I Walked Away Seven Years Too Late But Right on Time novel Chapter 22

Eileen pouted, tilting her head up at him with a flirtatious whine. "We sure were. They were just bragging about how sweet and thoughtful you are. Do a lot of the girls at the office try to flirt with you?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

Luke shot Jessica a warning glare, his brow furrowing.

"It's the truth, Ms. Harper! We all know Mr. Lawrence is strictly off-limits. He's totally unapproachable to anyone but you."

Jessica suddenly felt parched. These two were already engaged—were they just using jealousy as foreplay? Why drag a poor secretary into their games?

Behind them, someone called out Luke's name.

He acknowledged the shout, then turned back to Eileen. "Have Jessica drive you home. I'm grabbing dinner with some old college buddies tonight. It'll be loud and rowdy."

"I want to come! I want to see how you act when you're out with your friends. I promise I won't cause any drama. I'll be perfectly well-behaved, please?"

Eileen clung to his arm, swinging it back and forth.

Luke glanced toward the exit, where the crowd was already filing out. He let out a silent sigh. "I'll take you home myself. I'm feeling a little burnt out anyway."

He told Jessica to keep Eileen company while he went to hit the showers and change. By the time he walked back out, Eileen was already deep in conversation with Gwen Grayson.

"Mr. Lawrence, why are you backing out? Tonight's our last night in San Francisco. Mr. Weaver said we're hitting the town after dinner, and the drinks are on him."

Gwen had been chatting up Mr. Weaver—who hadn't even played—and completely missed the earlier drama. She'd wandered over to find Sophie, only for Jessica to tell her she was in the restroom.

Always a natural extrovert, Gwen had immediately struck up a conversation with Jessica and Eileen, practically begging them to join the evening's festivities.

"I want to go! Gwen says it's going to be a blast. Let's just go."

Eileen continued to wheedle.

"Come on, it's fate that we all ran into each other. Besides, Sophie and I are flying out tomorrow. Think of it as a going-away party," Gwen added smoothly.

"Luke..." Eileen whined, tugging at his arm again.

Worn down by her persistence, Luke finally nodded in defeat.

"I'll make a group chat and drop the pin," Gwen announced.

She pulled up a QR code on her phone for Luke to scan, then waved at Mr. Weaver as he strolled over.

"Hang on, let me just call my coworker."

Gwen scolded Sophie over the phone. "Did you fall in? We're about to head out. I'm riding with Mr. Weaver. You can hitch a ride with Mr. Lawrence. You used to be his secretary, for crying out loud. Why aren't you using that connection?"

"My stomach is killing me. I really don't feel well. I think I'm going to pass," Sophie interrupted weakly.

"Are you kidding me? I've been sweet-talking Mr. Weaver this whole time, and he flat out said the contract depends on how much effort you're willing to put in. You can't bail now. Pop an Advil if you have to, but you are powering through."

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