Clary remained near his desk, clipboard in hand. She wore a tan suit today, her red hair pulled back into a bun like always.
“Let’s bring them in for interviews,” he said to her, tapping the stack of papers vertically against the desk to straighten them.
“All of them, sir?”
“No, just the top three.” He pointed to the papers before passing them to her. “They seem to have the best ratings.”
She added them to the heap on her clipboard. “All righty. Will do, sir.”
“Thanks, Clary.”
“No problem.” She adjusted her glasses. “And sir, have you checked the time? Isn’t today your lunch date with Faye?”
Hawk’s glance skimmed to the clock on his desk. Clary was right. He wasn’t sure how other people survived without an assistant pointing out the obvious on an hourly basis.
“Right,” he said, rising and making his way to the coat stand in the corner. “Time to head out. Thanks, Clary.”
“You got it. I’ll let you know how the interviews go.”
“Awesome. Thanks. One more thing. Can you do me a favor? Can you get me Ella Embers’ phone number?”
“The girl who stole from you?”
Hawk winced. Though Clary had called right afterward, she hadn’t been there in Ethan’s office when they’d found the tampered feed. He’d been too preoccupied to fill her in.
“About that,” he said. “Turns out that was a complete setup. Someone framed her.”
“Seriously?” Clary’s tone was shocked. “How did they even get past your security?”
“It was someone on the custodial staff. They had keys to places they shouldn’t have,” he said. “She smooth-talked one of the guards and got in. Needless to say, that guard has been fired and the two women involved have been arrested.”
“Unbelievable,” Clary said. “Which is why you’re on the hunt for new staffing.”
“You got it.”
Even though he’d be heading out into the late-December air, Hawk decided to leave his overcoat and shrugged into his suitcoat instead. He was actually looking forward to a brisk walk. He braved the elevator, grateful when it reached the lobby and opened when his text notification pinged.
Hawk stepped aside, out of the flow of lunchtime traffic in the lobby, and checked his screen. Faye was texting?
Hawkie boy. Meet me here at La Comida Buena?
Confusion rattled through him. “Since when does Faye text?” he mused aloud, glancing around, half-expecting her to be waiting at her usual spot by the fountain. She wasn’t there.
He shot a quick reply that he was on his way, and pushed aside the doubt crinkling his thoughts. This was probably the first time in all of their weekly lunches Faye had not come to meet him. She’d always insisted she didn’t want to show up alone and wait for him, that she’d rather loiter in his lobby and be accompanied to wherever their lunch destinations were.
What was she up to?
Crossing the snowy street, Hawk dashed down the sidewalk to La Comida Buena’s entrance. He opened the door, kicked snow from his shoes, and immersed himself in the smells of pork and beans and the loud clang of pans and dishes.
Hawk wasn’t sure where Faye would be, but he searched the space, taking in families, couples, and singles occupying tables until his heart dropped to his stomach.
Faye occupied the table they’d sat at the last time. But she wasn’t there alone.
Ella Embers sat across from Faye, smiling and sipping her drink as if she was the one with the lunch date instead of him. A purple beanie hung over her chestnut hair, and the scarf he gave her on Christmas hugged her neck. A kiss of pink still hadn’t left her cheeks from trading cold outside for the warmth inside. No food was before either of them.
Hawk hadn’t been able to get over the panicked plea in Ella’s eyes when she’d been accused of stealing. While he’d asked Clary to find Ella’s number, this was different. He certainly didn’t want to talk about it in front of Faye. He intended on laying everything out for her, including how she made him feel.
He considered strolling out and leaving them to it. But Faye would never forgive him if he walked out on her.
It could be a coincidence. Maybe Faye knew Ella, and Ella had just stopped by to say hi on her way out. He could talk to her. Keep it casual. Save what he needed to say for later.
Hawk exhaled as he approached. Faye’s grin stretched across her face, but Ella swallowed as if she was being confronted by an unwanted spider. She scooted against the back of her seat and stared up at him with wide, frightened eyes.
Great. Fear wasn’t exactly the reaction he wanted when approaching a woman. Especially not her. Still, what did he expect, considering the way he’d ended their last conversation?
He slicked on a smile. “Hey there,” Hawk said. “What’s going on here?”
Faye beamed at him as if this were the most normal thing in the world. She patted Ella’s hand. The same way she always did to his. “Hawkie boy. I don’t think you’ve met even one of my grandkids.”
His brow puzzled. Ella? Ella was Faye’s granddaughter?
“You’ve…never wanted me to.”
Faye slapped the table. “Well, I do now. Have you met Ella? My late daughter’s girl?”
“I—”
Faye didn’t wait for his thoughts to sort themselves out. “Ella, this is my godson, Hawk. Though something tells me you already know who he is. I’ve heard things from both sides, and it sounds to me like the two of you need to talk.”
“What do you mean, you’ve heard things from both sides?” Hawk asked. He’d mentioned the theft after all, but had Ella also told Faye what happened?
Faye pushed away from the table, using it to brace herself
