Page 89 of Due Dilligence (Takeover)
Eli snorted and shoved a sock into his suitcase.
Fazil rolled his eyes. “I don’t even want to know.”
“I’m restraining myself.” Laughter in Eli’s words.
“Hey.” The amusement fell from Fazil’s voice. “Tell everyone at home I said hi.”
Home.That fucking word again. The longing in Fazil’s voice. Home was there... and nothere.
Eli straightened. “Of course.” He rounded the bed and clapped Fazil on the shoulder. “Take care of yourself, Fazil.” He glanced over at Todd. “Enjoy staying at the Airbnb you found.” A wicked grin there.
Was that how it was going to be explained? “Does your boss know you approve of such...” He searched for a word. “Shenanigans?”
Eli laughed. “Sam knows me far too well and is more tolerant of me than he ought to be.”
“I think he’s more tolerant of all of us than he should be, to be honest.” Fazil hoisted his laptop bag onto his shoulder. “At least on the social side. Woe if you screw up the work.”
A grunt from Eli. “Fair assessment.” Eli held out his hand to Todd. “It was nice meeting you.”
They shook hands. Eli’s grip was warm and solid. “Likewise. I hope everything works out.” He let go. “And I’m sorry for the way things went down.”
Eli turned. “As am I.” He grabbed something off the dresser and held it out between two fingers. “If you ever have need to contact me.”
A business card. Todd took it, glanced at it, and slipped it into his back pocket. “Thanks.” A kind gesture. And having Eli as a connection if things didn’t work might prove useful.
Fazil handed him the duffel before taking hold of his wheeled bag. “We should get going.”
“Enjoy.” Eli went back to his packing.
“I’ll be in touch.” Fazil headed for the door.
“Todd?” Eli’s voice was soft.
He glanced back. Eli stood, one hand on a chair by the bed. For stability, he guessed. “Yeah?”
“I was serious last night.”
“So was I.”
“Good.” His nod seemed like a dismissal, so he followed Fazil from the room.
As they stood by the elevator, Fazil lifted an eyebrow. “Dinner?”
“Figured we’d grab something near the apartment. If we’re going to Rainier tomorrow, we’ll want to get an early start.”
“So no debauched night on the town?” The elevator opened and Fazil flashed a wicked smile.
Todd laughed. “We can pencil that in for Sunday.” They entered the car. “Like to dance?”
“Actually, yeah. I look like an idiot, but I love to dance.” He pressed the button for the lobby.
“Then dancing and debauchery on Sunday. Mountain tomorrow. Relaxing tonight.”
“Sounds ideal.”
It did. For a while, they could forget that Monday came after Sunday. They’d have to figure out how to not look like they were staying together, but they could cross that bridge later.
