CHAPTER 21
Elena
I return to the table, two soft drinks in hand. Addler sets his cell phone down and hooks an arm around my waist.
“We’re down to the last batch of invoices,” I announce. I’m so ready. I swear my eyes are nearly crossing after scrutinizing so many tiny numbers on the screen.
“Sounds like a good reason to celebrate.” Addler grins, something that’s been happening more and more over the last few days. With him seated, we’re nearly the same height. He pulls me to him, giving me a long kiss.
While I’d hoped to segue into a conversation about Bill’s expenses, this isn’t a bad end. I cup his cheek while his hand slides down to cover my ass. Such a man.
A knock at the French doors intrudes into the moment and I nearly jump back at the unexpected sound. Ezequiel pushes the door open, and Sage trails in behind him. Oh Lord. It wasn’t bad enough that he caught us earlier. Now Sage knows. Her grin is brimming over.
Ezequiel clears his throat. “You said it was okay to come by.”
“You’re good,” he replies.
I glance back at Addler, trying to keep my annoyance from being more than a glare. He knew they were coming and still decided to put his hand on my ass, knowing Sage would see it happen.
“Hello again, Mr. de Marco.” She nods in his direction. “I just needed to check on Elena and make sure she’s okay.”
I try my best to hold on to what little dignity I have left. “I’m fine,” I reply in a tight voice.
“It’s just that your car has been parked at the office for a couple of days,” she points out, adding fuel to the fire burning across my cheeks. “The guys reviewed the logs to see if you’d left and didn’t find anything.”
“I’m sorry, Sage. I hadn’t…” I’m not even sure how to explain. Hadn’t expected to end up spending the weekend? Hadn’t expected to have sex? Hadn’t expected to have Addler de Marco want me… And, of course, Addler is no help. “Hadn’t expected…to be here this long.”
“That’s fine.” She smiles again, as if there’s nothing out of the ordinary with this. Well, from her point of view, there isn’t. “It’s just that I called Bill.” She hitches a shoulder. “He said for me to call Ezequiel, and he was going to call you. He got concerned when you didn’t answer…”
Oh Lord. Now Bill is involved, too. This is quickly becoming a mess. “I left my cell at home.”
“Well as you can see, Sage, Elena’s safe,” Addler points out. For whatever reason, he’s not thrilled with having to deal with her.
Sage’s cell phone rings. “And there he is.” She answers the phone. “Hey, Bill. I found her. She’s safe…” She looks over at me. “Sure, one sec.” She hands me her phone. “He wants to talk to you.”
Why do I suddenly feel like a teenager caught out after curfew. “Hi, Bill.”
“Thank God you’re okay.” The relief in his voice is unmistakable, ratcheting up my guilt over being here. “Sage was worried that you’d been carried off by an animal or someone lurking around.”
“Well, kind of.” I glance over at Addler.
Bill chuckles. “There was no sign of a scuffle and, if it was an illegal alien, he would’ve taken your car, too.” His skills as a sheriff haven’t gone rusty since he retired. “But she says it’s been sitting there for a couple of days…”
My cheeks are burning even though he’s on the phone. I glance over at Addler once more and clear my throat. “I, um…” There’s nothing more to do than to come clean on what happened. Well, a clean version of why I came here originally. “We-we’re working on clearing up the invoices, like you said—”
“I know, girl,” he says, cutting me off. “I talked to Addler on Friday when you ran late. He told me y’all were getting together.”
“You did?”
“I told him we were behind because of all the changes happening when I was running around with Isabela. He agreed you were the best one to help get the coding straightened out so we could close the books right.”
“Really…” My gaze shifts over to Addler. He knew there was a problem with the coding? So, why the deception? What could he possibly gain from having me here all weekend?
“Yup, we had a good long talk. I told him about the expense report being late. And how you’d gotten after me about the receipts and getting the report submitted on time.”
My stomach knots up. I clear my throat, preparing to tell him what I did. “I—”
“So you don’t have to worry. I’ve got everything scanned in,” he continues. “And most of it is logged into the report. I just didn’t get to finish, with having to run home.”