Chapter 7

"It's me."

Luke's voice.

Willa nearly dropped the pot, startled. "Why did you change your number again?"

"Work stuff," Luke replied, sounding totally casual, like they talked every day. "Are you free tonight?"

"No," Willa said flatly.

"Jane asked to meet. About her husband." Luke paused. "I thought you should be there."

Willa froze. "Jane? Why would she want to meet with you?"

"It's complicated over the phone. Seven o'clock. The usual place." Luke finished, adding, "And bring the succulent."

"Why would I bring the succulent?"

"Progress check."

The call ended.

Willa stared at her phone. Luke Landon was utterly impossible. But thinking of Jane... she was worried.

At 6:50, Willa stood outside Blue Bay Restaurant, the succulent in its new blue pot cradled in her arms. This time, she waited outside.

Luke arrived precisely on time. He wore a dark blue shirt, no tie, sleeves rolled to his forearms. Seeing the pot in her hands, the corner of his mouth might have twitched upward—a minuscule movement, imperceptible to the untrained eye.

"It's gotten taller," he said.

"Yeah." Willa held it out. "See? Doing pretty well, right?"

Luke took it, examined the leaves carefully, and nodded. "Not bad."

Just two words, but Willa felt an absurd flicker of pride.

Inside the restaurant, the usual third table by the window. Jane was already there, and a flicker of surprise crossed her face when she saw them enter together.

"Mr. Landon. Ms. Linwood." She stood.

"Sit." Luke naturally pulled out a chair for Willa before settling beside her.

Willa felt a bit self-conscious. It was the first time they'd sat side-by-side like this since the divorce.

The waiter approached. Luke said, "The usual." Then looked at Willa. "You too?"

Willa nodded. She couldn't even remember what "the usual" was, but she didn't want to show it in front of Jane.

As they waited for their food, Jane was the first to break the silence. "Mr. Landon, thanks for meeting me. I heard something about my husband..."

Luke took a sip of water. "What exactly did you hear?"

"That he's suspected of stealing trade secrets." Jane's voice was low. "But I think there might be a misunderstanding."

"The police have opened an investigation," Luke said. "Whether it's a misunderstanding will be determined by the findings."

Jane bit her lip. "But if he really did... does that mean my book is in trouble?"

"Your book is fine," Willa jumped in. "We've reviewed everything—it's just creative writing."

"But some of those details..." Jane looked over at Luke, her voice tense. "Mr. Landon, did you object to publishing the book because you found something?"

Luke paused for a moment, then took out a folder from his briefcase and slid it over to her.

"This is a list of your husband's company's projects from the past three years," he said. "The ones marked in red? They line up exactly with the clients my firm lost."

Jane opened the folder, her face going pale.

Willa leaned over for a closer look. Next to the projects marked in red were dates—the very same dates as those "industry events" Jane had mentioned in her book.

"These events..." Jane's voice trembled. "He took me to all of them. He said it was so I could see the world..."

"The snippets of conversation you included in your book," Luke said calmly, "though literary embellishments, contain core information remarkably similar to discussions held in my firm's internal meetings."

Willa looked up sharply. "You're saying Jane's husband used her..."

"He probably didn't mean to," Jane said anxiously. "He was just on the phone at home, and I overheard him by accident..."

"Overhearing something once is coincidence." Luke looked at her steadily. "But three times? Five times? Each time involving critical information?"

The restaurant fell silent.

Willa's heart ached seeing Jane's pale face. She remembered Jane's eyes when she'd said, "This book means so much to me," and the forlorn way she'd mentioned her husband's lack of support.

"Jane," Willa asked gently, "does your husband know about the book?"

Jane lowered her head. "Yes. He even said... said it was well-written and encouraged me."

Luke and Willa exchanged a glance.

"What if," Luke said slowly, "he deliberately let you overhear that information? What if he encouraged you to write it down?"

Jane's eyes widened. "That's impossible! Why would he do that?"