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Chapter 2:Ulterior Motives?
Zoe picked up the pair of boots she had hunted for in her bedroom. Part of her still couldn't believe Ruth was on the way over to babysit Emma while she went out with Lucas. It still seemed strange that she was back in the UK; that Harry had assumed she would want to return to Section D. It would still be another day before she would officially be back at her desk but the thought of being there without Danny and Tom seemed unnerving.
"Hi." Ruth called as she pressed the doorbell.
"Shit." Zoe ran through the flat. "Sorry Ruth, didn't realise the time. "
"Or that the door was open?" Ruth smiled slightly. "Good job it was me and not Harry."
"Oh don't tell him. We never locked the front door back in Chile. Never really had to."
"Yeah, but this is London." Ruth raised an eyebrow. "And we don't exactly work for the easiest employer in the world."
"True." Zoe smoothed her skirt down. "Emma has had her tea."
"Zoe, stop panicking. Believe it or not I've looked after a child before." Ruth smiled sadly as Zoe raised an eyebrow.
"I have godchildren."
"Oh yeah. I forgot." Zoe led Ruth into the living room. "Em, say hello to Ruth."
"Hello." Emma kept her eyes focused on the television screen in front of her. Ruth smiled at the girl.
"Hannah Montana?" Ruth sat next to her on the sofa while Zoe continued to fuss around the flat.
"Yeah." Emma smiled happily. "I love it and I get to stay up really late tonight."
"No you don't." Zoe called from the bedroom. "Don't tell Ruth that." Emma rolled her eyes as Ruth shook her head. It seemed the little girl was a carbon copy of Zoe.
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Lucas washed his face and stared at his collection of shirts. He really had no idea why he had agreed to go out with Zoe. His track record with women was legendary in its awfulness. He knew Sarah had been a mistake. The American woman had used and abused his trust to an extent he really didn't know what had happened until the day he had found her dead in the hospital. His ex-wife Elizaveta had tried to use him just the same, even though she was now happily married to another man. He shook his head and pulled out a black shirt to match his jeans. He reasoned he was just being over-cautious after what had happened in the past. Zoe was not like other women he had met. He closed his eyes; she wasn't like Ros. He mentally shook himself not knowing why the blonde Section Chief had entered his head.
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Ros picked up the remote control and pointed it at the aging television in the corner of Malcolm's living room. She had been staying there since she had been released from the hospital. Now Malcolm was out and she had no reason to be on the Grid. Swearing under her breath she gave up on the inane police drama on the television and wandered into the kitchen in search of wine and something to eat.
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Lucas stared at his feet as he waited for Zoe to join him. The film had been useless and he regretted choosing it. He looked up as she walked back towards the small table in the corner of the Italian restaurant. The restaurant had been his choice, a quiet little Bistro he believed no one else in Section D knew about.
"Sorry about the film." He pulled a face as she sat down.
"Not your fault, but it was awful. And since when was it so expensive to get into the cinema?"
"That's one of the first things I discovered when I got home. Prices for everything have gone up. I still expected Polo mints to be 10p."
"You and your sweet tooth." Zoe shook her head. Lucas shrugged. He knew chocolate was his down fall but he didn't care. There were worse vices in the world. He knew Ros often teased him about his love of chocolate donuts. He smiled as he thought of the last time he had bought coffee with her. She hadn't been impressed about his love of the confectionary. He shook his head and tried to focus on what Zoe was saying, silently berating himself for not concentrating on her and thinking of Ros instead.
"Lucas?" Zoe leant forward. "Is everything ok?"
"Yes." He lied fluently. Zoe raised an eyebrow. She knew he was lying to her. She smiled slightly and looked away as a young couple at the next table began laughing. The Italian owner shook his head in dispair as he asked the couple to keep things quiet.
"So? Gossip?" She sipped her wine. "What did I miss on the Grid in the last few years?"
"You know all the really important things." Lucas watched as she nodded. It hadn't been long before Adam had told her of Danny's death. She knew that others had been lost too, including Adam's wife.
"Yes, but office gossip."
"There isn't any?"
"There must be."
"It's not really my thing."
"What about Harry and Ruth?"
"She's your friend."
"Yeah. And?"
"So ask her." Lucas disliked talking about other people, especially those he considered friends as well as colleagues.
"No." Zoe stated. "You know what Ruth is like."
"And you know she hates people talking about her. I don't know anything about her and Harry apart from they both work at the same place." He sipped his wine. "She's a friend of mine too." Zoe sat back in her chair and looked at Lucas. She liked him but she really had no idea why he was there with her, or more to the point what she was doing there with him.
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Ruth closed the bedroom door and walked back into the living room picking up various toys as she went. Emma was a lovely little girl and very easy to entertain. She jumped slightly as she saw the text message from Harry. She smiled as she read the short text, happy to think he was thinking of her. She put the small phone back into her jeans pocket as she heard a car pull up outside. She quickly made her way back from the windows, not wanting Zoe and Lucas to think she was prying.
"It's been." Zoe shrugged her shoulders, aware that the taxi driver was growing impatient.
"Yeah." Lucas nodded. "Sorry about the film." Zoe smiled, knowing that this was his way of giving her an option to say she wanted to see him again. Ever the gentleman he was giving her the get out clause.
"It doesn't matter. I'll see you at work." She slipped out the taxi as Lucas watched her go wondering why he had even agreed to her invitation in the first place.
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A?N please review