Page 74 of Never Tell Secrets

“Seriously? You don’t know?” I turned around, letting him get a good look at me in all my boiler suit glory.

“You look like…”

“Bill Murray with C cups?” I grabbed my particle thrower and pointed it at him, the proton pack jostling on my shoulder. “Lola O’Connell, professional ghostbuster at your service, Mr Tell. Let me at em!” With that, I was treated to the rarest of sights as Alfie Tell burst out laughing.

“Lola,” he spluttered, “you look ridiculous!”

“What? You don’t like my ghost gun?”

He laughed even harder and I jumped as the door behind me opened, his receptionist poking his head around the door.

“Is everything alright, Sir?” The young man looked like he’d seen a ghost himself as he stared, slack jawed at his usually stern-faced boss.

“Yes,” Alfie ran a hand over his jaw, trying to stop the laughter, “everything’s fine, Jude.” Jude looked at me, clearly needing an explanation. I held up my particle thrower.

“He was just laughing at my ghost gun.” Alfie set off laughing again and I used the opportunity to introduce myself, offering Jude my hand. “Hi, I’m Lola.”

“I’m Jude, nice to meet you.” After a quick glance at his boss he excused himself. I turned to Alfie, his laughter had finally stopped but the light was still alive in his eyes. I opened my proton pack and pulled out the sandwiches I’d picked up on my way here.

“Are you hungry? I brought lunch.”

“Lola, you didn’t have to do this,” he said as I put a simple cheese sandwich in front of him.

“Are you telling me to leave?”

“Fuck, no. I’m just wishing I could take advantage of that costume.”

I blinked at him. “I’m guessing this is one of your stranger fetishes.”

He snorted and smiled at me again as he tucked into his lunch.

I sat down across from him, tucking into my own. “So, when are you quitting this job?” I asked, deciding to jump right into it.

“Excuse me?”

“This job.” I gestured at the soulless office. “When are you quitting it?”

“I have no plans to.” He lifted a hand before I could argue. “It’s not just about me, Lola. Thousands of people depend on me for their livelihood.”

“So, no one else could run it then?” I asked.

He paused. “That’s not the point.”

“Right. The point is that you don’t know who you are without this and you’re too chicken to find out.”

He scowled at me but he didn’t seem angry. “Is this what it feels like when I get inside your head?”

I didn’t answer, only grinned. “So, any hints about where you’re taking me on Friday?”

“No,” he mumbled around a mouthful of sandwich. I stared at the man once so uptight a squeaky chair had annoyed him, now relaxed enough to talk with his mouth full. I wondered if he could see for himself all the tiny ways he’d changed, as well as the big ones.

“Can I wear my new outfit?” I gestured at my deeply unflattering boiler suit. He smiled at me but he said nothing. I bit my lip, feeling self conscious for the first time. “What?”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug, not taking his eyes off me. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” I replied, my own voice soft. “In a way.”

He arched a brow at me. “In a way?”