In the Stars

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

So You Say

"You look like shit."

Charlotte looked up from her desk, fear sweeping through her body in a sickening swell. Egon stood at her door, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed.

"Keep your voice down please."

"Whatever for?"

He walked into her office, taking his customary place in front of her desk. With legs crossed, he stared her down with authority.

"I don't want Claudia to know." She lowered her voice to almost a whisper.

"Know what?"

Two can play at this game.

She leaned back and crossed her own arms, affecting a similar posture. "I'm not answering you until you close my office door."

Egon rolled his eyes with typical dramatic flair, and then got up to sashay to the door. Closing it with deliberate exaggeration, he then came back to perch on the edge of his seat.

"Happy?"

"Yes."

"Then fess up. I'm not waiting around all day to drag it out of you."

She bit her lip. What to tell him...?

"I've just received some bad news."

"Nasty or sad?"

"Both. It's something I'm not at liberty to divulge. Suffice it to say, I didn't take it well."

"You poor dear!" He was all maternal bustle now, getting up to pat her on the back.

"I'll be fine. Really."

Charlotte was still tender from her revelation, compassion making her emotions more real and raw. She wanted to cringe and shrink away from it, but she held herself together.

"What you are seeing is the aftermath. I don't want Claudia to think I've brought my personal issues to work," she said, smoothing non-existent wrinkles from some documents.

This was a partial truth. She also didn't want any probing questions.

"Well, my lips are sealed," he replied, sitting back down.

She scanned his body for any signs of dishonesty. Egon had proven excellent at respecting privacy so far. She hoped it was an enduring trait.

"I'd actually hoped you'd tell me your appearance was the product of a weekend spent in debauchery," he said, giving her a critical eye.

Charlotte blushed. "You're wasting your time on that with me. I'm not going to fulfill your smutty Jackie Collins fantasies."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm not that girl."

Might never be.

She'd just begun to blossom under Ethan's patient gaze and gentle touches. There had been a whole world open in front of her, and she'd been eager to explore it. Then it was ripped from her hands.