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I watch Claude’s face as I weave my tale. He gives nothing away. “I was working for this guy Kent back then. He’s also a lawyer at Morrison and Sons. He was the new guy then, just like my current boss is now. That’s my gig, I guess. I get the new people. They tell me it’s because I’m good.” I shrug. “I don’t know.”
“It’s sounds reasonable to me,” Claude says. “I would give one of my best to the newbies so they had a good chance at getting off on the right foot and succeeding.”
He has a point, one I’d never really considered before. It makes me feel a little proud, which in turn, makes me embarrassed. So I move on. “Anyway. He was assigned to keep tabs on Jack Morrison. Have you heard of him?”
He nods and grins. “Oh yeah. Jack is the black sheep of that family. Tennant and homeless advocate, right?”
I nod. “He runs a non-profit and spends a lot of time protesting real estate companies.”
“Like Morrison and Sons.”
“Exactly.”
“So, this Kent guy was supposed to what? Sabotage him? Spy on him?”
“No. Neither. See, Jack’s dad, the head of the company, he just wants to keep Jack out of jail. He’s more worried about Jack getting into trouble because he’s going after rich and powerful men than he is about any damage Jack might do his company.”
“Really?” Claude looks surprised. He’s not alone in that sentiment.
“Yeah. So Kent’s job was basically to keep Jack out of harm’s way. But, of course, Jack didn’t want any of that. He did everything he could to keep Kent off his case. But Kent persisted. Every once in a while Jack would agree to meet with Kent just to keep him from calling every day. So one day when I was at Jack’s office with Kent…”
“Yes?”
The elevator moves. Not a smooth I’m-starting-up-again kind of move. A jerk. A terrifying jerk followed by a hard stop.
I scream.
Immediately, I blush. I can see the pain on Claude’s face as I pierce his eardrums. “Sorry,” I say softly, my voice shaky.
Claude scoots beside me and wraps an arm around me. “It’s okay, Janice. Don’t panic.”
The phone rings and Claude reaches over with his long arm to open the little metal box and answer it, while still keeping me close.
I listen as he talks for a minute. Then he hangs up the phone and turns to me. “That was just a result of the guys working on the elevator. Everything is fine. They’ll have us out soon. Tell me about Jack.”
I am actually shaking. Claude rubs my shoulder with his hand and I lean into him. He is so warm, smooth, and covered in hard muscle. And right now I don’t really want to talk about another man when I am in this one’s arms. But at the same time I know how dangerous it is to be this close to an amazing body. So I continue.
“Jack and I made out. He was so appealing to me, rough and tumble, very manly.” I glance up at Claude. He’s double what Jack is in that department, and I wonder of he realizes it. “And for some reason he was attracted to me, too.”
Claude reaches up and touches my cheek. “Lots of reasons,” he says softly.
We stare at each other for a long moment. The silence is warm, his gaze is hot.
“What happened?” he finally asks.
“Nothing. Jack’s a player. It never went anywhere and I got a new boss who didn’t take me with her to his office. I might have tried to hook up with him the next time I saw him, but then I think he fell for Candace. Not sure what happened there. Doesn’t matter…I’m not interested in Jack anymore…I’m…” I am actually babbling. Claude is mesmerizing me.
“Glad to hear it,” he says. Then he leans down and takes my lips in his.
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