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“I think you misunderstood my intent—”
“You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t notice what was right beneath your nose, but trust me when I say she’s not the kind of woman you take home to Mother. Just some friendly advice from someone who’s been burned by a beautiful woman in the past.”
Jeremiah couldn’t believe his superior was talking so freely about Miranda. Talk about playing fast and loose with the rules of professional conduct. Jeremiah fought to keep his voice calm and bury the agitation twisting his insides in a knot. His ire wasn’t solely because the man was talking about Miranda, he told himself. Jeremiah would’ve been concerned about Stuart talking disparagingly about any of his team, but the fact that it was Miranda did poke him a little harder than he wanted to admit. Don’t put your foot in your mouth over something that’s none of your business, he warned himself. “You don’t have anything to worry about. I don’t believe in interoffice dating,” he said firmly, choking on the hot words that wanted to spill in Miranda’s defense. “As long as she continues to be a good employee, I don’t care about her personal life.”
“Good man. I knew you were the right choice for that office,” Stuart said, oblivious to Jeremiah’s discomfort. He patted him on the shoulder again and winked. “Keep me posted on any new developments with the poaching angle. I have a reporter I can call who will do the story up right, if you know what I mean. Good press is important these days. Smart to cultivate those relationships.”
Jeremiah nodded and couldn’t wait to leave. And he’d thought he’d left behind an asshole of a boss in Wyoming. Seemed he’d simply traded one for another.
* * *
MIRANDA WAS STUDYING a biologist report on migration patterns of the black bear when Jeremiah returned. She was curious as to how the meeting went, seeing as it was his first official meeting of the brass. Virgil had always returned looking beat-up and worried. Miranda hustled into Jeremiah’s office, unable to stop herself. She wanted to know how he’d fared. “How’d it go?”
“Tell me about your relationship with Stuart Olly.”
Miranda was taken aback by the question. “What relationship?”
“Just curious. He seemed to have some opinions about you.”
Miranda bristled. “There is no relationship between me and Stuart Olly. What’d he say?”
Jeremiah seemed to think better of his line of questioning and dropped it. “Forget it. He gave me a soft go-ahead to pursue the investigation and the poaching as long as it doesn’t affect the bottom line. Seeing as I can’t hire anyone new to help, looks like you and I are going to be out in the field a bit.”
She nodded, still processing Jeremiah’s earlier comment. She shifted in discomfort, worrying that Stuart had shared personal biases against her for personal issues. For as big as Alaska was, sometimes the state felt too small for all the tongue wagging that went on about other people’s business. “Why the change of heart?” she asked, trying to refocus on the important details. “Virgil always said that Stuart was notoriously tightfisted with the budget.”
“Seems there’s a good angle to exploit in the media if we manage to catch the poachers.”
Ah. Made sense now. “Stuart loves being in front of the camera or quoted in the papers. Pardon my language but Stuart is a media whore.”
A short smile lifted the corners of his lips as if he agreed and a moment of camaraderie passed between them that felt good. “Well, maybe Stuart’s thirst for glory will play to our advantage. I say we should take whatever leg up we can find.”
“Agreed.” Miranda turned to head back to her desk.
“Hey, Miranda,” Jeremiah said, causing her to pause on her way out. “I’m sorry for mentioning anything about Stuart. And trust me when I say that whatever his opinion is, it doesn’t influence mine.”
Miranda smiled. “Thank you, Jeremiah. I appreciate that.” She could guess what Stuart had said about her as they had an unfortunate history that started way before he’d ever become part of Fish and Game in his current position. Let’s just say, it hadn’t ended well. She hated that Stuart had said anything at all to Jeremiah when her personal life had nothing to do with her work ethic. She graced Jeremiah with a smile and then returned to her office, troubled and buoyed by the conversation. She didn’t like the idea of Jeremiah knowing too much about her.
There were simply some parts of her life that she’d rather forget.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
