“It has yet to translate into sex.”
That bit of intel buoyed his mood in ways that Georgia’s phone call had not. “But it might.”
“Well, I still want a baby and I’m not getting any younger, so you do the math.”
“None of us are getting younger.”
“Uh, you are. I saw you on the show this morning. Did they change the filters on the cameras or something? Looking pretty hot there, Trakas.”
His face immediately flushed with heat. “Thanks, but no. I think you have me confused with Wesley, the new meteorologist.” Indeed, the new hire was all the production assistants were talking about. In his mid-twenties and with approximately two percent body fat, he was catching eyes all over the place.
“Oh, shush. You’re way hotter than Wesley.”
“You know they put a pound of makeup on me. I look like a Muppet.”
“First off, Muppets can be hot.”
“I’m no expert, but I’m positive that was not Jim Henson’s intention.”
“What about Miss Piggy? She’s got that whole sultry-but-bossy thing down pat. Men love that.”
“You realize you just described yourself.”
Brooklyn unleashed a belly laugh. “Turns out mendon’tactually love that. At least not my particular brand of sultry and bossy.”
Alec smiled to himself and sank back in his chair. “I don’t know. I fell for it at one point.”
“Careful, Alec. I mentioned the extreme horniness. That hasn’t really gone away.”
His eyes drifted shut, allowing him to conjure an image of Brooklyn—her smile, which could light an entire city block, and her bright and soulful eyes, which never failed to pull him in. He wished she was there. He wished dozens of men weren’t vying for her attention. If he was certain that he could give her what she wanted, and that she could do the same in return, he could be persuaded to try again. “I can’t help but feel like we have unfinished business.”
“We definitely do from that night.” Her voice had quieted. It was breathy, even. “But maybe we’ll always feel that way.”
Maybe.A knock came at Alec’s door. “Brooklyn, hold on one sec. Someone’s here. Don’t go anywhere, okay?” He muted his phone, hopped up out of his chair and turned the knob.
A young woman was hugging an armful of file folders. “Hi. Alec Trakas, right?”
“That’s me.”
“I thought so. My mom’s a big fan.”
Of course.“Can I help you with something?”
“I’m Sam.Robin Ortiz’s executive assistant. She asked me to deliver your copies of the research materials on Barry Millner. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with all of this.” She looked at Alec expectantly. “Can I put these somewhere?”
Alec was dumbstruck. “Yes. Of course. Sorry.” He cleared off a table for her. “Is there a summary of the folders? It’s a lot to digest on top of everything I have to do forGood Day.”
“Robin doesn’t believe in summaries. You’re going to have to read it all. And absorb it.” She cast him a look that said he was annoying her and also quite possibly an idiot. “Robin doesn’t skim the surface on anything. She’s all about the deep dive, and you’re about to do the deepest dive you’ve ever done in your life.”
“Of course.”
“You went to college, right?”
“I did.”
“When we land an interview like this, we cram.”
“Okay.”
