That should have been enough to end the conversation, but nothing got past Caleb. He caught the look of warning that passed between me and Madison and came to his own conclusion in a hurry. “Personally, I don’t think our dear Della would need more than a few days.” His eyes sparkled as he propped his feet up on Madison’s desk, paying no mind to the fact that she was grabbing a serrated letter opener out of her drawer. “So what about it, Jones? Have you ever had sex on English soil or not?”
“Well, no,” I said, as it wasn’t really a lie, since the rooftop wasn’t exactly covered with dirt. “I mean—”
Then, thanks to an incredibly fortunate bit of timing, there came a knock on the door. Just like that, I was spared from having to really explain, and Caleb was spared an ugly knife wound as he quickly lowered his feet.
Madison hurriedly put both the flask and the blade away. “Come in!” she called briskly.
David stuck his head in through a small crack in the door and swept his wrinkly eyes quickly around the office like a cat peering in a mouse hole, as if he was looking for trouble. “How’s it going in here?” he asked, seemingly zeroing in on Tom. “Any progress?”
“Lots,” Tom answered quickly. His glasses went back on, and in the blink of an eye, he w
as back to his usual professional self. “We’ve already made it through the lists for the first and second quarters. We will start on the third right after lunch.”
David’s eyes lit up as he nodded approvingly, proud of his power team of little corporate stars that he hoped would make him shine. “Excellent! Do continue the good work,” he congratulated briskly. “Tom, I do need you and Caleb to meet with Legal downstairs at some point. The union in Chelsea is acting up again. If I remember correctly, that’s your commission.”
“Right away, sir,” Tom said, and both men were on their feet immediately, slipping into their blazers while David moved out into the hall to wait.
Tom swept outside with a worried frown on his face, but Caleb glanced over his shoulder and threw us a rotten little wink. “Until next time, ladies.”
I waved cheerfully, but Madison flipped him off.
A second later, he was gone.
“Finally! That took forever.” She tossed back her hair before leaning forward with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. “Now, tell me why you want that key.”
Chapter 17
As simple as my new plan was, it was also dangerous. Nevertheless, I was excited to tell Madison about it, and I was sure she would help me and approve.
The night Robert and I first met, the club gave us wristbands. They were a routine inconvenience, but I remembered that he hated it and wanted to rip his off his arm. He did precisely that, and he shoved it deep inside the pocket of his coat, a coat very similar to those that now hung in the small closet in his office.
“It’s a longshot, but there’s a chance it’s still there.” I stared intently at Madison across the desk, trying to interpret every minute fluctuation in her facial expression. “How often do men empty their pockets anyway? Odds are that he just hung the coat in that closet and forgot the whole thing. He seems to be doing a lot of forgetting lately, right?”
Madison looked unconvinced.
“Listen,” I continued nervously, “I know it’s a shot in the dark, but what other choice—”
“No, actually, the wristband makes a lot of sense.” She leaned back with a quizzical stare, studying my face with concern. “It’s just that the other day, you were so sure it was him. I doubted it, but you were 100 percent positive. Why the change of heart? Why do you suddenly need proof?”
In the wake of that question, some strange hesitation washed over me, something I didn’t even understand myself. I knew when it started, when the precise moment the uncertainty began. I still remembered that touch from Robert, the time when he touched me for the first time again.
That’s the whole point. I need to prove it wasn’t really the first time.
“It’s nothing specific,” I said evasively, shrugging as if there was nothing more normal in the world. “It’s like you said the other day, just not...normal. Why is he acting like he doesn’t remember? Something’s going on, and I think having proof might... Well, hell, I don’t know. I just want proof, that’s all.”
Proof, peace of mind, reassurance... They’re all the same thing, right? I just need to know I’m not bat-shit crazy!
Madison stared at me for another moment like a human lie detector, but then she sighed and reached into her desk. “If you say so.” She pulled out the key ring and pulled one away from the rest. “Just be careful, okay? You got away with a morning food fight, but breaking and entering on the top floor might be a different story.”
I nodded quickly, taking the message to heart. “I’ll be careful. I swear.”
There were still fifteen minutes left in our lunch hour, and I knew for a fact that everyone else in the company, including the senior staff, had gone to a restaurant. I also knew that would give me just enough time to get in and out undetected. “Don’t worry. I’ll be in and out.” I spun the key in my hand and flashed Madison smile before I disappeared into the hall. “What’s the worst that could happen?” I threw over my shoulder.
“You don’t want to know!” she called down the corridor behind me.
* * *
Little did I know, sneaking into the office wasn’t so hard. It was getting back out that would prove to be a problem.