Deadly Interest by Julie Hyzy Read Free Book Online Page B

course.” I jammed a
file into the open drawer I’d been working in, then hit it shut
with my hip.
    William closed the door behind him. At the
sound of the click, I turned, puzzled.
    With a shrug, he smiled. “Nothing bad. Just
too many prying ears out there.”
    I tossed the files onto my desk, but rather
than head behind it, I took the seat next to him. I sighed. “I’ve
got so much to tell you.”
    His face brightened. “Good.”
    “ No,” I said, waving my
hands in front of me. “Not good.”
    “ What is it?”
    I opened my mouth, about to start with the
events of late last night, but I stopped myself. He had such a
pleasant expression on his face that I didn’t want to wipe it away
with terrible news.
    “ You know what? I’d really
rather you go first,” I said.
    He didn’t need me to prompt twice. “Okay.”
He took a breath, and I noticed again the color of his eyes. Like
the lake in the afternoon. “I know that watching Dan Starck win
that award at the Davis dinner was tough for you last night. It had
to be. But,” he touched the back of my hand for the briefest
moment, surprising me with the gesture, “you handled the ordeal so
well. Better than anyone else would have.”
    I shook my head to brush away that notion,
but he continued, “No, really. You came across with real
class.”
    That made me smile. “Well, it’s just like
you said in the parking lot. We’ll get ’em next time, right?”
    A flash of something I couldn’t describe
crossed his face, and he said, “Yeah,” with what seemed like
regret. “That’s part of what I wanted to talk with you about. Last
night . . .”
    I opened my mouth, about to say that all
things considered, the night had been a whole lot less painful than
I’d expected it to be. That once I’d gotten over Dan’s acceptance
speech, I’d been okay. I wanted to focus on that part of the
evening so that William wouldn’t have any clue that I’d been
disappointed when the night ended and we were still just as
platonic as ever.
    I stopped myself. Better to hear what he had
to say first.
    Taking his time, he set his mouth in a line
and stared at me. I know it couldn’t have been longer than fifteen
seconds, but it felt long and drawn out. Like I was about to hear
some really bad news. It dawned on me, however, that he didn’t have
any idea how to phrase whatever it was he wanted me to know.
    “ I wasn’t exactly there
for you,” he said finally.
    Confused, I shook my head. “Don’t worry
about it. I was fine.”
    William touched the back of my right hand
again. It sent a tingle up my arm. “Be that as it may, I’d like to
get a chance to talk about last night with you.”
    “ Sure.” I shrugged my
shoulders, in a “go ahead” move.
    “ No,” he said. “Outside
the office.”
    I kept my face neutral.
    “ What I’m trying to say
is,” he said, with raised eyebrows, “would you like to go out . . .
maybe tomorrow?”
    Before I had a chance to answer, he added,
“It being a Saturday, I thought we might find something we’d like
to do . . .”
    He let the sentence trail off, leaving the
rest to my imagination, perhaps.
    He and I had gone out a few times before,
but it had always been for lunch during work, or for coffee after
hours. We’d usually taken an hour or two, purportedly to discuss
the day’s business, but often we’d find ourselves sharing tidbits
of personal information. The time flew, for me at least, and if I
had to take a stand on it, I’d have to say William enjoyed our
times together, too.
    This, however, was a first.
    “ That’d be nice,” I
said.
    He smiled. Not a big one, but a gentle one.
“Great. It’ll give us a chance to talk. How about if I pick you up
around one?”
    We decided to start with lunch and progress
from there. He wanted to know what sort of things I’d like to do.
At the moment, I couldn’t think of a one. I’d hoped to have some
time alone with William, almost from the first day he started.