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“The least you can do is cook dinner, Luke. No, we’re not going to order out again tonight. Do you know how much this is costing me?” She listened for a moment, then closed her eyes and shook her head. “Just… do it, all right?” And then she hung up, stared before her for a few moments, and got back to work.

“Boyfriend trouble?” Dooley suggested.

“Could be,” I said. “Though I doubt it. She’s obviously still crazy about her boss, otherwise she wouldn’t be crying her eyes out all day.”

“Poor girl,” said Dooley. “Her boss doesn’t deserve her.”

But since there was nothing more to learn here, we moved on to Gran and Scarlett’s second target. Tom was also tapping away at his computer, but as we settled in next to his desk, the same mailroom kid arrived, looked left and right, and lowered his voice as he addressed the bespectacled young man.

“Guess what,” he said. “Natalie is pregnant.”

“What?” said Tom, clearly taken aback by this piece of news.

“I’ve got it from a reliable source,” announced Danny. “And guess who the father is.”

“I have no idea,” said Tom, frowning darkly at this bearer of bad news.

“None other than Mad Madison himself!”

Tom almost fell from his chair, but recovered quickly.“You’re crazy.”

“No, it’s true! Susan from accounting was in Madison’s office this morning, and caught the last snatches of a phone call. Something about an abortion. And when she checked closer, turns out he was talking to Natalie.”

“So? She’s his PA. He could have been talking about anyone. Or asking her to check something for research purposes. No reason to assume she’s having his baby.”

“That’s what I said. But listen to this. Couple of days ago Susan saw a bill from some posh hotel in town. Room booked for two in Madison’s name. So just out of curiosity she called the hotel to double-check, and they told her Madison took that room, all right. Him and some young babe. Blond and blue-eyed.” He arched a meaningful eyebrow. “Remind you of someone? Oh, and also, it wasn’t the first time either. Turns out they’ve been having regular dates in that same hotel for the past couple of months. And when I passed Natalie’s desk yesterday, I saw a card for some abortion clinic on her desk with Madison’s handwriting on it. It said, ‘My treat! Just do it!!!’ When Natalie saw me checking it out, she quickly covered the card with a copy ofGlimmer. But I know what I saw, buddy. Your girl is having an affair with the big chief—and got herself knocked up in the process!”

“She’s not my girl,” said Tom, looking distinctly shaken by this news.

“But don’t you see?” said Danny. “This is your chance, buddy boy! Obviously Madison dumped her ass the moment he found out she’s pregnant. You could be her rebound, buddy!”

“You’re crazy, Danny.”

“No, I’m a genius. The two are often confused.” He placed a hand on his colleague’s shoulder. “This is your moment, Tommy. Your moment to shine!”

“Clearly she’s still in love with the guy,” said Tom miserably. “Just look at how red her eyes are. And how often she’s been going to the bathroom. She’s been crying her eyes out over Mad Madison. So why would she be interested in me?”

“She will be if you’re the only decent person in this place. Madison is a jerk, and now is your chance to prove that you’re a friend to her, not an idiot like him.”

“I don’t think so,” said Tom, slumping lower and lower in his chair.

“Go over there now. Just talk to her. Show her a friendly face!”

But Tom sat there shaking his head, still stunned by this news.

So Danny finally rolled his eyes and continued his round.

“What does this mean, Max?” asked Dooley.

“This means we were right, Dooley. Tom is in love with Natalie, and if we can manage to bring these two together, Gabi will have solved two cases in one go.”

“Gabi? Who’s Gabi?”

“Dear Gabi. TheGazette’s advice columnist? The reason why we’re here in the first place?” And since he seemed to have a hard time understanding the intricacies of our assignment, I explained the whole thing to him once more. I must have been talking too loud, though, for when I looked up, I saw that half the office was looking in our direction, amused smiles on their collective faces.

Natalie even directed a watery smile at Tom, which he returned with some extra wattage added for good measure.

Now wouldn’t that be something? That their shared interest in two caterwauling interning cats would bring these sundered hearts together?

CHAPTER 10

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Vesta was trying to extract a decent cup of hot chocolate from the coffee machine in the office canteen when Natalie Ferrara walked in. The girl still looked pretty shook up, which wasn’t surprising considering the trouble she was in.

“I can’t seem to work this thing,” Vesta grumbled as she punched a few buttons to no avail.

“Let me help you,” said Natalie, and applied her gentle touch to the machine. “You need to be an old hand at this,” she explained with a smile.