Chapter 14
Ziggy sat at her desk at the station, her leg rattling, her hand tapping her pen on the open file on her desk, and her mind still focused on the events of the weekend.
Not to mention the stares of everyone who walked by. She used to love the glass walls and the view over the bullpen—not anymore.
Saturday and Sunday had gone by in a blur of camera flashes, colleagues shoving microphones in Ziggy’s face, and hiding out with her family and Noah after the statement press conference.
Monica had given a heartfelt statement and apology.
The poor woman was obviously shaken. And Noah—he’d been so compassionate—and he’d meant every word in his statement.
But what Ziggy hadn’t been prepared for was how quickly the focus shifted to her and her new status as Noah’s arm candy, as one reporter called it.
Noah quickly corrected him, but it didn’t stop other outlets from using the term.
She checked the time—a little after three. A few more hours, and she and Noah would depart together, which they often did. But this time, it would be under the stares and whispers of people wanting the dirt.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Hugh Enders exit the elevator. He paused in the hallway, stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced around. Not like he was lost or taking in the space. It was more arrogant—more of an announcement that he had arrived and people should take notice.
He’d been acting like that ever since he thought he’d landed the Matias Salazar interview.
Hugh shifted on his heel and strolled, hands still deep in the pockets of his dark gray slacks. With his pale blue shirt unbuttoned at the top and no tie, he held his chin high, like everyone else was supposed to look up to him.
She couldn’t believe she’d thought so highly of him just a few short months ago. Boy, had she read him wrong.
Hugh stopped at her door and rapped his knuckles on it. Her heart dropped to her toes before jumping right back to her chest, giving her an intense, unwanted adrenaline surge.
She waved him in, because what else was she going to do? She was just sitting there, doing pretty much nothing but staring at him.
“Hey Ziggy.” He smiled as he eased into the chair across from her desk. He lifted his leg and casually rested his ankle on his knee. Kind of like Troy did, but he didn’t have the same confidence and relaxed body language as her brother.
This screamed calculated.
“How are you doing?” He scrunched his face.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for you and Noah, but it’s got to be tough to be dropped into the middle of this drama.
” He shook his head. It wasn’t a dramatic shake.
Just a quick left and right movement. But it was the lowering of his eyes that made it so freaking judgmental.
“The timing couldn’t be worse. Aren’t you worried…
” he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of Noah’s office.
“…that this will be just another one of his flings.”
Ziggy set down her pen. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”
Enders raised his hands as if he were surrendering. “I meant no disrespect. Noah’s a great guy. He’s just got a reputation.”
“Can I help you with something?” No way was Ziggy going to sit there and let this conversation continue down that rabbit hole.
Hugh set his foot on the floor and leaned forward.
The shift in his posture wasn’t very subtle.
It was like watching someone step out of one version of themselves and into another.
The arrogant charm he wore like a jacket slipped into something colder and slightly manipulative.
Neither of these versions of Hugh were familiar to her, and she no interest in getting to know them.
“Have you seen Claire?” he asked.
Ziggy frowned, the question catching her off guard more for how he said it than the words themselves. It was as if he was trying to act as though he were concerned.
The longer this interaction went on, the more her skin crawled. It was as if he'd memorized a script and decided to perform it in her office. “No,” she said. “Why?”
“I was supposed to meet with her about an hour ago.” His gaze drifted briefly toward the bullpen before returning to her, sharper and more focused. “She never showed. I went by her cubicle, and they told me she went to meet with Noah.”
Ziggy didn’t even have to think about it. She lifted her hand and pointed through the glass toward Noah’s office, where he was very clearly inside, exactly where he was supposed to be.
“Well, he’s right there,” she said. “Why aren’t you over there asking him yourself?”
“To be honest, I came up here a little while ago, and he wasn’t in his office.”
Ziggy straightened slightly. She hadn’t been focused on work most of the day. She’d been too busy watching people watch her. She’d also noticed the few times Noah had stepped out.
He’d gone to get coffee and a snack, which he’d been kind enough to bring her back some too. Of course, that led to at least two staffers coming into her office and a few others gathering around the water cooler. Noah also had a couple of meetings, one of which didn’t include her.
“Is there a problem?”
“No. I don’t know,” Hugh said, rubbing his hands on his thighs. “You know his schedule, right? Could he have met with her, and …” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Forget it. I’m sure that’s not what happened. I mean, if he were meeting with her, you'd know it.”
“Are you implying that something is going on with Claire and Noah?” The words tasted like five-day-old fish when they came out of her mouth. Not because she believed it. But because she’d seen the texts. Heard what Claire had tried. The dressing room stunt.
Hugh pushed to his feet and stood. “No. It’s nothing,” he said. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m probably mistaken.”
“Using nothing and probably in the same sentence is contradictory.”
“I’m sorry. Really.” Hugh moved toward the door. “Have a good day.” And just like that, he was out of her office and waving to people as he strolled down the corridor toward the elevator.
Ziggy sat there for a second, staring at the empty doorway, her mind running back through the last few minutes whether she wanted it to or not. Claire didn’t miss meetings. Not when there was something to gain.
Hugh had been getting a lot of attention and being a fulltime researcher on his team would be a good opportunity for someone like Claire.
And then there was the implication that Noah had been with Claire when he’d stepped out earlier. Noah might have seen her in passing, but that didn’t mean anything. It shouldn’t.
And yet, Hugh had managed to plant the seed in her brain. It didn't matter that she knew it was absurd. It was still there, lingering.
She pushed back from her desk and stood, already annoyed with herself for even letting it take up space in her head. She could see Noah sitting at his desk, staring at his computer, fingers resting on his keyboard.
Had Claire met with him? This was ridiculous.
Still, she stepped into the hallway, just in time to catch Hugh slipping into the elevator, his head bent over his phone, thumbs moving quickly across the screen like whatever he was typing couldn’t wait.
That, more than anything, landed sharply in the center of her chest.
Ziggy turned and headed straight for Noah’s office, her pace picking up as she crossed the bullpen, ignoring the staffers tracking her movement. She didn’t bother knocking. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Noah looked up immediately, his expression shifting to a smile the second he saw her, then dropping into a frown a second later. “What’s wrong?”
“Have you seen Claire?”
“What?”
“Please don’t make me repeat myself.” She crossed her arms, more to contain the restless energy running through her than anything else. “Have you talked to her? Met with her? Seen her anywhere in the last hour?”
He leaned back slightly in his chair, one brow lifting. “No. Should I have?”
Ziggy exhaled, dragging a hand through her hair, which she never did at work. Never. It took too long to get it this perfect. “Hugh just told me he was supposed to meet her, she didn’t show, and that she told people she was coming to see you.”
“Fuck.” He grabbed his phone off his desk, tapped the screen, and turned it toward her. “Funny you should mention that, though right about now, it’s not landing in the laughter zone.”
Ziggy stepped closer, leaning in to read the message.
Claire: We need to talk. Meet me in your dressing room. It’s important.
A few minutes later.
Claire: Are you coming?
And there were two more after that, both indicating that she was waiting and that they needed to meet privately.
Ziggy stiffened. A chill coated her skin. “Did you go?”
Noah let out a short laugh. “I can’t believe you asked me that. But no, and I didn’t reply either, because this is what she did the last time. Besides, I was with Andrew. You knew that.”
She did. The appointment was on her calendar, which made this whole thing even more irritating. “I did, but that doesn’t—” She stopped before she finished the rest of the statement. It wasn’t logical.
Noah stepping out wasn’t unusual. He’d been in and out of that office all afternoon—coffee, meetings, quick stops that turned into longer ones because people couldn’t seem to leave well enough alone.
She’d noticed it because lately, she’d been tracking everything.
Who lingered as they strolled by his office.
Or hers. Who stood in the bullpen and pretended they weren’t watching him—and her.
Who suddenly had a reason to stop and talk to either one of them but hadn’t anything of importance to say.
None of that had anything to do with Noah meeting or spending time with Claire.
Ziggy let out a slow breath and forced herself to move past the whole ridiculous concept before Hugh’s suggestion had time to turn into something it wasn’t.