Sweet Spot by Stella Rhys
32
LUKAS
Thank Godfor that hot night at the hotel, when Lia left her phone with Sara. Had it not happened, I’d have no idea where to find that workaholic friend of hers.
Riding the elevator up to the fifteenth floor of the Tate Building, I knew well I wouldn’t get anything out of Sara. Any question I asked her, I was well aware she’d dodge it or refuse to answer. It was precisely why I didn’t tell her that the sole intention of my visit was to figure out the full name of Lia’s investor. My plan was to have her divulge that information accidentally, and to leave without her even realizing what she’d done.
I planned on being in and out. Of course, I’d never actually been to the office on a weekday so I wasn’t prepared for the sheer amount of women on the floor, all of them turning to blatantly stare at me as I stepped off the elevator. Hilariously enough, Sara’s head, plugged in with ear buds, was the only one that didn’t turn.
“Hi, is it alright if I ask Sara a question really quickly?” I asked the girl at reception. She quickly fluffed her hair before answering my question.
“Umm, is she expecting you?”
“Not at all,” I smiled.
“Oh,” she smiled back, covering her mouth. “Um…”
“It’ll just be a second.”
“I know she’s really busy but I’ll make the exception for you,” the girl giggled, pointing me toward Sara’s desk.
“Thanks.” I gave her a wink that she blushed at before I went off toward Sara’s desk. But there was still a fair amount of red tape to get through before I got to her, and that red tape’s name was Rachel.
“Hold up.”
I turned to see her getting up from her desk.
“My neighbor!” she hissed to her surrounding coworkers before turning to me with her mouth wide open. “Lukas Hendricks, what is your fine ass doing here?” She walked out of her cubicle with her arms outstretched, shoving her tits against me as she gave me a hug. “Are you here to see me? Tell me you’re here to see me.”
“I’m here to see Sara.”
“Well, if you’re sleeping with her now I hope I’m next in line,” she giggled.
“I’m not sleeping with anyone but my girlfriend, Lia, but thank you for the offer,” I said, peeling her gently off me. She was stunned long enough for me to escape, but I heard her mutter behind me as I headed off.
“So that’s really a thing?”
“Oh, it’s really a thing,” I tossed over my shoulder before reaching Sara’s cubicle and tapping her shoulder. Like the last time I saw her, her dark mass of hair was piled at the top of her head and she was typing faster than I knew humans could. She held up a finger, likely assuming I was a colleague, before turning around. Of course when she finally did, her eyes bugged out.
“Whoa. Hi,” she said curtly, yanking out her left ear bud.
I grinned. “Hi. Can we talk?”
Her dark eyes scanned the room behind me. She wrinkled her nose at what I assumed was everyone staring at her. She craned her neck to look over the wall of her cubicle, wrinkling her nose at the occupied conference room.
“Can’t it wait till everyone leaves?”
“No.”
Her eyes darted around once more. “You do realize there are thirty women staring at you right now, right? As you’re about to grovel for information about Lia?”
“I’m aware.”
Sara sighed and pulled her headphones fully out. “Okay, then please make it quick because I have a ton of work to do and you should know already that I’m not going to give you any useful information.”
“No?”
“No. That’s how best friends roll. They don’t give up information that they know is private, especially when it involves the person they’re dating.”
“Yeah?” I thought about the private information Julian had taken upon himself to offer to Lia. “I have a friend you could probably teach that lesson to.”
“He can’t afford me. What other questions do you have?”
“You know what I’m going to ask. Where is she?”
“Working. She’s making tons and tons of beautiful truffles as we speak.”
“Do you know which kitchen she rented?”
Sara took a sip of her tea. “Yes.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Are you going to tell me?”
“No.”
“Does Elise Allen know?”
Sara squinted and made a face at me. “Who?”
“The investor.”
Sara snorted. “Elaine Gardner,” Sara corrected, compelling me to grin. “And no, I doubt she knows because Lia changed her mind last minute about where to rent. So… sorry.” Her hands still cupped around her tea, she shrugged. “Any more questions? Or are we done here?”
“We’re done,” I smirked. “Thanks, Sara. You helped a lot,” I added as she narrowed suspicious eyes at me, joining the rest of her colleagues in staring me down as I turned around and got the hell out of that place.
