She made her way along the sidewalk, surging with the crowd toward the traffic light at the corner. When it turned green, she paced across the street, avoiding numerous black umbrellas in her path and hopping over the gurgle of water flowing against the opposite curb.
On the other side, she negotiated her way to the edge of the sidewalk, raking her wet hair back from her forehead and tucking it behind her ears. She swiped a few raindrops from her nose then extracted her cell phone, pressing the speed dial as she hustled toward the bus stop shelter.
“Kaitlin?” came Lindsay’s breathless voice.
“What are you doing?”
“Riding the bike.”
Kaitlin pictured Lindsay on the stationary bike crammed into the small living space of her loft. “I’m going to be late for dinner.”
“What’s going on?” Lindsay huffed.
As she wove her way through the wet crowd, Kaitlin lowered her voice to mock doom. “I’m about to get into a big black car with Zach Harper.”
“Better send me the license plate number.”
Kaitlin cracked a grin, comforted by Lindsay’s familiar sense of humor. The two women had known each other so long, they were almost always on the same wavelength. “I’ll text it to you.”
A deep, classic-rock bass resonated in the background. A fixture whenever Lindsay exercised. “Why are you getting in his car?”
“He wants me to sign something.”
“Better let me read it first.”
“I will if it looks complicated,” Kaitlin promised. “He says it’s to reconfirm him as president and CEO.” Not that she trusted everything Zach said. In fact, thus far, she trusted exactly nothing of what Zach said.
“It could be a trick,” Lindsay warned.
Kaitlin grinned into the phone. “There is yet another reason I love you.”
“I’ve got your back. Seriously, Katie, if you see the words irreconcilable or absolute I want you to run the other way.”
“Will do.” Kaitlin caught sight of the black car. “Oops. There he is. Gotta go.”
“Call me when you’re done. I want details. And dinner.” There was a gasp in Lindsay’s voice. “I definitely still want dinner.”
“I’ll call,” Kaitlin agreed, folding her phone and tucking it into the pocket of her purse as Zach swung open the back door of his car and hopped out onto the sidewalk next to her.
He flipped up the collar of his gray overcoat and gestured her inside. She gathered her own wet coat around her and ducked to climb in.
“Lunatic,” he muttered under his breath.
“Lucky for you we’re not having children,” she said over her shoulder as she settled into the seat.
“Lucky for me we’re not buying plants.” He firmly shut the door behind her before walking around the vehicle to get in behind the driver.
She shook the rainwater from her fingertips, smoothing her soaked jacket and frowning at her soggy bag. “Green and Stafford in Yorkville,” she said to the driver, getting an unwelcome glimpse of herself in the side mirror.
“The penthouse, Henry,” Zach corrected.
“You’re not dropping me off?” She wasn’t sure why his bad manners surprised her. Zach was all about his own convenience. His minions obviously didn’t factor in on his radar.
“Henry will take you home later,” he said.
Later? She raised her brow in a question.
“The papers are at my penthouse.”
Of course they were. Having the papers available in the car would be far too simple. Resigned, she plunked her bag into her lap and gave up on trying to repair her look. She was a mess, and that was that.
“Don’t you worry about inconveniencing me,” she drawled. “It’s not like I have a life.”
Henry pulled into the snarl of traffic heading for Liberty and Wildon, while Zach sent her a speculative, sidelong glance. “Stroke of a pen gets you out of this any old time you want.”
She determinedly shook her head. Much as she’d love to sever both their marital and business ties, if she let him off the hook, the man would fire her in the blink of an eye.
He leaned back in the leather seat, angling his body so that he faced her. “What if I promised you could keep your job?”
Rain rattled harder on the car’s sunroof, while the wipers slapped their way across the windshield, blurring the view of the street.
Kaitlin made a half turn in the seat, meeting Zach’s dark eyes. “That would require me trusting you.”
“You can trust me,” he assured her.
She coughed out a laugh. “You ruined my life.”
He frowned. “I made you a very wealthy woman.”