Page 21 of Love From the Ashes

I took my phone back from Della and stashed it in my purse. When I looked up, I noticed her staring at something behind me with a strange expression distorting her face.

“Sofie, why is Reid Morgan walking toward us? He doesn’t normally give Adam or me the time of day.”

I froze in my seat, unsure what to say.

“Good afternoon,” Reid said, glancing at the three of us. Then his eyes locked on mine. “You look much better than you did Saturday morning.”

I looked across the table at Della and Adam, finding them wide-eyed and staring at me. “Umm, I should explain. I ran into Reid, I mean Mr. Morgan, in the elevator when I left Adam’s apartment. He was kind enough to drive me home.”

Della raised a brow at me, the corner of her mouth turning up into a partial smile. Adam sat there with his mouth gaping open.

“I thought it best to make sure Sofie made it home safely. I understand she was feeling ill after consuming too much saké. Adam, you’ll have to give me the name of the brand you were drinking when you get a chance. It must have been pretty smooth since Sofie had no idea how much she’d had to drink.” Reid grinned at me with a glint in his eyes, clearly enjoying his little tease fest.

I was about to make a snarky reply when I heard Krista’s voice behind me.

“There you are. I was hoping to talk to you. How about joining me for lunch?”

I turned, spotting Krista standing next to me, smiling at Reid, a tray containing her lunch from the café in her hands.

“You’ll have to catch me later this afternoon. I’ve got to run off to a meeting in a couple of minutes. If you want to schedule a time to talk, I’m free between three and four o’clock,” Reid said.

“It’s all right. I can catch you later. What I wanted to discuss wasn’t urgent.” Krista’s voice was tight, and she shot me a scathing look when I glanced at her. She turned to walk away, her lunch tray tipping in her hands.

“Shit!” I shrieked, jumping up from my chair, the front of my blouse soaked from Krista’s large cup of water.

“Oh my. I can’t believe I did that. How clumsy of me,” Krista said in an exaggerated tone.

I glared at her, catching the remnants of her smirk before she hid it behind a veil of fake concern. I turned to look at Reid and realized he was staring at my chest. Looking down, I understood why. My thin lacy bra and white cotton blouse were sticking to my skin, my nipples protruding from the fabric. I met Reid’s gaze when he looked up, and he blushed, confirming where he was looking.

Reid slipped off his suit jacket and stepped in front of me. “Here, take my jacket. You can wear it until you can get yourself cleaned up.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your concern.” My voice was tight as I peeked at Krista while I slipped my arms into Reid’s jacket. I wanted to boldly accuse her of dumping her water on me on purpose but held my tongue.

Krista made a low growling sound and stormed away, apparently irritated that her little maneuver had backfired.

“I better get to my meeting. I’ll get my jacket from you later.” Reid took off across the courtyard and disappeared around the corner.

“Oh my God! He likes you,” Della said, her voice shrill.

“He does not. You’re crazy,” I shot back.

“I agree with Della,” Adam said. He appeared amused as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Reid Morgan came over to our table, which he’s never done before, to make his presence known to you. And I’d swear he marked you as his when he handed you his jacket.”

“You’re crazy. Reid Morgan is a player. Della said so herself, so there’s no way he cares about me.” Although I repeated what Della had said about Reid, I didn’t believe it. He didn’t act like a man whose goal was to get into a woman’s pants. He’d never been inappropriate with me, even when he’d been in my apartment. And his reaction when I’d caught him staring at my wet blouse was in line with embarrassment rather than ogling. I suspected his reputation as a player was an exaggeration or an outright lie. The problem was that meant Della might be correct, and Reid Morgan could be interested in me. If he was, it would be short-lived once he learned about my past. My world and his were complete opposites. And if he was like most people, he wouldn’t be able to stomach mine.

“You’re wrong, and you know it,” Della laughed. “You’ve broken through his barrier. Reid Morgan likes you.”

I hoped not.

*

I glanced atmy watch for the third time. It was a quarter to four, and Reid hadn’t come by to pick up his suit jacket. I didn’t want to leave it at my desk or take it home, so I decided to take it to his office on the second floor. Since I’d be on the same floor as human resources, I decided to stop there first and give our department liaison my cell phone number in case they needed to reach me during off hours.

“Hello, can I help you?” Wanda said, perched at the reception window in human resources. She was the same woman who had helped me the day I’d come for my interview, and I only knew her name because of her employee badge.

“Hi. I’m Sofie Fletcher. I work in marketing and need to update my contact information.”

“Your liaison will need to help you. Give me a minute, and I’ll see if Lydia is available.” Wanda left her desk and disappeared around the corner. She returned a few minutes later. “Lydia is in a meeting, but Alice will be able to help you. She’ll be right up. You can take a seat if you like while you wait.”

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