get easier. She couldn’t go out during the week, which left the weekend, but both men had jobs that sometimes required weekend hours.
After her date with Leo on Friday night, she had another one with Simon on Saturday. She had invited him over to her apartment for a low-key, relaxing evening of pizza and movie-watching with the hope they’d get to know each other better and she’d perhaps develop more romantic feelings for him.
After their second date last week, he kissed her before they parted ways. The experience had been… underwhelming. No spark. No fire. She liked him well enough and hoped the situation would improve.
