“I’ll go out first and try to talk him up so you can slip out.”
“Oh my God! We’re going to get caught.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I’m not worried about me, Donovan. Yes, it’s a shitty thing to do when I’m here with another man, and I’ll be mortified. But things with Blake are casual. You will lose your job, though.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
I shook my head. “Let’s just stay in here.”
Donovan frowned. “The guy’s waiting. Plus, eventually people will notice we’re missing. Dickson certainly will if he’s got half a damn brain.”
“Why don’t we just say I wasn’t feeling well and you came in to help me?”
Donovan’s eyes dropped to my mouth, and he ran his finger over my swollen bottom lip. “He’s not an idiot.”
I blew out a nervous rush of hot air and nodded. “Okay.”
“Listen at the door. When I say it’s hot out today, that means it’s clear for you to slip out.”
I nodded.
Donovan turned off the water and walked to the door. I followed close behind so I wouldn’t miss hearing anything. Just as he reached for the knob, he stopped and turned back. Cupping my cheeks, he leaned in and dropped one last gentle kiss on my lips. Ready? he mouthed.
I wasn’t, but I nodded nonetheless.
I felt physically sick as he opened the door enough to slip out. Rather than shut it behind him, he left it open a crack for me to listen.
“Took you long enough,” the man’s voice said.
“Sorry. Hey, where’s your wife, by the way? Cheryl, right?”
“Yeah. She didn’t come. She’s home with what she calls the ‘never-ending pregnancy’. God forbid I remind her she still has two months to go.”
Donovan chuckled. “She’s a designer, right?”
How the hell is he staying so calm and sounding so damn normal?
“Mostly she spends a fortune redecorating rooms she just did a year or two ago at our place, but yeah—she was an interior designer.”
“Did you see the painting down at the end of the hall?”
“No, why?”
“Would you mind taking a picture of it and asking her if she knows who the artist is?”
“Why don’t you just ask Kravitz?”
“He doesn’t remember.”
“Oh…yeah, sure.”
I listened as footsteps moved away from the door. When they stopped, Donovan said, “This is the one. I guess it’s probably for the best your wife didn’t come, seeing as it’s hot as hell out there today.”
Oh God. That was my cue. I thought I might throw up, but I cracked open the door enough to peer down the hall. The partner’s back was to me while he faced the painting and fidgeted with his phone. Donovan leaned back and glanced in my direction before motioning with his hand for me to leave. So I took a deep breath, hitched my purse up on my shoulder as I slipped out the door, and darted for the stairs as quietly as I could.
I had no idea if anyone saw me, because I didn’t stop to look back. Blood rushed through my veins as I sprinted down to the main level. It wasn’t until my feet left the very last step that I even noticed I’d been holding my breath. And apparently, I also wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, because I ran right into a solid chest.
“Whoa. Where’s the fire?” Blake smiled. But he took one look at my face and his upturned lips wilted. “Are you okay?”
My hands were shaking. The tips of my fingers felt numb, and I couldn’t even try to hide that I had no blood left in my face. A sheath of sweat also broke out across my forehead.
When I didn’t answer right away, Blake put his hands on my shoulders. “Are you sick?”
Oh, thank God. I needed someone to give me a solid lie. I nodded. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I’m not sure if I’m coming down with something or maybe I ate something that didn’t agree with me, but I just got sick.”
“I was wondering what was taking you so long in the bathroom. Do you want me to get you anything? Some soda or a water or something?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I think I’m just going to call an Uber and go home.”
“An Uber? Don’t be silly. I’ll drive you.”
“No. It’s your work party, and we haven’t been here very long. You should stay. I don’t want to ruin your afternoon.”
Blake smiled warmly. “You aren’t ruining anything. I hate these things, anyway. I put in some face time. That’s all I needed to do.”
I really, really just wanted to slink out the door, jump into an Uber, and hightail it back to the city, but I also didn’t want to raise any suspicions. So I nodded, though the thought of spending two hours driving back from the Hamptons in a car with Blake after what had just happened in the bathroom made me feel like I might break out in hives.