“When would you like to start?” We stepped into the elevator.
“Well, technically, my vacation is over tomorrow.” She looked up at me with those hopeful eyes. They were going to test my resolve. “If I’m sticking around, I guess I should look into a place to live.”
“Why don’t we have lunch tomorrow? I’ll have an official offer, salary and benefits delivered to you, and we can discuss details then.” We arrived on her floor. “I’ll meet you in the lobby at 12:30 pm.”
“Okay.”
Thatokaywas filled with too much enthusiasm. She was up to something, but I wouldn't know what until she decided to reveal it. The FBI trained its operatives to lie undetected. I had no doubt she would hold everything she could close to her chest.On paper, I should not be inviting this unknown into our circle, but she had something in common with Rayna and Tinley, and it was pulling at me the way those girls had pulled Kyler and Josh. All of us, really. She seemed like she needed me.
She had an unsettled soul, and it sparked my Daddy Dom nature to be there for her and take care of her. To remove the demons deep-seated in her brain. The FBI had trained her to be anything they needed her to be. I had the desire and the stubbornness to find out the truth from my little agent.
We arrived at her door. “You’re not banishing me to my room until then, are you?” she teased. “I’m not really tired. I thought I’d do some gambling. Maybe go grab a drink and people watch.”
“You are free to do as you please, but…” I leaned down again to eye level. “Just stay out of trouble, alright?”
She swallowed, her throat hitched. She licked her lips before catching the top one between her teeth. The gesture was equal parts cute and seductive, which made alarm bells go off in my head. “Good night. Kylie. See you tomorrow.”
“Night.” She opened her door, but didn’t walk in.
I fought the urge to look back and lost, turning my head just in time to catch the back of her shapely calf as she stepped inside.
My chest tightened. I pressed my palm against it and ran through the list of reasons I shouldn’t fall for this girl. At least not before I got to know what she was after.
My phone rang in my pocket. It was an anonymous number.
“Hi, Randall.” I wasn’t surprised to hear from him. I was surprised he was calling from off-campus. Randall didn’t leave Quad II much. He preferred to be in an environment that he could control. “Where are you?”
“Driving to LA.”
“You know we have planes and even a helicopter or two with your name on them. I’m sure you could have used them instead of driving to LA in the middle of the night?”
“It’s 9:30.” He scoffed. “Besides, I think better when I drive.”
“What are you thinking about?” I rode the elevator down and stepped off. The lobby was crowded and loud. An argument between two couples broke out near the entrance to the food hall. I took a step toward it, but my staff beat me to it. I watched from a distance while they restored order.
“This thing with Kylie.”
I stopped walking. “What thing with Kylie?” My grip tightened on the phone. The turn signal clicked through the speaker. Once, twice.
“Is that business or personal?”
I started moving again, past the walkway to Quad III, past the door to the staff offices. I made it another twenty feet before I realized I’d overshot. “Isn’t it all personal?”
“I’m not questioning your judgment. Just wanted to determine ifanythingI find out about her, relevant?”
“Is she the reason you’re heading to LA?”
“No, unrelated matter.”
“Is it business or personal?” Throwing his words back at him.
A pause on the line, long enough that I could hear the turn signal click twice more.
“Why does it matter?” I asked. “If it’s personal, I get it all, but if it’s business, I only get what’s relevant?”
“No, if it's just business, it’s a waste of my talent; HR can handle it.” He made a noise that passed for a chuckle, a programmed response he’d taught himself to interacting with other humans. He wasn’t a robot, but he was more cerebral than anyone else I knew.
“Well, then it’s personal in the way my job is personal to me. I want it all.”
