by Katie Reus
“If she refuses to work with you—”
“She won’t.”
Harrison eyed him over the top of his beer, his expression unconvinced. Harrison was a couple years younger than Graysen but he’d been a damn good agent back when they’d been in Black Ops together. They hadn’t worked together often, but Harrison was one of the few people Graysen truly respected. The man had a solid code of honor and he was a patriot. Maybe more of a Boy Scout than Graysen, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad trait.
Televisions blared inane sports bullshit above them and people were talking and laughing with no concern for anyone around them. Whereas he knew how many people were at the bar right now, the specific layout of the restaurant, how many exits there were—which were closest—and how many people were outside the window. No doubt Harrison could detail all that information as well.
“Mara’s pissed about the whole situation,” Harrison said.
“You told her?” He snapped out the words louder than he’d planned, but no one around them seemed to notice.
“Yep.” No apology from Harrison either.
“Is she going to tell Isa?” Because Harrison had made it clear to Graysen that Isa meant a lot to Mara. And Mara had been a spook too. Graysen wasn’t exactly sure which branch but he guessed MI6.
“No, but she wants to.”
“After tomorrow it won’t matter.”
“Look…just don’t get your hopes up about this.” For the first time since Graysen had known Harrison, the guy actually looked and sounded concerned. For him.
“About what?”
“About Isa. She’s never mentioned you, never mentioned an ex, nothing. And what you did was… I don’t know if you can come back from that.”
Graysen didn’t respond, just turned to stare out the window at the passing traffic and the bright lights of downtown Miami. Yeah, he’d screwed up good. That was the understatement of the century.
He’d infiltrated her father’s business, lied about who he was, seduced her and broken her heart—and inadvertently gotten her father killed.
If it was the last damn thing he did, he was going to make things right between them.
Chapter 2
Did you do what I told you to?
Isa shook her head as she read Mara’s text, a smile tugging at her lips. A man stepped up next to her, joining the crowd of people waiting for the elevator.
Her fingers flew across the screen. Yes, weirdo. You’re the only woman I know who would order me to dress sexy when going to a meeting with said woman’s own husband.
Mara had called her this morning and ordered her to wear something designed to make a man’s tongue fall out of his mouth. She hadn’t actually done what Mara had said because this was a professional environment, but she’d dressed up a little more than normal.
You’ll thank me later, came Mara’s responding text.
Is this about who I’m meeting with today? You know I don’t mix business and pleasure. So even if her new partner was sexy as sin it wouldn’t matter. He might as well be sexless. She didn’t have any interest in anyone, anyway. Not since… She swallowed hard, shutting that thought down.
“You look really familiar,” the man next to her said.
Since Mara hadn’t responded Isa tucked her phone into her purse and gave the man a neutral smile. When she looked at him, however, she realized she had seen him somewhere. The memory of that ‘meeting’ was disgusting. “I don’t think so,” she murmured. Yeah, she really didn’t want to talk to this guy.
“No, I’m really good with faces and I’m certain we’ve met before.” He watched her carefully, looking at her as if he was trying to decide if he’d seen her naked or not.
The guy’s whole demeanor was off-putting and she wondered if he was a new client for Red Stone. She certainly hoped not. “The reason I probably look familiar,” she said quietly, dropping her voice so that the others around them couldn’t hear, “is because I was at Club Bardot the other night and saw a prostitute give you a blow job right in the VIP section.” She’d been there following someone for one of her past jobs—seeing if there was another angle to being able to infiltrate the company. Meaning, potential bribery of an employee. She hadn’t had to use that angle, thankfully.
He blinked in clear surprise, but he didn’t seem embarrassed. “She wasn’t a prostitute.”
That was his response? She coughed to cover up an uncomfortable laugh. “Oh, I just assumed.”
He straightened, clearly not deterred. “Well, listen—”
She shook her head. “I’m not trying to be rude, but I literally had to see your dick against my will when you whipped it out for the entire VIP section to see. I don’t think we have anything to say to each other.”
Isa heard a woman snicker behind her and realized she hadn’t been as quiet as she’d thought. But seriously, it was too early in the morning for this. She hadn’t even had her coffee yet.
The guy shrugged, not even fazed. “Your loss.”
She snorted to herself. Yeah, she was sure she’d lose a lot of sleep over this guy. When two elevators’ doors opened, she slipped into the opposite one he got into. At thirty she was too young to be out of the dating game, but damn, if this was what was out there, she was fine being single. She hadn’t been in any state of mind to start dating again over the last year, and right about now she was glad for that.
As people streamed into the elevator, her phone dinged a few times in a row. Scrolling through her messages, all from work, she started responding as the car whooshed to life. A few people quietly talked amongst themselves but one by one everyone disembarked as the elevator rose higher and higher. Normally she made an effort to talk to people and be polite but this morning she didn’t have it in her.
After leaving the restaurant yesterday evening she’d been feeling off. She knew why, too. She’d thought of Graysen West all night. Had even dreamed of him. It was making her edgy, and she hated that—but she didn’t hate him. That was what drove her the craziest. She should hate the man after what he’d done, but…some stupid part of her still held on to all those sweet memories.
Lies, she reminded herself. All those memories might be real but everything about them had been a lie. Ugh, get the freak over it already. She wished life was that easy, that she could just order herself to forget him and move on. Unfortunately, getting over a man like Graysen was hard. It wasn’t just that he was sexy—which he was. He was giving and sweet… Gah, and a giant liar. What the hell was wrong with her? He wasn’t giving or sweet. He sucked.
As a woman moved off past her, Isa slipped her phone into her jacket pocket and glanced at the shiny chrome keypad on the elevator wall. Only three floors to go. She hadn’t dressed as sexy as Mara had said to, but she was wearing a dark green sheath dress with high heels that she could admit showed off her toned calves. She didn’t love everything about her body—what woman did?—but she liked her legs.
“You really need better spatial awareness.” A familiar, deep voice from behind her made her jump out of her skin.
Feeling almost numb, she turned to find Graysen West standing there—and looking way too sexy for his own good. Or for her own good. She’d thought she was completely alone in the elevator now.
She blinked once. Yep, he was still there. Well over six feet of raw masculinity, bright blue eyes she could drown in, and a disapproving frown that somehow made him look sexy.
“When did you get on?” Okay, that was probably the dumbest thing that could have come out of her mouth, but whatever. She was just glad she’d found her voice.
“Same time you did. But you were too busy on your phone to notice.” He frowned, looking all judgmental, and she just about snapped.
“Seriously, that’s the first thing you say to me? You criticize me about being on my phone?” She’d been working, not that that was remotely the point. He had no say in her life. If she wanted to play games on her phone, she damn well would.
“You’ve
got to pay better attention to your surroundings. Did you even know there was someone else still on the elevator with you?”
Isa felt almost possessed as she lashed out. A year of built-up anger and hurt came bursting to the surface with his obnoxious ‘I know better than you’ tone. Her arm was moving before she’d processed what she was doing but when her fist connected with his nose, she cursed at the pain that jolted through her hand. Punching someone hurt.
He grunted as his head snapped back. But other than that he barely reacted.
She belatedly realized he hadn’t even moved to defend himself, and considering his training, he would have with anyone else. Stupid tears stung her eyes because she felt bad for punching him and she hated the insane way she’d just reacted to seeing him. It was completely nuts. She’d literally just assaulted someone in an elevator.
But Graysen apparently brought out the crazy in her. She spun away from him as the elevator doors opened, glad that no one was waiting and thankful for the escape. She didn’t care why he was here. She wasn’t dealing with him right now. Not now, not ever.
She heard him call her name but she ignored him and ducked in to the nearest women’s bathroom before he could see her cry. She’d cried enough over that man and she’d punch him again before she let him see her have an emotional breakdown.
* * *
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Holding a hand to his bleeding nose, Graysen started to follow after Isa but held back. He’d already screwed up by surprising her in the elevator.
He’d been staring at her perfect ass the last couple minutes and she hadn’t had a clue he’d been there.
What if some nut had been in the elevator with her? God, how many times had he told her to pay better attention… He inwardly cursed. Yeah, not the point right now. Not the point at all.
Turning away from the closed bathroom door, he headed down the quiet hallway. He didn’t want to leave her, but he thought he’d seen tears glistening in her eyes before she stormed off. He didn’t want to ambush her again. Not when he knew she needed time to compose herself.
As he moved toward Harrison’s office he quickly catalogued his surroundings as he always did. Everything was decorated in soft blues and greens, and Van Gogh prints lined the main hallway. Graysen knew that Harrison headed up a few departments, including the new one that Isa had been working with the last year.
When he stepped into Harrison’s assistant’s space, the dark-haired woman’s eyes widened. She started to stand. “Mr. West—”
He shook his head. “I’m fine.”
She eyed him warily but nodded. “Okay… Mr. Caldwell is in his office. He said to send you in when you arrived. Ms. Harper isn’t here yet but I expect her any moment. She’s always on time.” As she spoke she was already buzzing Harrison to let him know that Graysen was here.
Graysen only entered when she gave him the go-ahead. Harrison didn’t look exactly surprised when he saw Graysen standing there bleeding.
Harrison rounded his desk and headed to the small bar near the big spread of windows that overlooked the city. With efficient movements, he filled a small plastic bag with ice from the minibar and pulled out a pack of wet wipes. He handed them to Graysen before sitting back down.
“Got a call from security,” Harrison said mildly as Graysen started cleaning up the blood. There wasn’t much, but his nose still hurt.
Crap. Of course security would have seen Isa punch him. “What did you tell them?”
“To let me deal with it. Damn it, Graysen. Isa is normally one of the calmest, most rational people I know. It’s why she fits so well with this new venture Red Stone has taken on. We’re appreciative of the new contract you’ve brought us, but did you ever stop to wonder if you’re going to screw up her work dynamic?”
Yeah, he’d thought of it. But this was the only way he could get her to talk to him, to interact with him. She’d shut him down every other time he’d tried to reach out to her—not that he blamed her. “Just give me a chance. This one job with her.” The job he’d managed to snag was huge. Raptor Aeronautical—an aeronautical engineering company that took on contract government jobs designing military aircraft. The CEO wanted to tighten things up and do an annual check on security, and Graysen had convinced him to hire Red Stone for the check. They’d just been waiting on the final approval. “One week working with her, and if she wants, I’ll step back. You can replace me with someone else.” Even saying those words made him break out in a cold sweat. He wasn’t sure that he could convince Isa after only a week but he was damn sure going to try.
“Is that a promise?” Isa’s quiet voice made him turn in his seat.
Emerald green eyes frosty, her expression was just as icy. All her muscles were pulled taut and her shoulders were stiff as she stepped through the open doorway.
Guess she wasn’t the only one who needed to increase their spatial awareness.
He met her gaze, aware of the way his heart pounded. “Work with me one week, once this contract starts. And if it’s too much I promise never to bother you again.” Liar, liar, the little voice in his head said. He wasn’t sure he could walk away from her.
She didn’t say anything to him, just looked at Harrison in confusion and a little hurt.
The hurt clawed at Graysen. Suddenly his big plan seemed stupid.
“Shut the door,” Harrison said quietly.
Once Isa did, he motioned to the seat next to Graysen.
She glided toward him and sat ramrod straight. She’d pulled her long, dark hair into a twist at her neck. Not one perfect hair was out of place. Petite with the right amount of curves, Isa was the only woman who’d ever gotten to him. And then he’d broken her trust and her heart and screwed everything up completely.
“I should have told you Mr. West was going to be your new partner.” Harrison’s voice was sincere as he looked at Isa. “I’m sorry for ambushing you.”
“So you know…about our history?”
Harrison nodded once. “I used to work with Graysen and he recently approached me about a new job.”
“Oh.” She bit her bottom lip, looking vulnerable.
Graysen had the sudden urge to take that bottom lip between his teeth, nibble on it and her. God he missed her. Had missed her every day and night since she’d left him. Even if it was his own fault.
“Graysen is our newest employee.”
Those beautiful green eyes widened just a bit as she finally turned to face him. “You’re not with the CIA anymore?”
He shook his head, not trusting his voice and not trusting himself not to say something else stupid.
“He brought a big contract with him as part of his hiring, but it’s been top secret until this morning. Still is, if you want to get technical,” Harrison said. “It’s why I couldn’t say anything to you. Not until you’d been approved by the CEO for the job. You’ve got the clearance for it and so does Graysen, but the CEO still had final approval, and he needed to finish reviewing your file and work history. Hands down, I think you’re the best fit for this job. It’s a huge deal for Red Stone. I just need to know that you’ll be able to work with him.”
She was quiet for a long moment and Graysen could practically see the gears turning in her sexy head. Before Red Stone she’d worked for a company that had analyzed other companies’ work effectiveness. Often for government facilities. She’d always had a high level of clearance and she was one of the most capable women he knew. It was one of the reasons he liked her so much.
Once things had blown up between them, however, she’d quit her job in DC and moved to Miami to start fresh, away from him and her memories.
“I will be a professional,” she finally said.
Graysen noticed the way she subtly flexed her fingers, and handed her the small pack of ice.
It seemed as if she wanted to protest but she took it and murmured, “Thank you.”
As long as she wasn’t punching him, he’d take it.
Standing,
Harrison cleared his throat. “I need to grab a few more items for this meeting. I’ll be back in a couple minutes.”
Graysen knew that was utter bullshit but figured Harrison wanted to give them time alone.
When the door closed behind him Isa turned toward Graysen. “How’s your nose?” Her tone was pointed, her expression making it clear she thought he deserved the pain.
“Not broken.” He drank in the sight of her, unable to get enough. Looking at a picture of her wasn’t the same as seeing her in person. The elegant line of her neck, the sweet curves of her breasts under her dress—which he shouldn’t be noticing right now.
“I…should probably apologize, but I’m not exactly sorry.” Guilt flickered in her eyes.
Which made him adore her even more. She felt bad for not being sorry. “I deserved it.”
She rubbed an unsteady hand over her face. “Jeez, Graysen, what the heck are you doing here? Did you…” She cleared her throat. “I thought you loved your job.” There was a hint of bitterness in the last few words and he understood it.
She thought he’d chosen his job over her, over his love for her. He loved her a lot more than a job, but he held back. That definitely wasn’t the way to get to her and she wouldn’t believe him now anyway. “I’d never planned to stay with the Agency forever. Red Stone is a good company.”
“I…hope you didn’t get this job in a misguided effort to, uh, win me back.” Her cheeks flushed slightly. “Because that’s never happening. We’re done.”
He decided to ignore her words for now. Because he didn’t want to lie to her. He’d lied to her enough. Telling her the flat-out truth probably wasn’t the way to go either. Telling her that hell yeah, he’d gotten this job for her wouldn’t do him any favors at the moment. “I go way back with Harrison. Keith Caldwell too. I’d always talked about working here once I retired.” Of course he’d been a couple decades away from retiring. “Some stuff happened at work recently and that timeline got moved up.”
