did.
He was maybe a few inches from her face. She swallowed again, as if that would help the sudden dryness in her mouth.
Damn, he’s good looking .
Thomas locked gazes with her, and for a second, her breath caught. She forced herself to shift focus back to the black-and-white boring data on the monitor.
“This is good work,” Thomas repeated, stepping toward the printer and retrieving the names. “Mags, maybe we should turn her loose on something a bit more challenging and see how she works out. Okay?”
Maggie nodded, trying to look both serious and like she didn’t just plaster a cheesecake shot of Thomas all over her computer. Which made Kate wonder if the rumors were true. If Maggie were sleeping with Thomas, why would she need the photo, right?
Or maybe that was wishful thinking.
“Good. Thanks.” He nodded to Kate, then Maggie, and left the office.
Maggie waited until his footsteps disappeared down the hallway, then turned on Kate, her eyes blazing. “How does he know you?”
Kate fought not to grin. “I was working late. He was leaving, saw the light, heard me singing. He stopped by.”
“Well. Well.” Maggie held her coffee cup in a stranglehold, so tight the plastic lid popped off like a jack-in-the-box. “Damn it!”
Guess I’m not getting fired , Kate thought with a little burst of glee.
She might not like working for big corporate, but damned if she was going to get canned by a petty, stupid, Angry Bird fiend with the metabolism of a hamster on crack.
Then, like a switch turning off, Maggie’s look of undisguised hatred smoothed back into an approximation of her usual smug, cat-like smile.
“So, he wants me to turn you loose on something more challenging,” Maggie drawled with a poisonous sweetness. “What sort of a challenge can I find for you?”
Kate knew automatically what the new gleam in Maggie’s eyes meant. Kate had gotten the job, all right—and now, her jealous and paranoid manager was going to go out of her way to make Kate’s life a living hell.
Wonderful , Kate thought. Just fan-fucking-tastic .
Chapter Three
It took a whole day for Maggie to figure out what Kate’s new assignment would be. Now, it seemed to take forever to get to basement level fifteen, the second lowest in the whole huge building and Kate’s new home for the next few weeks. Riding in the elevator reminded her of the one time she’d taken a trip with her family to the Carlsbad Caverns. There was the same feeling of pressure with hints of claustrophobia.
When the doors opened, there was an absolutely huge room, dark and dismal, like a big prison common area. Everything was a stark gray. There were tables, she noted immediately, and then gaped at the stacks upon stacks of papers. Papers frickin’ everywhere .
“So this is Contracts,” she muttered, already mentally cursing Maggie.
Her spoken words drew attention. Once she looked past the papers, she saw men sitting on metal folding chairs, going through the documents. The men all looked similar… some ethnicity she couldn’t quite place. Slavic? Russian, maybe? Some Hispanic mix? Hell, all of the above? In the Bay Area, anything was possible.
They also all looked like mixed martial arts fighters—huge, with no necks and bulging biceps.
“Lookie what we have here,” a guttural voiced man said, getting to his feet as his chair legs scraped loudly on the floor. “Fresh meat.”
Slowly, all the men stood up, staring at her with hunger and violence in their eyes.
Kate swallowed hard.
Oh, crap .
“Hello, pretty,” one bull-necked guy said, walking up to her with an icky “serial killer special” smile on his face. He also had a fresh cut on his cheek, like a knife wound or something, which only added to his creepy factor. “Don’t you look good enough to eat ?”
Kate reached into her purse, finding the pepper spray in one second flat. She was a cop’s daughter and an Oakland detective’s sister, damn it. She wasn’t going
He was maybe a few inches from her face. She swallowed again, as if that would help the sudden dryness in her mouth.
Damn, he’s good looking .
Thomas locked gazes with her, and for a second, her breath caught. She forced herself to shift focus back to the black-and-white boring data on the monitor.
“This is good work,” Thomas repeated, stepping toward the printer and retrieving the names. “Mags, maybe we should turn her loose on something a bit more challenging and see how she works out. Okay?”
Maggie nodded, trying to look both serious and like she didn’t just plaster a cheesecake shot of Thomas all over her computer. Which made Kate wonder if the rumors were true. If Maggie were sleeping with Thomas, why would she need the photo, right?
Or maybe that was wishful thinking.
“Good. Thanks.” He nodded to Kate, then Maggie, and left the office.
Maggie waited until his footsteps disappeared down the hallway, then turned on Kate, her eyes blazing. “How does he know you?”
Kate fought not to grin. “I was working late. He was leaving, saw the light, heard me singing. He stopped by.”
“Well. Well.” Maggie held her coffee cup in a stranglehold, so tight the plastic lid popped off like a jack-in-the-box. “Damn it!”
Guess I’m not getting fired , Kate thought with a little burst of glee.
She might not like working for big corporate, but damned if she was going to get canned by a petty, stupid, Angry Bird fiend with the metabolism of a hamster on crack.
Then, like a switch turning off, Maggie’s look of undisguised hatred smoothed back into an approximation of her usual smug, cat-like smile.
“So, he wants me to turn you loose on something more challenging,” Maggie drawled with a poisonous sweetness. “What sort of a challenge can I find for you?”
Kate knew automatically what the new gleam in Maggie’s eyes meant. Kate had gotten the job, all right—and now, her jealous and paranoid manager was going to go out of her way to make Kate’s life a living hell.
Wonderful , Kate thought. Just fan-fucking-tastic .
Chapter Three
It took a whole day for Maggie to figure out what Kate’s new assignment would be. Now, it seemed to take forever to get to basement level fifteen, the second lowest in the whole huge building and Kate’s new home for the next few weeks. Riding in the elevator reminded her of the one time she’d taken a trip with her family to the Carlsbad Caverns. There was the same feeling of pressure with hints of claustrophobia.
When the doors opened, there was an absolutely huge room, dark and dismal, like a big prison common area. Everything was a stark gray. There were tables, she noted immediately, and then gaped at the stacks upon stacks of papers. Papers frickin’ everywhere .
“So this is Contracts,” she muttered, already mentally cursing Maggie.
Her spoken words drew attention. Once she looked past the papers, she saw men sitting on metal folding chairs, going through the documents. The men all looked similar… some ethnicity she couldn’t quite place. Slavic? Russian, maybe? Some Hispanic mix? Hell, all of the above? In the Bay Area, anything was possible.
They also all looked like mixed martial arts fighters—huge, with no necks and bulging biceps.
“Lookie what we have here,” a guttural voiced man said, getting to his feet as his chair legs scraped loudly on the floor. “Fresh meat.”
Slowly, all the men stood up, staring at her with hunger and violence in their eyes.
Kate swallowed hard.
Oh, crap .
“Hello, pretty,” one bull-necked guy said, walking up to her with an icky “serial killer special” smile on his face. He also had a fresh cut on his cheek, like a knife wound or something, which only added to his creepy factor. “Don’t you look good enough to eat ?”
Kate reached into her purse, finding the pepper spray in one second flat. She was a cop’s daughter and an Oakland detective’s sister, damn it. She wasn’t going
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