27 | Old Friends
THEO?
The meeting was winding down.
David walked through quarterly projections, Vanessa nodded at the right moments, and I tried to look engaged while Henderson’s dog—a golden retriever, older, graying around the muzzle—lay at his feet with eyes closed and breathing steady.
The picture of patience.
Then the dog’s head lifted, sharp and immediate, and before any of us could react he was up and moving, a blur of golden fur heading for the terrace doors.
“Bailey—” Henderson stood quickly. “I’m sorry, she never does this—”
The dog was already gone.
David looked at Marina, Marina looked at me, and we all followed Henderson outside onto the sun-warmed terrace.
And there she was.
Tessa.
Kneeling on the stone tiles with both hands buried in Bailey’s fur, scratching behind his ears while the dog pressed against her like they’d known each other forever.
She was smiling, soft and natural, completely unaware we were watching while she murmured something I couldn’t hear and the dog’s tail thumped against the ground in steady contentment.
Henderson stopped in the doorway and stared.
Marina made a small sound—something between amusement and understanding.
“Tom.” Tessa’s voice carried across the terrace, easy and familiar as she looked up. “What are you doing here?”
She stood, brushing dog hair off her hands, and that’s when she noticed the rest of us. Her smile shifted, warmer now, and she looked at me for just a second before turning back to Henderson.
“Work thing.” He gestured vaguely toward David. “Meeting. What are you doing here?”
“Plus one.”
Henderson’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Whose plus one?”
She glanced at me again, held my gaze this time.
“Theo’s.”
Something passed across Henderson’s face—surprise, maybe, or recalculation—but he recovered quickly with a smile and crossed the terrace to where she stood, stopping closer than necessary as he lowered his voice just enough that I had to strain to hear.
“Is he the douchebag boyfriend?”
She laughed, quiet and almost private. “No. That one’s gone.” Her hand moved to rest briefly on Henderson’s arm. “This one is fine.”
Vanessa caught my eye and raised an eyebrow, but I looked away before she could read whatever was showing on my face.
“You know,” Henderson said, loud enough now for everyone to hear, “you could have told me you broke up with Charles.”
Tessa tilted her head. “And why would I do that?”
“Professional courtesy.” He grinned. “I’ve been asking you out for a year.”
“A months at best,” she corrected.
“Feels like I’ve been wanting to for at least a year.”
She laughed again, easy and comfortable, the kind of laugh that came from repetition and knowing someone well enough to find their persistence charming instead of annoying.
David cleared his throat. “Tom, I didn’t realize you two knew each other.”
“Bailey’s a regular at Tessa’s clinic.” Henderson crouched down and ruffled the dog’s ears. “Weekly shots, which means I get to see Tess here every week.”
Henderson stood, and his hand landed on Tessa’s shoulder with a lightness that looked casual but felt deliberate. “You know,” he said, looking at David but speaking to her, “if Tessa comes to dinner tonight, I’ll sign the expansion contract right now.”
Tessa blinked. “What?”
“You heard me.” He was smiling now, full charm turned on. “Come to dinner with me tonight, and I’ll sign the contract right now.”
She looked at me and I tried to make my face look neutral while David said, “That’s not how business works,” though he was smiling too.
“Sure it is.” Henderson shrugged. “Incentives, motivation, basic economics.”
Tessa shook her head, laughed and pointed her finger at him. “Fine. Deal.”
“Perfect.” Henderson clapped his hands once, definitive. “Let’s go sign David, and we can all celebrate at dinner.”
He walked past me, clapped my shoulder once—friendly but territorial—and headed inside with David and Vanessa following, murmuring something about logistics.
I stayed where I was watching Tessa kneel back down to say goodbye to Bailey.
Her fingers moved through the dog’s fur with the kind of ease that came from practice and caring, and Bailey’s eyes half-closed in blissful contentment.
I knew the feeling.
“She’s sweet,” she said, standing. “Gets anxious during thunderstorms.”
“You see him every week?”
“Yeah, for about a year now.”
“And Henderson?”
She looked at me. “What about him?”
“He asked you out?”
“A few times.” She stepped closer. “I wasn’t ready.”
“Because of Charles.”
“Yeah.”
She reached for my hand and I let her take it, felt her thumb trace small circles against my palm before she asked, “You okay?”
“Fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
I pulled my hand back, gently. “I’m good. Promise.”
TESSA
We walked back inside together, and I spotted the contract immediately on the conference table with Henderson’s signature bold and confident at the bottom.
I stopped. “He actually did it?”
David looked up from his phone, still slightly stunned. “He did. You just saved us months of negotiation, Tessa.”
I felt warmth spread through my chest—not from the business win, but from knowing I’d helped Theo with something that mattered. “I’m glad.”
“I didn’t know you had that kind of influence over our clients,” Vanessa said from where she stood by the window, her voice carrying that particular lightness people used when they wanted to sound casual about something pointed.
“You definitely gravitate toward money. I wouldn’t have assumed that after looking at you.”
The warmth in my chest cooled slightly.
Marina shot Vanessa a look. “Vanessa—”
“What? I’m just saying, successful men with big wallets seem to respond well to—”
“Vanessa.” David’s voice had an edge now.
Henderson appeared in the doorway before the awkward silence could stretch too long, crossing the room toward me with that easy confidence that probably worked on most people.
“I hope you know you’re committed now,” he said, stopping close enough that I had to tilt my head up slightly.
“I actually signed that thing, which means you have to come to dinner with me.”
I laughed, taking a small step back. “I thought you were joking.”
“Never joke about contracts or beautiful women.” He smiled, following my retreat with a half-step forward. “Two things I take very seriously.”
“Well, I was already invited, so—”
“Even better.” His hand touched my elbow, warm and lingering just a beat too long. “Then I get to sit next to you and pretend it’s a date. Unless—” He glanced toward where Theo stood. “Unless your plus one has a problem with that?”
“Tom—”
“I’m kidding.” He said, but his hand was still on my arm, his thumb moving in what might have been an absent-minded circle against my sleeve. “Mostly.”
I pulled my arm back gently, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “You’re terrible.”
“I’ve been called worse.” He leaned against the table, angling his body toward mine in a way that felt deliberately casual. “You know, I’ve been trying to get you to have that coffee with me. Should have thought of the business angle sooner.”
“That’s not why I said yes.”
“No?” His eyes held mine, warm and direct. “Then why did you?”
“Because—” I paused, suddenly aware that Theo had been standing beside me but wasn’t anymore. I glanced over my shoulder and saw him across the room with David, his back to us, shoulders tense in a way I recognized even from a distance.
“Because?” Henderson prompted, his voice dropping lower, more intimate.
“Because it seemed important to Theo,” I said, looking back at him. “The contract, I mean. And I wanted to help.”
Something flickered across Henderson’s face—disappointment, maybe, or acknowledgment. “Of course.” He straightened slightly, but didn’t move away. “Still. I’m glad you’ll be there. Bailey will be devastated if you’re not. She talks about you constantly.”
I smiled despite myself. “Bailey doesn’t talk.”
“You’d be surprised. Very articulate dog.” He was watching my face, reading something there I wasn’t sure I wanted him to see. “She’s got good taste. Takes after her owner that way.”
“Tom—”
“I know, I know. You’re with Theo.” He said it easily, without rancor, but something in his expression suggested he wasn’t quite ready to accept that as final. “Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy your company at dinner. Purely professional, of course.”
“Of course,” I echoed, not quite believing him.
“Although—” He leaned in slightly, voice dropping to something meant just for me. “If that changes, if you decide you want something... different... I’m a patient man. I’ve already waited a year. What’s a little longer?”
My face warmed. “That’s not—I’m not going to—”
“I know.” But he didn’t look like he knew. He looked like a man placing a bet he thought he might win. “Just wanted to make sure you knew the option was there. In case.”
He stepped back then, his hand brushing my shoulder as he moved past me toward David, already shifting into business mode like the last two minutes hadn’t happened.
I stood there for a moment, suddenly aware of how loud my heartbeat sounded in my ears, and when I looked across the room again Theo was watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite read before he turned away.
James appeared at my elbow. “You okay?”
“Fine,” I said automatically. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He didn’t answer, just gave me knowing look again, and I had the uncomfortable feeling that everyone in this room could see something I was missing.
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