Protecting Her Heart (Seals Security Book 3) (4 page)

Laney knew he was likely thinking that this little ruse would be payback for some trick her brother had played on him. Her husband and brother had been friends since the Navy and they were always trying to one up each other and it had only gotten worse once she’d married Craig. At the moment she wasn’t sure she cared why Craig was suggesting that she trick her brother into thinking that the background check wasn’t finished.

Hmm, or maybe she could say she gave it to the assistant. Lord knows Janet was good at losing things. Laney tugged at the phone cord, her brain mulling over the ways to keep Luke from finding out that she already had the report.

“Besides, the worst that happens is she isn’t good at her job and she ends up seeking unemployment. It’s not like she would have access to any of the accounts as Luke’s assistant. The most she’d be able to do would be use the corporate credit card and we both know it would take Tina less than a week to catch on to that because she’s anal.” Craig let out a snort at his own joke.

Laney lowered her brows frowning. “You know that Tina’s the reason that we’re doing better than we were last year, right?”

“I know. And believe me, we all appreciate her dedication but we weren’t doing that terrible. She really just got rid of some unnecessary expenses and cleaned up the accounts payable for the overdue balances.” Laney knew he was glad Tina was now in the accounting department but his jab at her best friend had gotten on her nerves.

“You’re mad, aren’t you?”

“Not mad. I just don’t like when you dismiss Tina. She’s worked hard getting things in order and with the addition she’s swamped at the moment but can’t find a decent CPA to help,” Laney told him.

“I wasn’t dismissing her, babe. I’m sorry you felt like I was but you have to admit she gets a little obsessed with work. Brent always complains about it,” he muttered into the phone and she could hear static over the line, telling her he was moving around.

“Yeah, that is true,” Laney admitted, because Craig wasn’t wrong about Tina’s obsession. It had actually landed her in trouble a little over a year ago when she’d found an error in the accounts at her old job. She’d discovered a discrepancy that led to her almost getting killed by her boss.

“Sweetheart, I have to go.” Craig spoke to someone telling them to give him a minute and Laney shifted in her chair waiting for him to finish.

“Okay, I love you.”

“I love you too and I can’t wait to see you. I’ll call you tonight, okay. Miss you.”

“Miss you more,” Laney whispered as the line went dead. She set the phone down and contemplated the best way to put Luke off so she could hire Evie.

Evie let out a little sigh, rolling her shoulders and trying to relieve the tension in them. She’d been sitting in the local library at the computer looking up job listings for over an hour. It was two days after her interview with Seals Security and she wasn’t surprised she hadn’t heard from them after Laney told her that she was doing a background check. Her hand rose to rub the back of her neck before glancing around, trying to take her mind off her desperate job search.

She’d applied for three waitress jobs, where she’d been told by each one she was too qualified. What did that matter? If she wanted to do a job she was overly qualified for, why wouldn’t they let her? Evie looked at the time on the computer before she began to gather her purse and coat. Her phone started to ring and she dug it from the pocket of her jacket. Noticing that the caller ID said it was Seals Security calling, she frowned.

“This is Evie Dalton,” Evie said into the phone in a low voice.

“Hi, Evie. This is Laney and I’m calling because we’d like to offer you the job as Luke’s assistant. I was wondering if you would be able to start tomorrow?” Laney’s bright voice came across the line and Evie stood in stunned silence for at least thirty seconds, at a loss for words.

“Um, sure. I mean yes, I would love to,” Evie finally managed to utter.

“Great, then be here at seven am tomorrow and I will meet you in the garage to let you into the building. We’ll finalize all the details and get you set up.” Laney rattled off some other information that Evie was too stunned to hear before she said goodbye and hung up.

Evie just stood there, shock flowing through her as she stared at her silent phone for a full ten minutes before she let out a little whoop and did a jig in place, earning a hissing
Shhh
and glares from the nearby librarian, making her want to stick her tongue out at her.

Unable to contain her excitement, she grabbed her things and headed home. She needed to call Rory and ask her over to celebrate her good fortune because if she was working for Seals Security, she’d have enough money to get her own place by the end of the month and she might not end up defaulting on her student loans.

Evie drove her tiny Pinto into the garage at Seals Security at six forty the next morning. Her nerves were starting to get the best of her. She sat staring out the window for a long moment. Her stomach turned and it felt like she was going to vomit. It rose inside her like a tidal wave, filled with tension that pulled at her, tugging her down.

A white SUV drove into the garage and pulled up near the elevators and parked, idling. Evie watched as Laney got out of the SUV and moved to stand in front of it waiting. She watched a man climb out and move toward Laney. Damn, he was good looking.

She took in his gun belt and his large muscles, as well as his raven-colored hair that fell to his shoulders. He grabbed Laney around the waist and kissed her like those scenes in the movies you think never happen in real life. He bent her back over his arm and laid a passionate kiss on her lips. Evie was sure her mouth was hanging open as she watched the two of them. Feeling like a voyeur, she turned back to gather her things. Lifting her purse and the jacket that went with her suit, she glanced out the window to see that they were still kissing. She was just beginning to wonder what the heck she was going to do—because she certainly wasn’t interrupting them—when they finally parted. 

Evie watched the man smack Laney’s bottom and scoot around to climb back in the SUV while Laney moved over to the elevators, a dreamy look on her face as the man pulled away. Evie watched the SUV disappear out of the garage. She was staring after it when she heard a tap on her window and started, turning to face Laney who peered at her from the other side of the glass.

Shit
, how embarrassing.

Evie wanted to slam her head into the steering wheel while asking the cosmos why they liked to torture her. She smiled weakly at Laney instead and climbed out of the car, her cheeks pink if the heat in them was any indication.

“Good morning,” Laney happily crowed.

“Morning,” Evie replied in a voice that shook with her discomfort.

“So you saw me and Craig, huh,” Laney said, smiling at her.

Evie felt like sinking into the concrete beneath her because how was she supposed to answer that without looking like a freak. She ran over ideas of how to respond. Should she pretend she hadn’t seen anything or should she admit she’d seen but say that it was none of her business or–

“Relax, Evie, I’m only teasing. My husband is very affectionate and since he works here too you’ll likely see us kissing again at some point. He’s a bad boy and doesn’t really care who’s around when he lays one on me. Luke hates it and that only eggs him on. Come on, let’s head up,” Laney laughed as she tugged on Evie’s arm.

Evie could tell as she followed Laney into the elevator that despite her scolding tone when she said her husband was a bad boy, Laney loved every second of that naughtiness. She followed Laney to the office she would be working in. Laney told her she’d be right back and she sat down to wait.

She stared around the spacious room, noticing it was slightly smaller than Laney’s office and wondered why the PR office was larger than the CEO’s. Maybe Mr. Stewart’s interior office was bigger, she didn’t know, but it seemed odd. Evie shrugged, letting the thought slip from her mind as she tapped her foot on the floor and waited on Laney.

A little bored, she looked around the room seeing two black leather couches, one on each wall in the corner of the office across from her desk, with potted plants sitting between them. Little end tables were on each end with magazines stacked on top. Evie noted the door to Luke’s office was made of dark wood and it was currently closed.

She was twisted in the chair staring at the door when it suddenly creaked and fell backwards. Evie let out a little shriek of dismay as she grabbed the edge of the desk in front of her to catch herself. Her feet flew up off the floor and she frantically tried to stop her skirt from flying up enough to show her panties without falling onto the floor. Then the chair stopped falling back and she realized it must be high-end because it reclined a little when you leaned back. Heat flooded her cheeks and she watched the door, hoping her new boss hadn’t heard her because she had no idea how to explain what had just happened without embarrassing herself. Thankfully after a few moments of her heart pounding in her ears as she watched the door, she realized he either wasn’t in his office or he hadn’t heard.

Satisfied she hadn’t made a fool of herself, she continued her inspection of the office, noting a single window made of frosted glass that extended down the hall and served as the wall of the office. Despite the glass being frosted, a blind stretched across it. She didn’t know why anyone would put blinds over that type of glass; it was strange because no one would be able to see inside so it seemed like a bit of overkill to her. Mulling that over, she didn’t notice Laney when she returned holding an electronic card and some paperwork until she spoke.

“Normally, Martin handles all this but he’s busy this morning so I offered to do it,” Laney told her, sitting down in the chair beside her. Evie started a little and turned to look at her her cheeks still heated.

“Okay,” Evie responded, unsure what else to say.

“I hope you can whip this place into shape because if Luke has to manage his own stuff for much longer, I will have to beat him for making Monica quit,” Laney said smiling.

“Monica?” she questioned, her confusion clear in her tone.

“My assistant who has been picking up the slack. Most of the assistants we’ve hired were flakey as hell. Only one was worth a darn and he moved,” Laney muttered.

“Oh.”

“I’m going to start going over this paperwork and when Monica gets in she’ll show you most of what Luke will need. You’ll meet him tomorrow by the way. He’s out on assignment today and won’t be back in the office till morning. It will allow you time to settle in a bit before you have to deal with his needs,” Laney explained.

Evie guessed that was why her embarrassing chair mishap hadn’t brought him out to investigate and she was glad he was currently out of the office. With her history she didn’t want her first impression with her new boss to be one that made him think she was a moron. Laney began going over the paperwork with her and showed her how to get into the garage as well as clock in with her electronic card.

It was nearly two hours later that Laney said she was going to go and get Monica from her office. Evie wondered briefly why she didn’t just call her but then she remembered the phone issue and wondered if it was perhaps not fixed yet. Or maybe it was the paperwork she’d taken with her that she was dropping off to the busy human resources manager. Shrugging she supposed it didn’t matter. Bored she began looking through the large piles of paper stacked under the stapler.

Evie was typing out a report that she found marked urgent from two days ago when a man stomped into the office. He was about six two and wore khaki pants, a gun belt and a blue polo. He was heavily muscled with neatly trimmed golden brown hair and a clean-shaven jaw. Evie felt tingly all of the sudden as she watched him stride confidently into the room and head toward the doorway of Mr. Stewart’s office.

Holy hell
, he was hot.

She dazedly watched him moving closer to the door. Her body felt achy, making her realize that it had been seven years since she’d had sex. When her boyfriend Kent had left her in the last year of college, she hadn’t wanted to take the time to search for another man. She’d just wanted to finish her degree and become an accountant. She almost snorted at that thought because that had worked out well, hadn’t it? Shaking off thoughts of the past, she realized that she was letting this man—whoever he was—just walk into her boss’s office. Shit, she needed to stop him.

“Excuse me, sir,” Evie said firmly.

He didn’t seem to notice and kept walking toward the office without pause as if she hadn’t even spoken. Evie stood, her teeth clenching as she moved around the desk, prepared to get in front of the man if necessary. He wasn’t entering that office without permission at least not on her watch.

“Sir,” she barked rudely.

He finally seemed to notice she was speaking to him and glanced at her. He came to a sudden stop, standing a foot from the door and staring at her. Evie was struck by the blue-green eyes that met hers and that tingly feeling turned into a hotness that spread throughout her body. She almost felt the way his eyes traveled from her head to her feet before he seemed to dismiss her.

“What?” he asked, his voice husky and annoyed at the same time.

“Can I help you with something?” Evie asked, tugging at the bottom of her suit coat.

“No,” he said and turned away, taking another step toward the door.

Evie moved quickly to stand between the door and him. “I’m sorry but I can’t allow you to go in there,” she explained.

She watched his eyes narrow and his jaw visibly clench. She stepped back from him warily because the look on his face was dark and she was suddenly unsure of her safety. He seemed to notice her reaction and took a step back from her as well, allowing her to calm her racing heart enough that she could try to speak again. She opened her mouth but was interrupted.

“Look, I don’t know why you think you can prevent me from going in that office but you can’t. Now, let me pass,” he grunted, anger clear in every word.

“I’m sorry, I can’t allow that, sir. But if you’d like to make an appointment I can help you with that. Now why don’t you–” she stuttered to a halt when the man sliced his hand through the air in a jerky motion.

“You can get the hell out of my way and never stand between me and my–” he began to say in a hard, almost cold, voice when she heard Laney speaking from behind her. She was glad that the other woman had returned because she could set this man straight, only her heart nearly stopped when Laney spoke. The words felt like nails in Evie’s coffin.

“Evie, this is Moni–oh, Luke, what are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming into the office today?” she asked. Luke turned his head to look at Laney and Evie wanted to crawl under the desk.

“Eric needed me to send him over the estimates, which I was going to do quickly before I head over to the security job I’m working on today, when this–this
woman
stopped me from entering my office,” he said, waving a hand in her direction dismissively.

“Whoops, that’s kind of my fault. I told her you weren’t coming in today and she had no idea who you were,” Laney said, grimacing a little.

Evie didn’t know whether to sink to the floor in a heap or just get her stuff and leave. Of all the ways to make a first impression on her new boss, trying to stop him from going into his office was one of the worst ones she could think of.
Well fuck, that was just great
. Evie could almost feel the walls closing in on her as her great job and excellent pay seemed to run through her fingers like water.

“Yes, well perhaps we should reconsider her employment,” Luke said, glancing at her again, his look coldly disdainful.

“Luke, stop being an ass. She didn’t know who you were and at least she isn’t going to allow people to just walk into your office whenever they please like the fourth one did,” Laney scolded, rolling her eyes.

“Fifth, it was the fifth one that did that,” Luke corrected her before he shrugged and let out a put-upon sigh. “Fine, she can stay.” He turned back to Evie and motioned with a waving hand. “Would you kindly remove yourself from my path so that I can get those estimates faxed over to Eric?” Luke asked, his voice snide. Evie’s insides were jumpy as she moved from his path, and she wanted to just die from the embarrassment. At least they weren’t going to fire her but she wasn’t sure that things were going to go well when they had gotten off to such a rocky start.

“If you bring them to me I can fax them over to him and that would save you time,” Evie said hesitantly. Luke stared at her for a long moment before he spoke his voice filled with condescension.

“No, I’ll do it because he needs it right away and I want to make sure he gets it.” He then stormed past her into his office, slamming the door behind him. Evie was a little pissed that he’d acted like she wasn’t even competent enough to use the damned fax machine properly.

Did he think she was an idiot?

“Well, that went well,” Monica said sarcastically from behind her. Evie felt her heart sink into her two-inch heels at that accurate assessment.

“I’m sorry,” Evie whispered, hoping this wasn’t going to be a portent of bad things to come because the amount that they paid was excellent and the benefits after the first year were phenomenal. 

“Oh stop, it wasn’t your fault. Luke’s just been through so many assistants at this point that he’s on edge. Come on, let’s get you started on learning the ropes so I can get Monica back tomorrow. This is a rough time of year for me to be without my assistant, even if it is only for a day,” Laney said, smiling at her.

Evie smiled back tentatively and took her seat, managing not to lean it back and have another embarrassing chair mishap to add to the list of things she’d already done to make herself look like a fool today. Feeling her spine stiffen with determination to make this work, she waited on Monica to start teaching her what she needed to know.