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Allegra.
The woman Archer dated before me—the reason he summoned me to that fake date. And now she’s here. Magnificent in her cherry red dress, an expensive designer bag and shoes. Tall and slim, platinum blonde. Damn it. She's flawless.
"No, you may not," she says, walking past me. "I'll be quick," she adds and winks at me like I gave her the go-ahead.
I stand and follow Allegra into Archer’s office, awkward as hell. He’s finishing a call as she sweeps in, and he whispers something into the phone before putting it away.
He glances at Allegra, then at me, confused. "Allegra?"
"Oh, hey, I wanted to see you," she says, cool as a cucumber, like she didn't force her way in here.
"I told her you were busy," I say behind her.
Jealousy trickles down my spine, each drop amplifying my insecurities. Here I am, a few feet from this crazy, beautiful woman who told him off only a few weeks ago. If she hadn't, would he still be dating her? They went out for three weeks, which, for him, is the equivalent of six months for most people.
"And I told your assistant I'd be quick," she says, winking at me again. Her condescension drips from her like water from a rain-soaked leaf.
"Hazel, can we have a moment?" Archer asks, and his face doesn't give anything away.
I wish I could see a trace of annoyance in his expression, but he's neutral, which means he wants to handle this alone. I nod and leave, closing the door behind me.
Fuck.
I return to my desk, swiveling the chair from one side to the other, fully aware that I won't be able to focus on anything. Office romances lower productivity, don’t they? I look at my screen and pretend to be doing something. I could always listen behind the door, but my last shred of dignity thankfully keeps my ass glued to my rotating chair.
I message my dad to say hello and check on him, and when he says he's doing fine, I go back to my screen. I look at the quarterly reports the sales department posted and try to take notes. When I open the drawer, I see my journal and resist the instinct to write.
Ten excruciating minutes drag until she leaves his office, slamming the door and muttering under her breath, "Asshole."
The chirpy mood is over, and she doesn't spare me a glance and struts down the long hallway leading to the elevator.
I watch her disappear, unsure if I'm relieved or worried. Will I be in her position a week from today? Or two?
"Hazel," Archer calls, swinging open the double doors. He cocks his head, inviting me in. It’s a trait I thought was annoying before but now find endearing.
I take a deep breath, surge to my feet, and make a mammoth effort to show a neutral expression, trying to perfect my poker face the same way he always does. I'm probably failing miserably.
He sits on the leather couch in the corner and gestures for me to do the same.
I sit across from him, legs crossed, in a perfect posture like an evil warden from an all-girls school is keeping tabs on me. "Yes?"
"Allegra stopped by."
No kidding. "She sure did."
"I wanted to tell you I'm not talking to her. I haven't been since… hmmm, that wrong name incident."
Relief pours over me. "Okay."
"She heard from people we know that I went to Malcolm's party with a girlfriend and thought she'd ask how long I'd been with this person. She thought that maybe I was already with my girlfriend when, hmmmm, I was seeing her."
He's mentioned the word girlfriend so often that my heart rate increases one notch each time. Is he being sarcastic, or is that such a new concept for him? Is it a foreign word, and he can't quite pronounce it?
A pulse jumps in my neck. I scoot to the edge of the couch, my hands on my crossed legs. "What did you say?"
"I said I was with my girlfriend. That it happened fast, but I never cheated on her."
Air is sucked from my lungs. My insides melt, but a part of me reluctantly warns me to be careful. My common sense is the dying light at the end of a firehouse—with each passing breath, I get farther and farther from it. "Well, good. Our plan worked, right?" I ask, keeping it light, but the emotion coating my words gives me away. "Everyone believed it was for real."
