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So he could suck it up. Besides, it’s not like he had to play the game. In fact, he could be the referee. It gave him the perfect excuse to sit it out.
“Great.” He offered what he hoped was an encouraging smile. It probably wasn’t, but it was the best he had. “I want you guys to head this up. Take it and run with it.”
There. Problem solved. Jack would would be happy with this, and really, if the game ended up being a little lame, that was to be expected for things like this, right?
“Perfect,” Callie said. “We just need to interview you about your coworkers.”
Oh hell.
He shot a glance at Joy. “You’re having too much fun with this.”
She shook her head, one hand casually trying to smother a smile on her face. “Not at all.”
Even though he was shaking his head at her, he was smiling. Damn her.
“You know who would be perfect for this,” Joy said, switching her attention to the other women in the room. “Samantha will have more dirt on her coworkers than anyone.”
“I hardly think we need a hacker for this,” Kaeden said, though really, he didn’t know why he was fighting it. Anything to get himself off the hook.
Now Joy was looking at him like he’d lost his mind. “No, they don’t need a hacker. Sam knows everything there is to know about everyone.” Her look was pointed. “She talks to people. She pays attention. She hears them.”
“Ouch. Low blow.”
Her grin was unrepentant.
Kaeden kept his eyes on Joy as Bethany and Callie left to go find Samantha.
A glance at the windows and door told him there was no one else around. He put a hand to her hip and pulled her in, liking the way she felt so damned perfect against him a little too much.
“You’re laughing at me.”
She tilted her head up to meet his gaze, her own filled with amusement. “A little.”
“Damn woman.”
He liked the way her smile widened and her eyes danced as she laughed at him. And he liked the way she gasped when he closed his mouth over hers, capturing that laugh with his kiss.
Liked the way she leaned in closer, pressing her body to his as she met his kiss and seemed to ask for more.
Liked it all too damned much.
Chapter 20
Kaeden sat on one of the large logs that ran along the stream and watched as his coworkers helped their kids scoop dirt from the bottom of the stream and pan for gold.
They had spent the morning touring an old mining site and then each person got a pan to swish the silt in, hunting for flakes of gold or garnet.
The kids squealed each time they found a piece, and when you put those pieces into one of the magnifying tubes used to hold the flecks, they looked much bigger and more impressive to little eyes.
He had to admit, he liked it here. And he didn’t even mind being forced to spend all this time with his team and the others at Sutton. He had to admit, he liked the people he worked with. As much as he didn’t want to.
But if he did form friendships with them, would they last? Would they stand a test like the one he’d seen even most of his military brothers and sisters crumple under?
He wouldn’t get his hopes up. He’d seen what happened when shit hit the fan and people had to choose sides. They chose the side that covered their asses or didn’t rock the boat.
He pulled the list he’d been making from his back pocket. It turned out, he knew more about his coworkers than he thought. Bethany and Callie were getting good details from Sam for the Sutton Capital Showdown game, but it bothered him that he hadn’t been able to help more.
But he’d come up with ten or so things he thought would be fun details to add. He remembered Jennie had a dog named Monkey when she was little. She’d cried in the parking lot of the humane society until her parents let her adopt him. Unfortunately, they let her name him, too, and ended up with a dog named Monkey.
