Faith and Lies (Vera Reid, Reid Family Book #2)

Part 16

"Got a second?"

George was up to his neck in paperwork, literally. On his lap was a stack of files that the was meticulously thumbing through, making sure everything was in order. There was so little time left and although his assistant had committed to finishing this before he left, he was equally committed to making sure everything was completed. Still, he smiled as Romy stood in the doorway and signaled for her to join him on the only empty chair in the room.

"Come in... sit... anywhere." He said with a sigh.

"One week left." She muttered, sitting in the chair and watching as George continued to go through the files, counting silently.

"I know." he said, looking around the room. "I can't believe it. I knew it was coming but time went by faster than I thought."

"How's Karen doing?" Romy asked.

"She's good, busy doing this exact thing at home." He said, turning to face Romy now. This was strange. Did she seem... tense? "What about you?"

"Me? I'm great. The usual." She said, shifting in the chair. George raised his brow before taking the stack of folders and placing them on the nearest empty space.

"Right. So you came to see me because everything is great... as usual?" He asked, sitting back down.

"Why would anything be not great?" She said with a shrug.

"Romy, I've known you since you 10." He said, "Even then you didn't just come by to hang out."

"George, you're practically my brother and you're about to move away." She said, "Isn't it possible that I'm going to miss you?"

"Obviously." He said with a grin, "But you're like my sister. I know you, Romy Reid. You're not the sentimental type. I don't know how you even managed to say that with a straight face."

Romy let out a small snort in the most unladylike fashion before shifting in the chair.

"I'm sentimental." She said and they both stared quietly for a moment. "Okay so I'm not."

"See? So what's up?" He said with a chuckle.

"Fine. Tom Dane." She said simply, leaning back and crossing her arms.

"Ah, Vera's new boyfriend." George said with a nod. "Seemed like a nice guy."

"He does. I'll admit it. He seems like a very nice guy." She said with a frown.

"So then why do I feel like you're not convinced?" George asked.

"I don't know." She said uncomfortably. "It's not him. I just can't explain it. Something doesn't feel right."

"Like what?" George asked.

"I don't know. It's ridiculous, I only just met him and it's not like we talked at any length. I don't know anything about him really... but I can't help it." Romy said, "Maybe I'm being paranoid."

"I've never known you to be paranoid." George said, "But I've also never known you to just worry without reason."

That was the truth. Romy was always so calm and composed. She didn't panic easily, didn't stress unnecessarily, hell, she didn't even stress when the situation called for it. Romy was always thinking, always planning. If something was wrong, she was already working on a solution because, as she often liked to say, being sad or stressing out wasn't going to fix the problem. Just the fact that she was here, expressing her concern was, well, concerning.

"What do you know?" He asked.

"Nothing more than what you know." She said.

"Did he say something?" George asked.