Tonight, he would put an end to it, even if that meant his funding got cut off and his research couldn’t continue. He was wrong for having anything sexual with Poppy at the office, and wrong for waiting so damn long to set Maggie straight, but things were going to change.
Poppy had told her mother about them, and here he was keeping this from her.
His sweet and innocent Poppy, who didn’t deserve to be kept in the dark and betrayed, was the only light in his life. She had already been through so much, and he was just adding to that. Guilt that he had been seeing Maggie behind her back was a constant companion to him.
It didn’t matter that he did nothing physical with Maggie, because staying at work late just so Maggie could talk with him, going to these ridiculous meetings at cafés and restaurants, was just as bad as touching his coworker. Maggie lifted her hand in a wave, and her smile grew slow and appeared satisfied. She thought she had him by the balls and would just string him along until she could get whatever it was she was aiming for in this sick and twisted situation.
Blake climbed out of the SUV and walked toward her. She immediately reached for him, like she always did, but he deftly moved out of her grasp. “Come on. Let’s just get this over with.” He pulled open the café’s door and stalked inside. The scents of coffee and pastries wafted around him as he searched for an empty table. He sat in the booth, and she slid into the seat in front of him. Already, he itched to leave.
“What’s the matter?” She always sounded so sweet and sincere, but he could see the plotting going on behind her dark eyes. She reached across the table and tried to touch his hands that were folded together. He moved them onto his lap.
“Maggie—” The waitress arrived and cut him off. After they ordered and she disappeared to get their drinks, he hurried forward. “Listen, these phone calls from you at all hours have to stop. These meetings have to stop.” Her face revealed no expression, and he breathed out. He would have rather she scream and yell at him instead of this apathetic personality she displayed. When she did tear her eyes away from him, it was to look at her lap.
“I’ve been enjoying your company, Blake. I thought you reciprocated those feelings as well.” She always sounded so clinical. “Is this because Poppy is making a big deal about us seeing each other?”
“We aren’t seeing each other, Maggie, and no, she isn’t making a big deal about anything, because I haven’t told her anything.”
The smile she gave him was downright blinding. “So you don’t want her to know about us?”
Blake exhaled and leaned back against the booth seat. “Maggie, I really don’t know how many times I’ve explained this to you. We are not seeing each other. I shouldn’t even be here right now talking about this, because there isn’t—” He gestured between them. “—an us.” He leaned forward and hoped the seriousness of what he was about to say really cemented how he felt. “It’s wrong that you are trying to corner me into something that isn’t going to happen, and it’s wrong that I’ve gone along with it for this long.”
Brow furrowed, Maggie asked, “So you haven’t been enjoying our visits? I thought you enjoyed them as much as I have.”
Was nothing he said getting through to her? “Maggie, this thing you think is going to happen between us, won’t.” Blake said it gently, but he needed her to know he was serious.
She leaned back in her seat and looked like she wanted to respond, but the waitress took that moment to bring their drinks. Once she left, the silence filled the space between them. Maggie’s stare was trained on him and calculating.
“So, you must not care about all the work we have accomplished or the grant money that helps us achieve that.” Maggie showed no emotion and brought her coffee cup to her lips.
“You know I care about the work we do here, but blackmailing me for something you thought you saw is immoral.” A hint of emotion played across her face. Her jaw tightened just a fraction, and the corner of her eye twitched.
“What I think I saw? You had her on your lap and were doing inappropriate things in the office. How is that proper?”
Is she fucking kidding?
“Really, Maggie? How proper is telling me that if I’m not available when you need me, then you’re going to the head of the department and telling him what I did on company time?” Still, she didn’t crack that damn façade she held so close. “I’ve known you for years, worked beside you tirelessly, but the woman I see right now is not the Maggie I know. You are calling me constantly, taking me away from important things to come here and talk about nothing at all. You tell me you need help after hours in organizing and filing the specimens, yet all you do is grill me on my relationship with Poppy.”