Page 26 of Buried Treasure
Chapter 8
Sydney took a deep breath and pushed on the revolving door to get to the lobby of her office building. Well, her old office building. She hadn't been there since the S.E.C. guys raided the place, but nothing had really changed. It frankly felt like she had just been gone on a little vacation or something. The same boring plants were in the corner, the same ugly furniture was set up in a circle, and the same security guys were behind the desk.
And yet, everything was completely different. For one thing, she actually had to check in with the security desk. The guards that she used to say "Hi!" to every morning recognized her, but she wasn't really sure about their response.
"Ms. Barton," one of them said as the rest avoided eye contact.
Just be nice, she reminded herself.He doesn't know you're not a crook."Hey, Darryl. How are you?"
"Fine," he said in a clipped tone. "You know you no longer have an office here."
"I know," she said nicely. "I'm actually here to see my lawyer, Lucy Evans. She's the one who's sorting all this out for me."
Darryl picked up the phone and punched a few buttons to let Lucy's office know she had arrived. Then he gave Sydney another scowl.
"Ms. Evans will be down shortly."
"Thanks," she said politely.
The potted plant in the corner looked like an inviting companion. She seemed to find corners pretty comfortable lately, particularly the one she found herself in last night next to Andy. She couldn't decide if she remembered his warm body against her because she liked him or because she was buzzed. Probably a little of both. Frankly, she needed a little of both last night. After what had happened, it was nice to have a guy to talk to her without judging her, and it was nice to drink. That was especially helpful.
"Sydney?" She looked up to see Lucy staring back at her. "C'mon."
Lucy started walking faster than usual through the lobby, and Sydney quickly figured out it was because people were recognizing her. Once again, Lucy proved to be a good friend. Walking that fast her heels to quickly jump in an elevator couldn't be comfortable and she was doing it for Sydney.
"You don't look so hot," Lucy said as the doors closed.
"Thanks?"
"I mean, you look like you're hungover or something."
Sydney smiled bitterly. "A little hungover. More tired than anything."
Lucy gave her a surprised look. "What exactly did you do last night?"
"Drinking with Ryan and his friends," she explained. "Amelia forced us to leave the building."
"And you didn't invite me?"
Sydney scoffed. "It was Ryan and his hockey friends."
The doors to the elevator opened on to the quiet floor that was Lucy's office. Sydney pushed off the wall of the elevator and headed towards the door to the legal office, thankful that there was no one on the floor. At least it meant that the two of them could walk slower in their shoes. But just as Sydney adjusted to the quiet, Lucy started prodding her for information again.
"So was Andy there?"
"Where?"
Lucy rolled her eyes. "The bar. Last night."
Sydney turned and stared at her friend. "Yes, and it's not like that matters anyway."
"Why? He's cute."
"Doesn't matter how cute he is. Men can't be trusted."
She pushed opened the door to the office a little more forcefully than she probably needed to, but she didn't care. The law offices on the third floor looked eerily similar to her old space on the ninth floor: beige walls, a reception area, a hallway with a few office doors along it. They also had two conference rooms with glass walls. She walked past the first one and almost stopped in her tracks. John was there with Lucy's boss looking over piles of papers stacked on the table in front of them.
"Keep moving," Lucy muttered, taking her friend's elbow and gently steering her to the next room.
