“Thank you, Mr. Toffer.”
“Of course. Poppy will see you out,” he said, cutting his glance to the doorway. The door had slid open without a sound and Poppy was standing there, smiling serenely at me.
I nodded back at him and let Poppy lead me out of the room. She paused when we reached the front desk and she gave me an invoice for the consultation. I kept my eyes in my head at the figure on the sheet, but obviously not quick enough. “It goes toward the retainer fee if you choose to keep Mr. Toffer as your counsel,” Poppy purred, her soft voice taking some of the sting away.
“It’s not a problem,” I hurried to say, reaching for my back pocket. I dug out my wallet and flipped a shiny silver card at her.
She nodded and went to work on the computer, ringing up the transaction. I hadn’t thought to ask what the services would cost, which, in hindsight seemed completely idiotic, but I’d been consumed with doing whatever it took to save the museum and get out of O’Keefe’s warpath, that it hadn’t occurred to me.
And I could guarantee that O’Keefe’s legal team would cost a helluva lot more than Mr. Toffer.
Poppy handed me back the card and waited for the printer to spit out the receipt. “How much longer do you have to wear that?” She asked, nudging her chin at the black wrapping of my cast as it peeked out from the cuff of my jacket.
“Four weeks,” I answered, my voice flat. Gemma had said four to six, but I was going to push my luck and try to sweet talk her into taking it off as soon as humanly possible. The damn thing was driving me insane and it hadn’t even been an entire week.
“I’m sorry. I broke my arm in high school. I was a cheerleader…” she trailed her words, spinning them in a way that left no choice but to flick a glance over her and imagine what her lush curves would look like spilling out of a tight cheerleading uniform.
I nodded politely and swallowed hard. Damn, being a one-woman man was gonna be a lot harder than I’d imagined. Gemma and I hadn’t discussed it, but there was an unspoken current between the two of us that assured me she wasn’t looking elsewhere. Somewhere along the way, I’d decided I wouldn’t either.
When Poppy picked up that I wasn’t going to take her bait, she grabbed the paper from the printer and set it on the counter with cool indifference. “Sign here and I’ll make a copy for you to take with you,” she instructed, jabbing a pen at the black line at the bottom.
I signed and when my copy was printed and in hand, I hurried out the door, before Poppy could try a new angle at seducing me. It was bad enough her sweet perfume had me thinking things I shouldn’t.
I wasn’t sure how much longer my resolve would hold out.
29
Taking Lance’s legal advice, I called Lana and told her to move the staff meeting to Carly’s in order to avoid being at the museum. Then, before pulling away from the curb, I checked my messages for anything from Gary or the other agents scouring the museum. But so far, nothing had come over.
I drove back to Holiday Cove and halfway there, decided to stop at Gemma’s hospital for a quick visit. Even with the momentary distraction over Mr. Toffer’s beautiful assistant, my mind was locked on Gemma, and I didn’t want to wait until that night to see her again. I parked and then sauntered into the ER, hoping she wasn’t elbow deep in body fluids, so I could gather her in my arms and maybe convince her to take a fifteen-minute break in an abandoned exam room.
Inside the gleaming ER, no one appeared concerned with my arrival, and I walked right through the main doors. I stopped and asked for her at the nurse’s station, but before the woman handling the desk could even answer my request, Gemma rounded the corner. She stopped in her tracks and her lips parted in silent surprise.
I smiled over at her. “Hey there, gorgeous. Just the lady I was looking for.”
Her eyes flicked to the desk where the nurse was standing and then brought them back to me. “Um, hello, Mr. Rosen.” I bristled slightly at her formality. “Are you all right?”
A wave of confusion washed over me at the look in her eyes, and I wondered if I’d crossed some unspoken line by showing up at her work.
I pushed off the counter and rounded the desk to meet her. She was wearing teal scrubs and a white coat over the top and even in the not-so-flattering cut of the clothing, she was absolutely irresistible. I wanted to reach for her but stopped short at the look in her eyes.