Page 45 of Recovering Ivy

I continued to look through the pictures but no one had captured the women leaving. Our target had been Forester, not the prostitutes. I picked up the landline on my desk and dialed Garrett’s extension.

“What’s up?” he answered.

“I need to you pull the security feeds from the hotels Forester frequented. I’ll email you the dates and times. We’re looking for footage of the women leaving. Cross-reference any bags they’re carrying out with the bag Forester carried in.”

“Copy that.”

I replaced the handset, disconnecting the call, and emailed Garrett the dates and times I needed him to pull.

“What should I be doing?” Ivy asked.

I looked up from my computer and immediately thought of a multitude of things she could be doing. However, none of them were work related and all suggestions would probably be met with outrage. I couldn’t help it. She was sexy as hell sitting across from me. The woman screamed sex. She didn’t have to do or say anything, she was a natural. I doubted she understood her appeal. It went beyond her appearance. She was frustratingly independent and argumentative. She refused to take orders and would speak her mind when she thought I was being rude or bossy. However, when she knew it was time to concede, she did so without too much fuss. I stayed away from women like her, instead picking up easy, docile women that wouldn’t question my authority or ones so desperate to make an impression they blindly obeyed, thinking that would somehow impress me. It didn’t. I found those women to be doormats and had very little respect for a woman that wouldn’t stand up for herself. Those women posed no threat, none of them could ever keep my attention. Ivy had no issue telling me to shove it up my ass if I pissed her off. It was hot as shit and made her the perfect woman. The exact type I’d avoided at all costs. Now here she was sitting across from me after spending multiple nights in my bed. I was fucked.

The biggest problem I was facing was I wanted to keep her. I’d thrown every well-thought-out rule I lived by out the window. Not only that, her sharp tongue and soft hands had managed to get past the reinforced steel wall complete with razor sharp concertina wire I kept around me at all times.

“How proficient are you in Excel?” I asked.

“Don’t you think that is something you should’ve found out during the interview process?” she sassed.

“You wanna talk about my hiring practices or you want to get to work?”

“Yes, I’m proficient with all MS Office products.”

“Good. Did Garrett set you up with a log in and email?”

“Yep.”

I opened a new email window and typed in her company email address, attached the files she’d need, and hit send.

“It’s Friday. I need all the guys’ timesheets for the jobs they’re working on. I sent you last week’s report as well to use as a reference. All jobs are number coded, each team member also has a numerical code…”

“If you sent me last week’s, I’m sure I can figure it out. If I have any questions I’ll ask Rena,” she cut me off.

“Go ahead, Miss Smarty Pants. But if you have questions, you’ll come to me. I don’t want you going out front.”

“Zane,” she protested.

“Serious as shit, woman. Don’t test me on this. You go past the security door and I’ll tan your ass. That’s a promise. You can use Rena’s office.” Her brows drew together, and she gave me her best fuck off face before she headed for the door. Before she could exit, I called out. “We’ll leave for lunch at noon.”

She slammed the door behind her and I sat back in my high-back executive chair and wondered if her tiny frame would fit under my desk. Her sweet mouth around my cock while I read through daily SITREPs would make the tedious work a hell of a lot more enjoyable. I couldn’t help the smile that formed when I thought about what her reaction would be if I made the suggestion. Yeah, the little hellcat would be pissed.

16

Ivy

How did I wind up here?

The question had run through my mind at least a thousand times today. It had started when I woke up in Zane’s bed this morning, again when we got to work, later when he took me to lunch, and it continued throughout the day. Every member of the team, including Rena, took my being there in stride. They’d all pulled me into the fold and I wasn’t sure what to think of it. Leo told me about his wife, Olivia. Jaxon told me his woman, Violet, would love me. Garrett told me stories about Eric and his recent death while on a mission in Brazil. That was when I’d finally realized how dangerous Zane’s job was. His team didn’t hunt corporate spies; they hunted terrorists.

Zane had told me he was a government paid assassin, but I couldn’t at the time comprehend what that meant. I’d thought it had been bluster and exaggeration, Zane being over-dramatic to prove a point. But he wasn’t. He really did hunt and kill bad guys for a living. Garrett had also informed me Zane took personal responsibility for Eric’s death. My heart hurt for him. From what little I knew, there was nothing Zane could’ve done to stop Eric from throwing himself on top of a grenade to save the rest of the team, Zane included.

“You ready?” Zane asked, walking into Rena’s office where I was closing down the computer.

“Yep. Did you get the email I sent with the finished timesheets?” I asked, not looking up.

“I did.”

There was something different in his tone and when I looked up, I found him leaning against the doorjamb, watching me with a thoughtful expression.