That had slipped his mind. The agency was to receive an award. It embarrassed him, but he would have to attend. He nodded, saluted, and shot past her toward the meeting room. The door stood open and he could see Gary and five other personnel had assembled there.
A loud whistle emanated from behind him. He turned around. Stella was standing there, hands on hips.
"Haven't you forgotten something?" She put her hand out.
Of course he had. He'd made a policy that no phones should be taken into company meetings, but he often overlooked the ruling himself. He cursed silently. Luckily Stella kept him his toes. "Whatever would I do without you?"
She pursed her lips, giving him a look that said 'don't bother trying to flatter me because it won't wash.' From his pockets he pulled out two phones, his personal and his work contacts, and dropped them on her desk, next to the others she already had lined up there, before he saluted her again, and left.
* * * *
Amy straightened the skirt of her fitted peppermint dress and sat down in her office chair. She'd had a busy morning. Everything was all set for her and Sebastian to head north, the next day. The budget would easily cover the fuel and two nights stay at Tall Gables. They would be traveling in Sebastian's car this time, he'd insisted, so at least she didn't have to worry about booking a pool car and having some old banger let them down in the middle of nowhere.
She'd already drafted the body of her feature and with a bit of luck she could round it up with the information she gleaned at Tall Gables, then e-mail it back to headquarters for the deadline at ten o'clock on Thursday morning. The paper went to press before noon, without fail, so that it was on the streets for the evening commuters. All that remained was for her to pop home and pack a bag for the following day, before meeting up with Sebastian for dinner that evening.
She glanced at the clock. She had heaps of time. In fact, she realized she could get everything done then go over to his place, which would save time. And that meant she'd get to see him even sooner than planned. She grabbed her phone, scrolled down to his name in the directory and hit the call button.
As the phone began to ring out, she found herself wondering vaguely what he might be doing. She hoped she wasn't interrupting anything. He'd mentioned he had to check in at his workplace. Probably had to let the security firm know how things were going with his current placement.
"Good afternoon, City Investigation and Security Services, this is Stella speaking. How may I help you?"
"Oh, hello," Amy stuttered, confused. Stella? "I think I must have the wrong number, I'm looking for Sebastian, Sebastian Armitage."
"Yes, you've come through on his private phone. He's leading a staff meeting at the moment so he left it with me. I'm his secretary. Perhaps I can take a message for you?"
Amy couldn't quite hear, or at least that's what it felt like. She certainly couldn't make sense of what was being said. It was as if there was a gap in her brain somewhere, and the messages she was receiving weren't quite reaching their destination. "I'm sorry, I couldn't quite hear you. What did you say when you answered the phone?"
"This is The City Investigation and Security Service, you have come through to company headquarters."
Investigation? That didn't sound like the security firm she was expecting. Amy swallowed, hard. "Private investigation?"
"Yes, that is correct."
Her heart started to thud loudly against the wall of her chest. "And you said… he's leading a staff meeting?" That made it doubly bad. He was quite obviously a senior member of personnel in a private investigation company. Sebastian wasn't a bodyguard at all.
"Yes, he is." The secretary at the other end of the phone started to sound a bit unsure about the way the conversation was going. Not as unsure as Amy was feeling, however. Her mind was racing with questions. Had her father contracted a private investigator to guide her, without her knowledge or her consent? And had Sebastian sweet-talked his way into her bed, to distract her from the fact everybody thought she was incapable of doing an investigation for herself? Her blood had started to surge, anger building inside her. She recalled the meeting in her father's office, and the fact they'd discussed it all the previous day. And now, as she thought back on it, hadn't there been a conspiratorial friendliness between the two men?
The secretary's voice broke into the silence. "Can I take that message for you? Mr. Armitage will be out of the meeting in about an hour, if that's any help."
Oh yes, she wanted to leave a message for him all right. Nobody duped Amy Norton and got away with it. "Yes, thank you."
Amy was already on her feet, but it was in her father's direction she intended to go. "Could you please tell Mr. Armitage that Amy Norton called, and that..." What? She took a deep breath, battling the conflicting emotions that rose inside. "Tell him I will be ensuring Mr. Norton ends his investigation contract, forthwith."
"Okay."
"You'll pass it on?"
"Yes, of course, but can I take a number where Mr. Armitage can get back to you?"
"Thank you, but that won't be necessary." As she put her phone down she flicked it off, in case he rang back. She would deal with him later. Her other hand was lifting the receiver on the desk. She punched in her Father's extension number.
"Richard Norton's—"
"Hi Alison, this is Amy, is my father there? I need to speak with him, urgently."
"Hello Amy, no, he's out today."
"Out where?"