Ria’s eyes widen. “I’m not thinking anything. I know you and your obsessive-compulsive need to control everything and everyone in your life. I wouldn’t dare think a thing you wouldn’t allow me to.”
I look to Drake, he pulls her into his lap. His look tells me that he is not quite as convinced as Ria. “When did Alexa get married? I don’t remember her being married when we met. In fact, I remember Ernest mentioning she didn’t have much of a life outside of work.”
Ria sits up. “Why would you remember a woman being married or not? How pretty is she, Leo?”
“Don’t be jealous, she was pretty enough I remember, not so pretty I did anything about it. I was firmly in your grasp then and even more so now. Don’t pout.”
Watching Ria melt into Drake as he whispers something in her ear, I need to get the hell out of here. Seeing them made me wonder if Alexa was like that with her husband. Did he pull her into his lap, did she like it? Fuck. My phone goes off. It’s an alert of a stock hitting a trigger price. Drake and Ria do not know that though. “I have to go. This is work.” Technically, it was. “Thanks for dinner.”
“So soon? Is it that important?”
Drake pulls her against him as he stands. “Sweetheart, this is Leo. Work is always that important. Don’t guilt him.”
She sighs as she moves to give me a hug and a light kiss on the cheek. “Be careful driving home.”
“I will,” I promise as I make a beeline for the door. I’m not fast enough to avoid Drake though. He follows close until we’re outside.
His hand is firm on my shoulder, stopping me. “You want to talk, call me.”
“If I need to I will.”
He nods then lets me go.
***
Alexa
––––––––
It’s Sunday, and I’m beginning to wonder if Natalie is ever going to talk to me as I wait to see if she’ll answer my knock on her door. She opens the door. “Come in.”
I follow her in and find her dining table covered in paper and her laptop open. For the usually compulsively tidy Natalie, it’s jarring. “What’s going on?”
“I applied at several places on Thursday night since you won’t. I’ve heard back from a few of them already. I’m looking at my options and flights to England while still waiting on a few.”
“England? Are you serious?”