Chapter 25
Leo strode into the office building with his coffee and knew from the expression on the security guard’s face that he was scowling.
He tried to rearrange his face so that he looked neutral.
He knew that he’d been a pain to work with the past couple of days.
Even Caleb’s usual joie de vivre had faded in the face of Leo’s intense focus and nitpicking.
Oh, he could convince himself he was just being thorough, but he knew he’d been micromanaging.
He couldn’t help it. He’d needed to keep busy.
How else would he stop thinking about Vidya?
The idea of coming into the office today had kept him up all night.
Even though he logically knew that there was no reason anyone would have heard about what happened between him and Vidya, the memory of what had happened with Jessica was still too vivid.
He imagined the pitying looks, the conversations that stopped when he walked in, the overheard snippets of speculation about how long she’d been cheating on him for, and how on earth he hadn’t spotted it.
Leo liked this job. He would hate to have to leave and start again somewhere else because he had terrible luck with women.
As bad as all his worrying had been, actually seeing Vidya had been so much worse.
For a split second, he hadn’t cared about the meeting or getting one up on Charlie or even the project.
All he’d wanted was to kneel at Vidya’s feet and ask her what he’d done wrong.
Thankfully, he’d pulled himself together in time.
He’d had to pause to take a minute before he went in, but he’d done it.
The effort had left him feeling scattered and exhausted. His concentration was shot to bits. Hence the need for this very, very strong coffee.
He reached the lifts and hit the button.
It would be okay. He just needed to soldier on.
If he remained his usual, professional self, no one would know anything had gone awry.
Vidya was completely different from Jessica.
Their encounter had been private. She wouldn’t tell anyone about it. Neither would Caleb. It should be fine.
‘Leo.’
He startled so violently, he almost spilled his precious coffee. Vidya had appeared next to him. He’d been so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed her approach. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her. He stared at the light on the lift.
‘Leo, can we talk?’ She said it quietly.
‘If it’s about the project, I think we have everything we need. Once you and Caleb hand in your meeting notes, we should be done.’
‘It’s not about the project,’ she said.
The lift doors opened. Vidya stepped in. Leo didn’t. ‘I’ll take the next one.’ He took out his phone and moved away.
Someone else arrived, the lift doors closed. He left it a minute before he turned around and pressed the button to summon the lift again. Heat flooded to his face. That was childish. Surely, he was better than this.
More people arrived and when the lift doors opened this time, he got in. Wait. Why was Vidya down here? Had she been waiting for him? She had been, hadn’t she?
Oh. If she was that determined to see him … an uneasy feeling crept up his spine. The lift arrived at his floor and he got out. She was waiting for him. Part of him was impressed.
When he beeped himself into the office floor, she followed him.
A few heads rose as they walked past, he walking quickly, she practically skipping to keep up.
‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ he said, in an undertone.
‘I think we have to,’ she said, also speaking quietly.
No one was looking at them. Leo got to the small office he shared with Caleb and put his hand on the door handle. It was still dark in the office. ‘Caleb’s in a meeting.’
‘I don’t need to talk to him. I want to talk to you,’ Vidya said, quietly but firmly. ‘You can let me talk to you in your office, or I can shout through the door at you. I’m not going away.’ She folded her arms. Her chin went up.
He finally looked at her. This streak of defiance was part of what had drawn him to her in the first place. He knew her well enough now to understand that she wouldn’t be this adamant if she wasn’t fairly sure she was right about whatever it was she wanted to tell him.
‘Fine.’ He went into his office.
Vidya followed and shut the door behind her. She hovered for a moment. There were two chairs in the office. His and Caleb’s. When he’d hung up his coat, he said, ‘Take Caleb’s chair.’
Leo sat in his own.
‘I … think I’ll stand,’ she said.
Now that he looked at her properly, he could see that she had bags under her eyes. She looked drawn and, perhaps, a little grey. Despite his better judgement, concern stirred. It would be a stupid question to ask if everything was okay, given their circumstances. So, he said, ‘Are you ill?’
‘What? Me? No. Just …’ She pushed her hair behind her ear. ‘Just a bit stressed.’
‘About …?’
‘Leo. I owe you an explanation.’
He clasped his hands in front of him. ‘No, you don’t. You can change your mind for whatever reason, whenever.’
‘There was … there was a reason.’ She was shifting her weight from foot to foot. Clearly nervous. He was curious now. This was not what he had been expecting. What exactly had he been expecting from her? He didn’t know how to respond, so he said nothing.
Vidya closed her eyes and opened them again. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘There’s no easy way to say this. You’re going to be a father.’
O … kay. This was getting quite weird. ‘I hate to tell you, but we didn’t—’
‘Not me,’ she said. ‘My sister.’
What? That made no sense at all. Was she having some sort of psychotic episode? ‘I’ve never met your sister.’
‘You have. You had a one-night stand with her a couple of months ago.’
He shook his head. ‘No. I definitely didn’t. I would have remembered.’
‘Are you sure? She doesn’t. Remember, I mean. Not well, anyway.’
He was definitely worried now. Looking carefully, he could see that she really didn’t look healthy.
Something was very wrong. He glanced at his phone.
Should he call for a first aider? Who would he trust to handle this?
He unclasped his hands. ‘Vidya,’ he said, gently. ‘That doesn’t make any sense.’
She gave him a hollow-eyed look of desperation.
‘Maybe you should sit down,’ he said. ‘Try again.’
Her eyes looked to the ceiling. She took a couple of deep breaths, which made her chest heave in ways he really shouldn’t notice right now.
‘The company anniversary party,’ she said, finally. ‘You arrived late with Caleb and Piotr, and the rest of the team. You were all wearing rabbit masks.’
‘Yes. The masks were Caleb’s idea. I was just going to go as I was.’
‘Right. Right.’ She nodded. ‘Then you met a girl dressed as a Disney princess. You guys drank a lot, danced a bit, then slept together.’
Leo slowly shook his head, drawn into this story despite himself. ‘No … I went home after a couple of drinks.’ Then, just to be clear, he added, ‘Alone.’
She shook her head too. ‘My sister couldn’t remember your name or much of what you looked like, but she said the guy was tall, funny, sexy and a good dancer – and he had a tattoo, beneath his left collarbone, of a dragon taking flight.
’ She tapped her own shoulder, at roughly the same place that his tattoo was. ‘Just here.’
Realisation dawned. ‘Caleb. That was Caleb. Not me.’ He had no idea about the sleeping with a Disney princess part, but it was the sort of thing Caleb did when he was very drunk. And he had mentioned meeting someone at the work party.
‘I thought that at first, but the description matches you. The tattoo.’
Things suddenly fell into place. Her reaction when he had turned around to face her. That must have been when she saw his tattoo. Oh. No wonder she had run away. To think that she was about to sleep with a guy who had already slept with her sister … poor Vidya. ‘It wasn’t me. It was Caleb.’
‘But the tattoo—’
‘We both have the same tattoo.’
She opened her mouth. Then closed it again. Then shook her head rapidly for a few minutes. ‘What? How? Why?’
‘It’s a long story. It was a few years ago. We were both going through some stuff. We got drunk. It was meant to be a phoenix, but we weren’t clear and … well, I quite like the dragon now.’
She looked even greyer than before. Was she going to faint?
‘Seriously, Vidya. Sit down.’ He hurried around her and dragged Caleb’s chair so that it was behind her.
She sank slowly down into it. ‘So … you and Caleb have the tattoo?’
‘Yes.’
‘And the guy who slept with my sister after the party is … Caleb. Not you.’ Vidya’s shoulders seemed to drop.
‘Caleb did meet someone that night, but he said she was blonde.’ He doubted her sister was blonde, but who knew. ‘I think her name was Elsa.’
A fleeting smile. ‘Yeah. That’s Udeni. She was dressed as Queen Elsa. Blonde wig and all.’ He must have looked blank because she added, ‘Elsa is from Frozen. The Disney film?’
‘Right.’ His brain niggled at him. There was something it wanted him to pay attention to. But the more obvious thing came first. ‘Your sister is pregnant?’ That must have been what the argument a few days ago had been about.
‘Yes.’
‘And she’s sure Caleb is the father?’ He was speaking quietly because gossip got around this place like wildfire.
Vidya shrugged. ‘She knew it was a guy from Legal Team B. Piotr doesn’t have a tattoo. It’s not you. So, it must be Caleb. The dates match up and she hasn’t been with anyone else in a while, so yes.’
Leo’s first instinct was to protect Caleb. ‘Okay. I assume there is a baby coming at some point.’
Vidya nodded. ‘She didn’t want me to tell the father. She just wanted me to confirm that it was him and find out a bit about him. She wanted to know what kind of a kid she might have. I … agreed, because … well …’