Hugh set his foot on the floor and leaned forward. The shift in his posture wasn’t very subtle. It was like watching someone step out of one version of themselves and into another. The arrogant charm he wore like a jacket slipped into something colder and slightly manipulative. Neither of these versions of Hugh were familiar to her, and she no interest in getting to know them.
“Have you seen Claire?” he asked.
Ziggy frowned, the question catching her off guard more for how he said it than the words themselves. It was as if he was trying to act as though he were concerned.
The longer this interaction went on, the more her skin crawled. It was as if he'd memorized a script and decided to perform it in her office. “No,” she said. “Why?”
“I was supposed to meet with her about an hour ago.” His gaze drifted briefly toward the bullpen before returning to her, sharper and more focused. “She never showed. I went by her cubicle, and they told me she went to meet with Noah.”
Ziggy didn’t even have to think about it. She lifted her hand and pointed through the glass toward Noah’s office, where he was very clearly inside, exactly where he was supposed to be.
“Well, he’s right there,” she said. “Why aren’t you over there asking him yourself?”
“To be honest, I came up here a little while ago, and he wasn’t in his office.”
Ziggy straightened slightly. She hadn’t been focused on work most of the day. She’d been too busy watching people watch her. She’d also noticed the few times Noah had stepped out.
He’d gone to get coffee and a snack, which he’d been kind enough to bring her back some too. Of course, that led to at least two staffers coming into her office and a few others gathering around the water cooler. Noah also had a couple of meetings, one of which didn’t include her.
“Is there a problem?”
“No. I don’t know,” Hugh said, rubbing his hands on his thighs. “You know his schedule, right? Could he have met with her, and …” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Forget it. I’m sure that’s not what happened. I mean, if he were meeting with her, you'd know it.”
“Are you implying that something is going on with Claire and Noah?” The words tasted like five-day-old fish when they came out of her mouth. Not because she believed it. But because she’d seen the texts. Heard what Claire had tried. The dressing room stunt.
Hugh pushed to his feet and stood. “No. It’s nothing,” he said. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m probably mistaken.”
“Using nothing and probably in the same sentence is contradictory.”
“I’m sorry. Really.” Hugh moved toward the door. “Have a good day.” And just like that, he was out of her office and waving to people as he strolled down the corridor toward the elevator.
Ziggy sat there for a second, staring at the empty doorway, her mind running back through the last few minutes whether she wanted it to or not. Claire didn’t miss meetings. Not when there was something to gain.
Hugh had been getting a lot of attention and being a fulltime researcher on his team would be a good opportunity for someone like Claire.
And then there was the implication that Noah had been with Claire when he’d stepped out earlier. Noah might have seen her in passing, but that didn’t mean anything. It shouldn’t.
And yet, Hugh had managed to plant the seed in her brain. It didn't matter that she knew it was absurd. It was still there, lingering.
She pushed back from her desk and stood, already annoyed with herself for even letting it take up space in her head. She could see Noah sitting at his desk, staring at his computer, fingers resting on his keyboard.
Had Claire met with him? This was ridiculous.
Still, she stepped into the hallway, just in time to catch Hugh slipping into the elevator, his head bent over his phone, thumbs moving quickly across the screen like whatever he was typing couldn’t wait.
That, more than anything, landed sharply in the center of her chest.
Ziggy turned and headed straight for Noah’s office, her pace picking up as she crossed the bullpen, ignoring the staffers tracking her movement. She didn’t bother knocking. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Noah looked up immediately, his expression shifting to a smile the second he saw her, then dropping into a frown a second later. “What’s wrong?”
“Have you seen Claire?”
“What?”
“Please don’t make me repeat myself.” She crossed her arms, more to contain the restless energy running through her than anything else. “Have you talked to her? Met with her? Seen her anywhere in the last hour?”
He leaned back slightly in his chair, one brow lifting. “No. Should I have?”