“I brought intel on the situation in the Balkans. Is that why you’re going?”
He looked up at that.
“No. What’s going on there?”
She brought him up to speed and handed him the papers she’d brought. He glanced at them and stuffed them in his briefcase.
“Emily made reservations for an early afternoon flight to London. I barely have time to get home to grab some clothes before I have to be at Dulles.”
“How long will you be gone?” Zoe asked.
“I’m not sure.”
She watched him. He seemed to have all he needed. He opened his drawer and pulled out his passport.
“That’s everything,” Cal said, putting it in his inside coat pocket.
He looked at her again.
“I’ll do my best to be back in time.”
“You could be gone for a week or longer?”
They hadn’t considered him being gone during her fertile time.
“I have no idea,” he said.
“What is going on?”
“Some things I can’t discuss right now. I’ll let you know when I can.”
He came around the desk stopping beside her.
Zoe knew it was selfish to think of herself at a critical time like this. Cal didn’t up and jaunt off to Europe without a moment’s notice unless it was extremely important. But he couldn’t even tell her if he’d be back when she’d need him.
She shook her head impatiently. She sounded like some farmer trying to breed a cow or something. He hadn’t built a stellar company by neglecting client needs.
“Go. If you don’t make it back in time, there’s always next month,” she said.
“And the one after, if we don’t succeed next time. Take care of yourself,” he said.
She nodded, holding her breath. Was he going to kiss her?
Emily tapped on the door and opened it without waiting.
“Here’s the info on your flight. Let me know when to reserve a return.”
She handed him a folder with the itinerary on top.
“This has all you requested. When you get there, call if you need anything else. I’ll hang around tonight until I hear from you.”
“I’ll call you at home if I need anything,” Cal said.
He glanced at Zoe, said goodbye and then left.
“Whew, we haven’t had that tight a schedule in a while,” Emily said. “I was afraid I wouldn’t find available space today. It’s surprising how full the flights are this time of year. Who wants to go to Europe in October?”
“Let me know if I can help in any way,” Zoe said.