21 

Juliet headed directly back to the office and reported the meeting with the health officials had gone well. As expected, no specific issues had been raised. She skipped telling them her father had shown up and showboated at her expense. She also advised no new information had been released, and warned not to expect any developments for forty-eight hours—when the test results on the vendors’ products would be concluded.

“Cyril Montavan arrives from Italy later this afternoon,” Alexa said. “I’d like you available to answer questions he might have about the investigation and alleviate any concerns that pop up. It’s critical we maintain his full support—especially now.”

Juliet agreed. “Certainly. I’ll lend whatever help I can.”

Since the company was now in a waiting game, and the focus of the efforts at Larimar Springs would be on accounting measures and profit recalculations, Juliet excused herself from the conference room and returned to her office so she could check back on Tavina’s son.

Greer followed her into the hallway. “Hey, can you slip away for lunch?”

With everything happening, Juliet’s mind had ventured far past the situation with Greer and the earrings in his bathroom. She did need to close things down with him so Mr. GQ didn’t feel entitled to reenact the inappropriate scene in her office from a few days ago. The temp already suspected something was up between them, and the last thing Juliet needed in the middle of following an E. coli–related outbreak was to have to repair her credibility if he chose to pull that baloney again and they were caught.

Lunch away from the office might provide the best and fastest opportunity for a clean break and to clarify their relationship going forward as strictly professional. “Yeah, sure,” she said, looking at her watch. It was eleven thirty now. “Where? I’ll meet you after I check on Tavina’s situation.”

Greer rubbed the space above his left eyebrow. “Yeah, tell her we’re all pulling for her little boy.” He lowered his voice. “Want to meet at my place? I’ve been a little stressed and . . .”

Juliet cringed inside. What? She was now his antianxiety medication? A few minutes in the bedroom and he’d return to the office feeling less tense?

“No. That’s not a good idea. I’ll meet you at the Buckhorn.” Juliet wanted to meet at an out-of-the-way place. The popular eating establishment and museum was a short drive, and they weren’t likely to run into anyone they knew.

“At twelve thirty,” she added before quickly moving on.

As Juliet neared Tavina’s desk, the temp handed her a stack of mail. “I took the liberty of calling the hospital for an update. HIPAA privacy rules limit what they would disclose, but they did confirm your assistant’s little boy is no worse this morning.”

“Thanks, Angela.” Juliet scowled. “Where’s the framed photo of Tavina and MD? She keeps it right here on the corner of her desk.”

The temp nodded. “Yes, I know. That little boy smiling in my direction all day creeped me out a bit, given the awful situation. So I slipped the photo inside her desk drawer for now.”

The action irked Juliet. As every day passed, the overbearing girl, with her eighties hair and bad complexion, inched in and assumed more ground. Selfishly, she wanted her trusted assistant back.

She looked away from Angela’s smile, which seemed far too close to a sneer, and buried her attention in the pile of mail.

The sooner, the better.

No more had Juliet stepped up to the bar and ordered a club soda and lime than she felt a hand at her back.

“Juliet, you’re right on time, as usual.” Greer’s familiar cologne scented the air. “I have a table waiting.” He instructed the bartender to put the charge for her drink on his lunch tab. “Ready?” he asked.

Juliet nodded and followed him to a table at the back of the café. Around them, the walls were filled with mounted taxidermy. On the wall across from her, a hairy-faced wild boar with fierce tusks protruding from either side of his mouth stared with glassy eyes.

She quickly diverted her eyes back to the table and the situation at hand.

Before this lunch was over, she planned to take charge and poke through the pretense of this relationship, finally letting the unhealthy liaison with her ambitious co-worker die.

Greer ordered a brisket sandwich. He brought the napkin to his lap. “With extra jalapeños.” He waited until Juliet ordered her chicken Caesar salad before he made his move.

He reached across the table and caressed her fingers. “I’ve missed you.” Before she could gracefully pull back, he boldly rubbed the side of his foot against her thigh under the table like some common redneck, despite the fact that no tablecloth hid his action.

“Not here,” she scolded, pulling her hand back. Suddenly, nerves hit and she lifted her club soda to her lips to wet her throat.

Across the table, Greer’s eyes narrowed. Sales prospects rarely turned down Greer Latham’s proposals. That same intensity carried over into his personal life. “Juliet, if I didn’t know better, I’d read your actions as being a bit hostile. In fact, you’ve been acting strangely for days.”

Juliet tried to recover. This was going too fast. She needed time to explain and make this transition as painless as possible. Nothing good would come of escalating the dismantling of their romantic attachment to a contentious level. She certainly didn’t want to be goaded into revealing what she’d discovered the other evening. She and Greer Latham still had to work together.

Juliet scrunched her face into puzzled amusement. “I think the stress of everything at the company is getting to you, Greer.” She managed not to look him in the eyes while she took her passive-aggressive approach.

She felt him studying her as the waiter stepped to the table carrying their order. “That was quick,” she said brightly as he placed their food on the table. She picked up her fork and thanked the young guy dressed in a green polo with the Buckhorn logo on the pocket. As he walked away, Juliet stabbed a forkful of romaine covered in creamy dressing and Parmesan. “I’m starving.”

Greer went into a silent pout. He ate his sandwich while Juliet chattered on about the timing of health authorities’ efforts to stop the progression of the outbreak, how anxious she was for Larimar Springs to be cleared, and tried to encourage him with the notion the company would be on the path to recovery once Water Circus reopened. “I have to say, I’m impressed with the way the park has managed their public relations effort through all of this.”

She put her fork down, noticing Greer’s silence. She also knew the clock on the wall was a reminder that she needed to focus on why they were here. She looked across the table. “What’s the matter?”

“You don’t get it, do you?”

Juliet drew her chin back. “Get what?”

“We’re likely to lose our jobs before this is all over. If Montavan pulls out, this company is dead in the water. We’ll never recover from the reversal of profits.”

She waved off his comment. “I think you’re exaggerating a bit.”

He let his fork fall to the table. “Do you? Well, clue in. I know you’re a scientist and numbers aren’t your game, but trust me—things are likely to get ugly.” He leaned forward. “Look, between you and me? Before she partnered with Montavan International, Alexa had the company assets leveraged to the hilt. I had a hard time convincing her to hire someone of your caliber, instead of that milquetoast supervisor who was in line to get the quality assurance position when the former director got pregnant and wanted to go home to play mommy.” He sat back and picked up his sandwich again. He took a big bite and chewed, watching for her reaction.

His remarks hit their target. Juliet tried to swallow the salad that seemed to double in size inside her mouth. Greer had needed to talk Alexa into hiring her? And Malcolm Stanford had wanted her job. No wonder the friction.

Juliet forced herself to recover and reminded herself again what needed to be done.

“Look, Greer. I’m grateful for your recommendation and anything you did to advocate for my hire. I love heading up the quality control function at Larimar Springs—even now in the middle of this outbreak. I’m hoping the company weathers this storm and we end up better than ever.” She looked him in the eye, feeling a bit empowered knowing what lay just ahead. “You’ve done a marvelous job marketing our products, and if we all band together, we’ll see this through. No doubt the company may struggle, but Alexa is no dummy. And she’s assembled bright people to help her lead and grow the company. She’ll not be quick to let her own investment tumble. You’ll see.” Juliet risked reaching over and patting his arm.

“But I guess I haven’t been totally honest,” she continued. “I think what you’ve been noticing is the fact that we’ve been growing apart, especially now that our responsibilities and commitments at work are racing forward at breakneck speed.”

Greer dropped his sandwich to his plate. “You’ve got to be kidding me! You’re breaking it off? Now?”

An image of those gold earrings on his bathroom counter formed in Juliet’s mind. She’d accepted his professional dishonesty on occasion. But duplicity in the intimacy department was nothing she would ever accept from him. She bit the inside of her cheek and forced herself not to break his gaze.

“Yes,” she confirmed. “I think that’s better for both of us at this juncture. Besides, we both knew we weren’t in this for the long haul.”

His chiseled jaw set, and she could see the vein in his neck pulse. He wiped his hands clean, then pulled on his cuffs. “Speak for yourself,” he said as he pushed the chair back and stood. He waved over the waiter.

Greer nodded in her direction. “Give the check to her.” He slammed the chair back to the table. “My lady friend with the brass nerves is buying.”

He threw the napkin to the table, turned, and walked away.

Juliet apologized to the wide-eyed waiter for Greer’s outburst and handed him her credit card. She sat stunned at Greer’s reaction as the waiter took the card from her and went to ring up the check.

While waiting for the waiter to return, Juliet picked at her salad. Unfortunately, she’d lost her appetite. She placed the fork down and looked up at the wall. The wild boar stared straight ahead.

She sighed. “Well, that went really well. Don’t you think?”