Page 3 of Mitch

“I’m also hiring someone to coordinate logistics for us. Pax has very kindly agreed to help me find someone.”

“Pax should come work for us. She’d be awesome.” Reid looked at Blake with a raised brow.

“Not going to happen, my friend. She’s loyal to Roz. Plus, we’d probably kill each other.”

Reid laughed. “True dat.”

Pax was the most efficient woman Mitch had ever met, and she’d be a massive asset to the team, but he had to respect her loyalty to Zenobi.

Jack stood from his chair, leaning his hands on the table. “Well, if that’s all, we can meet here next Monday and go through a detailed list of jobs when I’ve met with the Palace.”

“Need someone with you?” Mitch asked, not liking the idea of Jack going alone when they knew a threat to the team originated there.

“Blake is coming with me, but a second set of eyes would be good.”

Mitch nodded, and everyone stood as the meeting wrapped up. Mitch looked at his watch and figured he had time for a workout before he met the prospective tenant.

That turned out to be longer than expected when he got into a sparring match with Waggs and Reid, and then Alex joined them. Before he knew what had happened, it was seven-thirty.

“Fuck, I need to be somewhere.” Throwing his gloves in his bag, he rushed through a shower and shoved his jeans, navy t-shirt, and boots on before jumping in his car and driving the fifteen minutes home.

Pulling up, he noticed a rusted-out Ford Focus parked on the road outside his house and cussed again. He hated being late for anything.

Throwing his bag over his shoulder, he stepped through the front gate and came face to butt with the sweetest ass he’d ever seen, and Mitch had seen his fair share. A sexy woman with long black hair in braids was bent over pulling weeds from his garden.

“You here to see the flat or did I contract a gardener and forget about it?”

The woman instantly turned and flashed him a questioning smile. Forget the ass, her face was even better, with a regal, oval shape, a warm rose gold skin tone, and lush, full lips meant for kissing. The woman tilted her head to look up at him with eyes the colour of autumn leaves, the longest lashes he’d ever seen sweeping over high cheekbones. Her long black hair was held back from her face in a knot, the rest skimming almost to her waist as she moved towards him, hand outstretched.

“Mr Quinn, I’m Autumn Roberts.” She waved a hand behind her. “Sorry about that, I couldn’t help myself. Gardening is a bit of a passion of mine.”

“Mitch.”

She frowned adorably while rubbing her hands together to get the soil off them and he fought not to grin like an idiot.

“Sorry?”

“My name is Mitch.”

“Oh, I see.”

He regarded her, taking in the whole package, and found himself intrigued. This woman was beautiful and friendly, a good start.

“Can I see the property?”

Mitch jumped. “Oh, yeah. Sure.” He moved towards the door, feeling like a knobend for staring at the poor woman.

He led her to the stairs and looked back at her as she looked around. “It’s on the top floor.”

He opened the door and let her go in first, wanting another look at her rear end to see if his assessment had been spot-on the first time. Yes, it definitely had. Her curves filled out those jeans perfectly.

Shaking his head, he walked towards the kitchen area. “It’s fitted out with new units and appliances. Carpets and laminate are also new, so is the bathroom suite and windows.”

Autumn walked to the window and looked out at the long garden. “Do you allow children? The agent wasn’t sure.”

“As long as they’re housetrained and not gonna keep everyone up all night.” He’d hoped to elicit a smile from her, wanting to see how she looked with a full grin on her stunning face.

“Maggie is only five months old, so not exactly.” Her face was motionless as she watched him, a caution about her he didn’t understand but for some strange reason wanted to.

“It was a joke, Ms Roberts. Kids are fine.”

She offered him another of her shy smiles and then dipped her head. “When can I move in?”

Mitch moved to stand beside her and noticed the scent of honeysuckle surrounded her. It was sweet and suited her and made his dick jump with interest.

“As soon as your references and DBS check come back clear.” He’d actually get Will to run the check rather than the Disclosure and Barring Service who usually did the criminal records checks.

Her face dropped again, and she nodded but wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Okay.”

“You gonna take it?”

“Yeah, I think I am.”

Mitch grinned at her, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep from the acting on the sudden urge to reach for her.

He had the distinct impression that Ms Roberts was going to make his life very interesting.

For the first time in a long time, he was excited by a woman. Whether that was a good or a bad thing was anyone’s guess.