Read Online Forget Me Not (Escape Contemporary Romance) by Nina Blake - Free Book Online
Authors: Nina Blake
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job. Stefan wondered if that explanation supposed to mean something to him, if he was supposed to care.
’You’ve spent the last five years working on that case,’ Brian said. ‘Surely it rings a bell?’
‘Can’t say it does.’
‘Then what’s the first thing you can remember? When did you…come to?’
‘On a bench not far from the train station in Newtown. I sat there for a while looking around, trying to work out what to do next.’
‘And what did you do?’ Brian asked.
‘I asked for directions to the nearest police station.’
Brian’s eyebrows shot up. ‘You went to the police?’
‘They weren’t sure what to do either but they called around, and I ended up being taken to hospital. After a few days, no one had reported me missing, and the hospital staff couldn’t work out what to do with me so they went back to the police.’ Stefan shrugged. ‘They’d already checked with the US Consulate. Because of my accent, they thought I might have been a tourist, but they were wrong. I didn’t match anyone on the police station Missing Persons database either, so they contacted the media. That was when Claire saw my picture in the local newspaper.’
‘You really can’t remember anything? What about the legislation, the statutes, everything you learnt at university?’
Brian was a lawyer, so Stefan figured the man couldn’t have been stupid, but he didn’t seem to understand.
‘I’ve got amnesia,’ Stefan said. ‘That’s the whole point. I can’t remember a thing.’
‘Then how can you come back to work? We were under the impression you were healthy, that the doctors had released you because you were back to normal.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Do you have any idea how long it might take for your memory to return?’
‘If you want to know when I can come back to work,’ Stefan said, ‘I have no idea.’
‘What are we going to do without you?’
Stefan smiled wanly. ‘I’m sure you’ll survive.’
Veronica smoothed back her hair with one hand and looked up at him through her mascara-clad lashes. ‘Surely coming back here and seeing us must be sparking something. It’s not just the office. We were very…close.’ She enunciated, almost whispering the word.
No, she must be having him on. It wasn’t possible he’d ever been ‘close’ to this woman. And how dare she suggest that in front of Claire, as if this Veronica would trigger his memories when seeing his own wife hadn’t.
He looked the woman in the eye. ‘I can assure you, seeing you means nothing to me.’
‘At least next time we see you, you’ll know who we are,’ Brian said with a smile. ‘And we will see you again. We’re having celebratory drinks after work on Thursday. It’s not for everyone, just the senior staff, so it won’t be too crowded. You’re both invited, of course.’
‘We’d love to come,’ Claire said.
Stefan wasn’t thrilled at the prospect but didn’t argue.
‘Take care of yourself.’ Shifting his gaze to Claire, Brian added, ‘She’ll look after you. The two of you had your differences, but you can rely on Claire.’
And that was that—Brian was giving him the brush-off. Taking Claire’s hand, Stefan took a step back to stand by her side, ready to leave.
Veronica stood and stepped forward. ‘You were a brilliant lawyer. You drew in all the prestigious clients, got the biggest accounts, brought in lots of business.’
‘No need to talk about me in the past tense,’ Stefan said. ‘I’m not dead, you know.’
She looked mortified, then quickly composed herself. ‘I didn’t mean that. I just thought you should know you were highly-valued here and when you’re well again, we’d love to see you back.’
Brian nodded in agreement. ‘Absolutely, mate. No doubt about it.’
They valued his professional expertise, and he’d brought good money into the firm. Of course they’d want him back.
When he recovered.
He and Claire bade them goodbye, walking silently
’You’ve spent the last five years working on that case,’ Brian said. ‘Surely it rings a bell?’
‘Can’t say it does.’
‘Then what’s the first thing you can remember? When did you…come to?’
‘On a bench not far from the train station in Newtown. I sat there for a while looking around, trying to work out what to do next.’
‘And what did you do?’ Brian asked.
‘I asked for directions to the nearest police station.’
Brian’s eyebrows shot up. ‘You went to the police?’
‘They weren’t sure what to do either but they called around, and I ended up being taken to hospital. After a few days, no one had reported me missing, and the hospital staff couldn’t work out what to do with me so they went back to the police.’ Stefan shrugged. ‘They’d already checked with the US Consulate. Because of my accent, they thought I might have been a tourist, but they were wrong. I didn’t match anyone on the police station Missing Persons database either, so they contacted the media. That was when Claire saw my picture in the local newspaper.’
‘You really can’t remember anything? What about the legislation, the statutes, everything you learnt at university?’
Brian was a lawyer, so Stefan figured the man couldn’t have been stupid, but he didn’t seem to understand.
‘I’ve got amnesia,’ Stefan said. ‘That’s the whole point. I can’t remember a thing.’
‘Then how can you come back to work? We were under the impression you were healthy, that the doctors had released you because you were back to normal.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Do you have any idea how long it might take for your memory to return?’
‘If you want to know when I can come back to work,’ Stefan said, ‘I have no idea.’
‘What are we going to do without you?’
Stefan smiled wanly. ‘I’m sure you’ll survive.’
Veronica smoothed back her hair with one hand and looked up at him through her mascara-clad lashes. ‘Surely coming back here and seeing us must be sparking something. It’s not just the office. We were very…close.’ She enunciated, almost whispering the word.
No, she must be having him on. It wasn’t possible he’d ever been ‘close’ to this woman. And how dare she suggest that in front of Claire, as if this Veronica would trigger his memories when seeing his own wife hadn’t.
He looked the woman in the eye. ‘I can assure you, seeing you means nothing to me.’
‘At least next time we see you, you’ll know who we are,’ Brian said with a smile. ‘And we will see you again. We’re having celebratory drinks after work on Thursday. It’s not for everyone, just the senior staff, so it won’t be too crowded. You’re both invited, of course.’
‘We’d love to come,’ Claire said.
Stefan wasn’t thrilled at the prospect but didn’t argue.
‘Take care of yourself.’ Shifting his gaze to Claire, Brian added, ‘She’ll look after you. The two of you had your differences, but you can rely on Claire.’
And that was that—Brian was giving him the brush-off. Taking Claire’s hand, Stefan took a step back to stand by her side, ready to leave.
Veronica stood and stepped forward. ‘You were a brilliant lawyer. You drew in all the prestigious clients, got the biggest accounts, brought in lots of business.’
‘No need to talk about me in the past tense,’ Stefan said. ‘I’m not dead, you know.’
She looked mortified, then quickly composed herself. ‘I didn’t mean that. I just thought you should know you were highly-valued here and when you’re well again, we’d love to see you back.’
Brian nodded in agreement. ‘Absolutely, mate. No doubt about it.’
They valued his professional expertise, and he’d brought good money into the firm. Of course they’d want him back.
When he recovered.
He and Claire bade them goodbye, walking silently
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