Page 62 of The Shop on Hidden Lane

“Call me psychic,” she continued briskly, “but I sense that at some point in the recent past there was an unfortunate incident related to dot connecting.”

“Something like that.”

“It shook your faith in yourself. In your judgment. Who was she?”

He straightened and sat back in the chair. “How did you know there was a woman involved?”

“The guilt trip you’ve put yourself through combined with the fact that you’ve concluded you’re no longer the right person to takecontrol of Wells, Inc. It doesn’t take any psychic talent to figure out that the source of the problem is a relationship gone bad.”

“Her name was Victoria. Victoria Ellsworth. She worked in the company library. Everyone liked her. She was smart, gracious, helpful.”

“Pretty?”

“Very,” he admitted.

“Professionally dressed at all times? Neat little suit. Pumps. Serious glasses. Hair in a bun?”

He frowned. “How did you know?”

“Red hair or blond?”

“Red. What is this?”

“I assume she was creative in bed?”

The rush of heat to his face alarmed him. “What the hell?”

“I’m just looking for connections between dots. You know how that works.”

“Look somewhere else, damn it.”

“Relax. It’s clear what happened. You fell for the secretly sexy librarian fantasy.”

“What?”

“It’s a staple. Sweet, innocent librarian takes off her serious glasses, lets down her hair, and transforms into a passionate sex kitten who tells you that you are a sex god. It’s not as popular as the nurse and dominatrix fantasies, but it’s a standard.”

“This conversation has gone off the rails.” He gripped the arms of the chair and started to push himself to his feet. “I’m going to bed.”

“Never mind.” Sophy flapped a hand in a sit-down gesture. “Get to the good part of the story. You two had an affair?”

To his amazement, he sat down. Or maybe he dropped back into the chair. Hard to tell the difference.

“We were sleeping together,” he said. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Hey, we’re partners. You met one of my exes and you know I’ve got another who is a stalker. Seems only fair I hear more about Victoria.” She frowned in disapproval. “I assume there are no rules against fraternization between management and employees at Wells, Inc.?”

“I wasn’t working for the company at the time, so technically it wasn’t an issue.”

“You were still employed at that agency your grandmother mentioned?”

“Yes, but that’s not important. What matters is that I was wrong about Victoria and I still don’t know how or why I didn’t see the truth until it was almost too late.”

“What happened?”

“I got back from closing an Agency case and I was in a mood to celebrate. We had dinner at her place and spent the night together. Toward morning, I woke up from a dream.”

“A dream?”