“No staff exit?”
“There is, but it’s just the garbage bins out there.”
I scowled. “Fine. Thank you.” I was going to have to go out the front, which meant I was going to have to be stealthy.
“Telly?”
She raised a brow. “Let me guess, interference?”
I nodded. “I don’t want to deal with him. I don’t want to talk to him. I just want him to leave me alone.”
“You really need to talk to Dexter about this. Or maybe the police or something, because he always seems to be where you are.”
“I’ve tried. Dex is sure I’m overreacting. Says he’s harmless.” Also creepy. Don’t forget creepy. But I was pretty sure I couldn’t get him arrested for being creepy. “Come on.”
“Of course. Anything for my bestie.”
I grabbed my purse. There wasn’t a direct path to the front, but there were some columns that I could possibly duck between if Telly pulled him to the far left of the restaurant and chatted. Then, I could be free and pretend I hadn’t even seen him.
I waited until Telly was out of her seat and approaching the bar. The sashay in her hips was designed to draw the attention of any man.
The problem was I could practically feel Fenton staring at me. And thanks to the mirrored candle on the table, I could see the image of him at the bar looking in my direction. Well, maybe he wasn’t watching me. Maybe he was trying to look for someone he knew?
Oh God, stop making excuses for him. He is creeptastic.
I could hear Telly’s voice above the din of the restaurant. “Oh my God, Mr. Mills, is that you?”
I waited until she was facing my way and his back was to me, then I bolted out of my seat. I hightailed it past several tables, walking with a purpose, and then I ducked between the pillars. There was one large plant on the way to the front. If I could just pause there, I’d be home free.
But as I started walking, I heard a familiar voice. “What do you think you’re doing?”
I whipped around. It was none other than Ben Covington.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
His brows rose. “You are the one hiding between two pillars, and you want to know what I’m doing here?”
“I’m not hiding. I’m strategically placed as I exit the premises.”
He laughed. “You know, I pay you enough now that you can afford lunch here. You don’t need to run out on the bill.”
My jaw unhinged. “I would never. And that is so arrogant and classist of you to even think that.”
He frowned. “Relax, I was just making a joke. It was just kind of funny.”
“Well then, you missed the mark.”
“All right. Sorry. But what are you doing, anyway? Why do you look like you’re hiding?”
“I’m not hiding.”
I heard Telly still talking, which meant Fenton was still looking for me. “Sorry, I’ve got to go. See you at the office.” And then I darted. Brisk walk, almost there. Almost there. Almost there. At the plant, I realized I hadn’t shaken the Viking. “Okay, you’re definitely hiding. Who don’t you want to see?”
God, he was annoying. “Mind your own business.”
And then it happened.
Fenton. “Ah, Olivia, I thought that was you.”
I went stiff. “Mr. Mills. What are you doing here?”
“You know, I was in the mood for Italian today.”
I frowned. “All the way across town from the office? Surely, there must be Italian places nearby on the South Bank.”
“Yes, but Emily and I, we eat here often. Remember, we used to live around here.”
“Oh, did you?” I knew what bullshit smelled like and this was a grade A variety.
I’d make it a point to never eat here again. Ben’s gaze ping-ponged between me and Fenton, and then Telly, and back again to me. There was no way I was going to get around this. “Mr. Covington, this is Fenton Mills, my boyfriend Dexter’s boss. And this is my best friend, Telly.”
He shook hands with her, but his eyes stayed on me and I couldn’t help but shift under the scrutiny. He completely ignored Mills. “Yes well, if you will excuse us, Olivia and I have a meeting back at the office. Telly, I’m sure she’d like to give you a tour, but we need to get back to prep for Peterman.”
I turned and stared at him. Peterman?
He was giving me an out. “Oh yes, the Peterman meeting. I still have some files I want to go over with you. But Telly, I think I have time for a quick tour if you’re up to it.”
The muscle in Fenton’s jaw ticked. “I was hoping to buy you a drink or lunch. I didn’t know you were busy.”
Ben smiled. “Yeah, Olivia here is one of our brightest new talents. I plan to keep her busy for a while.” Then he escorted us out of the restaurant.
The sun tried to peek out from behind the cloud cover as tourists packed the streets of Westchester Square.
At the tube closer to the office, Telly grinned up at him. “Oh, I can see why she took the job with you.”
My face flamed. I was going to kill her. Best friend or not, this calls for a debt. She winked and then went off to the tube station.
I turned and he grinned at me. “I like her.”
“Don’t get used to her. She’s going to die later.”
“Don’t murder a mate on my account. She seems to be looking out for you.”
“She’s the best.”
“Then why aren’t you asking her for those favors you mentioned?”
I sighed. “Because she would try to fix things for me. I need someone neutral. Since we’re on the topic. I need your help for a thing if you’re up for it.”
He lifted a brow. “Great, let’s get it over with then. Where are we going?”
I took a deep breath, sighed, and released it slowly. “On a Jack the Ripper tour.”
He blinked. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I am.”
“What’s to keep me from going back on my word?”
“Well, my research on you tells me you tend to keep your word. You don’t make any bargains that you don’t intend to keep. That’s your reputation anyway.”
He nodded slowly. “So, you finally decided to look up who the hell you were working for.”
“Well, if I was going to make a devil’s bargain, I wanted to know who I was getting in bed with.”
He shook his head. “You’re stubborn. I like that.”
“Can you come, or can’t you?”
His gaze narrowed as it swept over me. “I wonder what it is about you. You’re a complete mystery, yet somehow you have me by the blue balls.”
I blinked. “I do not have you by the balls. Besides, they wouldn’t be blue. I haven’t done anything to you yet.”
“That, my dear, is debatable. What time?”
“Eight. We’ll meet at Traitor’s Gate.”
“Why can’t we just go together after work?”
“Well, I need to go home and change.”
There it was again, that slow perusal of my body that made my skin feel tight and too hot. As if he’d just put his nose all over every inch of my skin like he had in the closet. His nostrils flared as he if he was inhaling deep.