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“My pleasure.” Annie sniffed and walked away.
Rosalie followed her down the bustling hallway and searched for Cannon. No sign of the pigheaded doctor. She really had been dismissed. “Well, hell.”
Annie turned to her. “Everything okay, dear?”
“Do you know where Cannon, I mean Dr. Ford, went?”
Annie’s weary eyes brightened. “You two have met before, haven’t you?”
“Yes. Yesterday.” Her phone pinged with a text message. She pulled it out. Paul hadn’t heard anything about a ransomware attack on Red Snow Hospital. He would soon if she could convince Cannon to listen to reason.
“Look, Annie, I really need to talk to Dr. Ford.”
She glanced at Rosalie’s bare ring finger. “He’s single, you know.”
He’d better be after the way he kissed me last night.“Annie, where is he?”
“Check outside. He thinks better there.”
“So do I.” She argued better there too. The rumbling from her stomach presented its own argument.
Annie pulled two chocolate bars from her drawer and set them on the counter. “Sounds like you need one of these. Give the other to Dr. Ford.”
Rosalie thanked her and strode through the heavy double doors. She scarfed down her sweet snack as she hurried through the crowded waiting room and emerged into the fading daylight. A smattering of clouds touched the peaks of the Rockies and created the perfect backdrop for a late afternoon ride down the mountain.
Or arguing with an obstinate man.
The invigorating air expanded her lungs and determination as she rounded the corner. Cannon paced at the end of the walk, his head down against the wind, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Rolled-up sleeves exposed muscled forearms. His white coat lay on a bench.
His startling blue eyes met hers. “It’s freezing out here.” He pointed to the sweatshirt tied around her waist. “Put that on.”
A gust of wind blew from the mountains. She stifled a shiver, not from the temperature but from his imposing voice that likely made everyone heed his commands. “It’s not that cold.”
He grabbed his coat off the bench and swung it over her shoulders. A smirk softened the tense set of his jaw. “Don’t argue with your doctor.”
“I’m not. I’m arguing with the CEO.” She resisted the urge to wrap the coat around her body. He didn’t need to know that it smelled like him. “Annie asked me to give you this.” She held out the candy bar.
A slight smile raised his lips as he grabbed it and tore the wrapper. “Thanks. Chocolate is just what I need.”
She opened her hand and displayed her crumpled wrapper. “Me too. Now let me see the ransom email so I can determine if I’ve encountered this criminal before.”
Red lights from an incoming ambulance flashed across Cannon’s face. All humor—and that dimple she shouldn’t find so adorable—left his features as he swallowed the last bite. “I appreciate you taking time out of your vacation, but I didn’t call the FBI. You aren’t on the case. Once I pay the ransom, the crisis will be over.”
She didn’t bother checking her frustration. “You don’t get it. There are no guarantees the attackers will give you the encryption keys to unlock your data after you fork over two million dollars. Terrorists have no honor.”
A tall figure ate up the sidewalk. “Cannon.”
Rosalie assessed the man in the gray suit. “Who is that?”
Cannon slid next to her, their hips touching. “My CIO, Karl Schlitz.”
“Sounds like the name of a brewery.” The tense edge to Cannon’s voice said he could use a beer. Schlitz’s sharp cheekbones, set in a thin, angular face, said he could use a sandwich. Or an entire pizza. Despite his slim frame, he moved with a graceful, determined purpose. He stopped a few feet before them. His misty, gray eyes, the color of an overcast afternoon, raked her body. She shivered and leaned into Cannon’s solid warmth.
“We have a call in fifteen minutes with our software vendor.” Schlitz’s gaze strayed to her breasts and lingered. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Cannon touched the small of her back. “This is Rosalie.”
She glared at Cannon. “What he meant to say is I’m Special Agent Zenner. FBI Cybercrime. Nice to meet you, Mr. Schlitz.”
