A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

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Chapter 4: Lunch

Over a week had passed since Anthony had gone out for drinks with his siblings and Kate, but since then, his mind couldn't help but linger on what Kate had asked of him when they were standing at the bar. She had actually wanted him to help her break up her sister and her boyfriend, as if that was a perfectly normal thing to ask of a guy only a couple hours after they had first met. It had been a ridiculous request, he couldn't help but think, but a part of him was sort of tempted to go along with it if it meant he could keep talking to Kate. Something about her intrigued him in a way he hadn't often felt when meeting a woman, and he very much wanted to explore that.

But he hadn't heard from Kate for days now, not even from Daphne, so he supposed he ought to just put her out of his mind. Regardless, it had been a fun evening, and wished he had time to hang out with his siblings more in the future.

That time may have been coming up soon, though. Daphne had called Anthony on Sunday and suggested a fun idea: the family and their significant others could take a short holiday to their summer home Aubrey Hall at some point within the next few weeks. Anthony had a few vacation days saved up, so he was all for it. They agreed Daphne would stop by his office for lunch on Monday so they could hash out the details.

Monday morning, Anthony headed into work, thinking about all of the meetings he had today while mentally trying to schedule everything around when Daphne was supposed to come by. He was looking down at his schedule on his phone when he nearly ran directly into someone:

"Oh! Pardon me, Mr. Bridgerton," a familiar simpering female voice said.

Anthony nearly groaned. "My apologies, Cressida," he said, stepping around the insufferable blonde paralegal. Cressida Cowper had been working here at Lennitz & Crown Law Offices for about six months now, and it was extremely obvious she had a massive crush on Anthony. He had had enough experiences with women like her to know she was only interested in sleeping her way to the top, but Cressida had been more tenacious than any other girl he'd ever had to deal with in the past.

"I was actually hoping to see you this morning, Mr. Bridgerton," Cressida said eagerly, following Anthony toward his office and deliberately brushing up against his sleeve. She was wearing a designer pink pantsuit today, and her nude heels clicked on the marble floors as she hurried along. "Will you be busy around lunchtime? I was thinking we could meet and go over my notes regarding the Brower Estate case. Mr. Peterson mentioned that you've worked with them in the past and you might have some insight on our steps forward…"

"I haven't actually worked very closely with the Brower Estate case," Anthony said firmly, continuing to walk toward his office while ignoring Cressida still walking indecently close at his side. "Mr. Peterson must have been mistaken. Also, I have plans for lunch today."

"Well, perhaps I could join you," Cressida went on eagerly, batting her eyelashes at him hopefully. "Even if you haven't worked on the Brower case, your insight would undoubtedly be invaluable. Everybody at the office says that you're always the barrister to turn to when in need of the best advice."

God, she really was laying it on thick this morning. "You flatter me, Cressida, but I'm afraid I can't help you with this," he said, happy they finally reached his office and had an excuse to shut the door in her face. "Excuse me, but I have a Zoom meeting in about ten minutes."

Anthony shut his door before she could respond, and he let out a sigh, reveling in the silence of not having that pernicious flirt babbling in his ear anymore. He honestly wished there was a way to stop Cressida's annoying behavior, otherwise he'd have to get HR involved. Which was the last thing he needed.

The morning passed by rather quickly, with Anthony holed up in his office the whole time attending Zoom meetings with his clients or reviewing contracts. He kept glancing at the clock to make sure he wouldn't miss Daphne, but at around 11:00 he got a call from her. He was in the middle of a meeting at the time so he couldn't answer, so he ended up texting her to ask what was going on. She didn't respond, and he hoped it wasn't anything too serious.

Lunchtime soon rolled around, and Anthony received a buzz on his intercom from the receptionist: "Mr. Bridgerton, you have a visitor at the front."

"Thanks Leanne," Anthony said into the intercom before getting to his feet. He walked over to his office door and opened it before stepping out.

Kate was standing at the front desk.

Anthony blinked, staring at her. Was that truly her, or was he seeing things? Daphne was supposed to be here, but instead there stood Kate, looking casual yet gorgeous in a cami top and leather jacket, skinny jeans, and flats. Her long curly hair was pulled away from her face in a high plait, and she held a large paper bag in one hand; she gave Anthony a small grimace and a wave when their eyes met.

That's really her.

Still feeling thoroughly confused, Anthony made his way over to the front desk where she was standing. "Er, Kate… what are you doing here? Not that this isn't a lovely surprise, but I was expecting Daphne to come by."

"That's actually why I'm here," Kate explained. "Daphne was supposed to be off today, but she got called in for an emergency surgery this morning. She tried calling you to explain the situation but you didn't pick up, so she called me."

"Oh. I was in a meeting when she called," Anthony said, frowning. "I tried texting her but she never responded."

"She was sort of preoccupied. That's usually how it is with medical emergencies," Kate shrugged. "But she felt bad about canceling on you since she promised to bring lunch. She asked me to deliver it to you instead, and since I was off today anyway, I agreed."

Anthony raised his eyebrows in amusement, glancing down at the paper bag in her hand. "So you're playing UberEats today? How much did Daphne bribe you to do this for me?"

Kate scoffed, lifting her chin up slightly. "Being a good friend is its own reward. But she did promise to bake me her famous apple turnovers on her next day off, so I could hardly say no to that."

Anthony couldn't help but laugh. "I don't blame you. Those apple turnovers are to die for."

Kate smiled before looking down at the paper bag in her hand. "Anyway, she made you some sausage rolls and homemade chips. I'm rather jealous, they smell pretty good."

Anthony had a sudden strong urge to invite Kate to eat lunch with him. Before he could ask, however, someone approached them:

"Hello, Mr. Bridgerton."

Anthony felt his stomach sink. "Cressida."

Cressida, looking impeccably stuffy in her pink suit, gazed at Kate with obvious disdain, taking in her casual clothes. "So this is who your lunch plans are with?"

She was being pretty blatantly rude, which didn't get by Kate. "I'm sorry, who are you?" Kate asked, giving Cressida a similar rude onceover. Cressida looked prepared to reply with a similar catty remark, and Anthony, not eager to have Cressida near Kate for one more moment, instinctively reached out to grasp Kate's hand.

"So sorry, Cressida, but we simply must dash," Anthony said to the other woman, tugging Kate to his side. Kate looked down at their joined hands, clearly surprised. "Ready for lunch, darling?"

Kate blinked, looking up at Anthony with obvious shock. "Darling?"

"She's your girlfriend?" Cressida asked Anthony, looking thunderstruck.

Before Kate could protest, Anthony tugged her hand again and they began to move toward his office. Kate trailed behind him, trying to pull away. "Anthony," she hissed at him.

"Play along," he muttered to her as they walked, and luckily that quieted her. She glanced behind them toward Cressida, but Anthony kept his face resolutely forward. They got to his office, and Anthony quickly closed the door behind them.

"Anthony, what the hell?" Kate finally yanked her hand out of Anthony's once they were alone. "Who was that blonde slag in the Barbie pantsuit and why did she look like she wanted to gouge my eyes out?"

"It's a long story," Anthony sighed, moving over to his desk. "And I'm sorry for doing that to you. Cressida is a paralegal here who's apparently made it her mission in life to bag a barrister – namely me."

"So you had to pretend that I'm your girlfriend in order to get her off your back?" Kate asked incredulously. "That's pretty low, Anthony."

"Oh, and it's much lower than you hiding the truth from your sister about her boyfriend?" Anthony shot back immediately, placing his hands on his hips. Kate scowled at him.

"That's different," she said tersely. "And I haven't actually done anything yet in regards to the Edwina/Tom situation, whereas you decided to put on that little show for your whole office to witness!"

Anthony suddenly felt a bit guilty, realizing she was right. He removed his hands from his hips. "I suppose that's true. I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

"Thank you," Kate said, her expression still angry, but after a moment her face seemed to morph into something more thoughtful as she regarded him. "You know, if this Cressida woman is being such a problem for you, perhaps I might pose a solution," she said, walking over to set the paper bag on his desk. "You already essentially announced to everyone that we're romantically involved, and I still would like some help with my sister and Tom…"

Anthony immediately knew what she was getting at. "No," he said firmly. "That's ridiculous, Kate. I already told you –"

"You owe me," Kate shot back at him. "You already trapped me into pretending that I'm your girlfriend. I'd be willing to stay here with you for a bit and continue this ruse if you agree to help me break up Tom and Edwina."

Anthony glared at Kate, feeling like this would be an absurd agreement, but unsure of how he could get out of it. "Even if I were to agree to such a ridiculous scheme, there's no guarantee that the two of them would even break up."

"Well, we'll just have to try then, won't we?" Kate said doggedly, looking him in the eye. "I would be helping you out too, you know, so it's not as if you're getting the short end of the deal. I'll be the sweetest, most caring fake girlfriend in the world for you if that's what you want."

Anthony couldn't help but chuckle in skeptical amusement. "Somehow I doubt that," he said teasingly. Kate rolled her eyes, unable to hide a small smirk.

"Oh shut up. I can be nice when I want to be," she insisted. "So what do you say? Do we have a deal?"

Anthony let out a sigh. These past few days, when he was thinking about Kate and wondering how he could find a way to get to know her better, this wasn't exactly what he had in mind. Continuing lies would undoubtedly have consequences, but Kate seemed determined, and Anthony felt his resolve slipping.

"I suppose we do," he said begrudgingly, walking over to his desk where the food sat. "Come on. We might as well eat lunch before the food gets cold."

A/N: And the plot thickens! What did you think of the chapter? Please leave a comment and let me know!

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