The Truce (London Suits 1)

1

Olivia

Breathing a sigh of relief, I swiped my handbag from the floor under my desk and headed out of the office. As much as I loved my job at Barrett London, the boutique digital marketing agency I’d been employed at for the past eight months, I was dying to get out of there. As it was Friday, almost everyone had left the office, desperate to start the weekend, even my workaholic boss, Ethan Barrett. On a normal workday, I was out the door as soon as it hit 5:00 p.m., but I’d promised a client I would have their new social media account up and running in time for the weekend, and it had taken far longer than anticipated.

My phone rang as I made my way down the corridor towards the lift, and I pulled it out of my bag, frowning as an unrecognised number flashed up on the display.

“Hello?” Fully expecting a telemarketer to be on the other end of the line, I kept my finger poised, ready to end the call.

“Liv. It’s Ethan.”

“Uh, hi.”

“Are you still at work, by any chance?” My boss’s voice was harried.

“Yes, just leaving now. Why?”

“Could you do me a huge favour? I left the files for the Rockford project in the conference room, and I need them to work on over the weekend. If you don’t mind grabbing them on your way out, I’m at the pub on the corner by your bus stop.”

“Sure, no problem,” I said easily. “What am I looking for?” Turning on my heel, back into the office, I headed into the conference room, flipping on the lights.

“There should be a silver USB stick with Barrett London engraved on it, on the table or somewhere nearby. I was sitting in the far corner by the projector screen.”

“Hang on. I’ll have a look. Want me to phone you back when I’ve found it?”

“No, it’s okay. Just come down to the pub with it. Call this number when you get there and I’ll come out and meet you. My phone’s out of battery.”

“Okay.”

“Thanks, Olivia. I appreciate it.” He ended the call, and I hurried over to the huge ash wood conference table.

“Where are you?” I muttered.

The table was bare. I scanned the room, leaning down to peer under the table, and spied a flash of silver out of the corner of my eye.

“There you are.” I grinned in triumph. Crouching down, I stretched out my fingers and managed to snag the USB drive.

Out on the busy London streets, engulfed in the noise of honking horns and chattering pedestrians, I called the number back.

“Yes?” a low, masculine voice answered, and I groaned.

Luke Davenport. Client account manager at Barrett London. My colleague and self-appointed rival.

Great.

“Davenport? Is that you?”

“Payne. Clearly you know it’s me, so why waste my time asking inane questions?”

His irritated tone immediately set me on edge. Why did this man get to me so much? I growled in frustration, causing a pedestrian hurrying past to give me an uneasy glance, crossing to the other side of the pavement to give me a wide berth.

“I’m looking for Ethan,” I huffed. “He told me to phone this number.”

“Right.” His tone was clipped. “I’ll get him.”

There was a muffled sound, and Ethan’s smooth voice came through the phone.

“Olivia?”

“I found it. I’m about a minute away.”

Relief coloured his tone. “Thank you. I’ll come out and meet you.”

My boss was waiting outside the doors for me when I reached the pub, his tall, handsome frame dwarfing mine.

“Olivia, I appreciate you going out of your way to do this,” he rumbled, smiling down at me. “Do you have time for a drink? I owe you one.”

Indecision rolled through me. A chilled glass of wine or gin would be perfect after a long day, but it would mean sharing the same space as Luke…

A gust of wind blew around me, sending the strands that had fallen out of my messy bun flying around my face, and I shivered. Why should I let Luke scare me off and make me wait in the cold for my bus when I could be inside a warm pub with a drink?

Decision made, I nodded. “Yes. A drink would be great. I’ll take you up on that offer—thanks.”

Ethan opened the heavy wooden and glass pub door, and we slipped inside. He headed to the bar to get me a drink, and I made my way through the crowd of bodies to the booth Ethan had pointed out, my heels clipping over the worn flagstone floor.

I spotted the back of Luke’s head as I drew closer, and steeled myself ready for one of his biting remarks as soon as he registered my presence. A vaguely familiar-looking man was sitting at the table with him, and he looked up as I approached.

“Hello there, gorgeous.” The stranger’s crystal-blue eye

s sparkled in the dim pub lighting, his cheeky grin so infectious that I couldn’t help grinning back.

Luke spun in his chair, his beautiful face creasing in a scowl when he saw me.

“You know, you’d be much nicer to look at if you actually smiled.” I punctuated my statement with a fake grin, baring my teeth. I hated that he was so good-looking. What a waste. His looks could never make up for his obnoxious personality.

His scowl deepened. “The day I smile around you, Payne, is the day pigs fly.”

The other man at the table stared between us with interest, an amused smirk on his face.

“Back up a minute, mate. This is Payne? The Payne?”

The Payne?