Justin

by Kris Michaels

  "Tomorrow?" Justin had no idea what she was talking about.

  "When Max files that paperwork with HR, the rumors are going to spin out of control."

  "I don't care about the rumor mill. The only thing I care about is you." He'd fire anyone that spread any gossip about them.

  She beamed. "That was the right answer. Now, let me go so I can come back. I'll be ready to crash again by mid-afternoon. Jetlag hits me in waves."

  Justin took her lips and delved into her, tasting the woman that he'd suddenly found irreplaceable on too many levels to count. "Call me when you're ready to come back. I insist that Paulo picks you up and brings you home."

  "Deal." She lifted onto her toes and kissed him again. "See you soon."

  Chapter 14

  Danielle walked out onto the blustery city sidewalk and lifted her arm. A cab immediately swooped to a stop in front her. She gave the address of Phoenix Armament's headquarters and opened her phone to sort through her emails. It was customary to take the day after an overseas trip off to recover from the inevitable jetlag. Everyone did it, and everyone checked in, ran through their emails and made sure there were no fires that needed to be extinguished. The forty-block cab ride was spent doing exactly that. She swiped her card and paid the fare before shoving the door open and stepping out onto the sidewalk. Her father's offices were on the fifteen, sixteenth and seventeenth floor of the building. Dani pocketed her cell phone and swung her purse over her shoulder, turning just enough to catch a glimpse of a profile. She stopped and turned with a frown and visually searched the throng of people clogging the sidewalk. She could have sworn she’d seen the same man who was at the lodge...and the pharmacy! That was where she'd seen him before. The gentleman at the lodge in Hobart was the gentleman who’d entered the pharmacy in Perth at the same time she did.

  A cold chill walked its way up her back. There was no way the three men could be doppelgangers. She needed to talk to her father. There was no reason for anyone to follow her because of her work with JK Holdings. She made her way upstairs to a glorified holding cell aka the reception area. People could not enter the Phoenix Armament offices without a badge, pass code and fingerprint recognition. She had no idea what the man at the reception desk did all day long, other than watch people enter and exit the offices. Her father said he was an additional security measure. Probably an armed guard, although she'd never seen a weapon. She smiled at the most current version of the door guard before she pulled out her identification, swiped it, entered her pass code, and placed her thumb on the pad by the door. A series of clicks sounded before the door opened. She'd always thought the security measures were overkill until her father told her about the industrial espionage that occurred in the weaponry business. She made her way through the maze of halls to her father's office. It was the same small size as the rest of his staff's. The only perk he'd given himself was a corner office with a wonderful view.

  She stopped at the door and watched her father work. His reading glasses perched on his nose as he compared the documents in front of him with what was on the computer. He was a handsome man. Lonely, but handsome. She often wondered why he never dated. Maybe he did and kept it from her, although with the hours he worked, she doubted it.

  "Are you going to stand in the doorway all day or are you going to come in?" He spoke without lifting his eyes in her direction.

  "I was waiting for an invitation." Danielle chuckled as she pushed off the door jamb. "I came in to do the research you wanted."

  "Good. I need to validate my assumptions or put them to rest." Her father leaned back in his chair and nodded to a small desk partially obscured by the open door. It was where she'd done homework during high school and occasionally when she’d come home during college. She'd worked in his office over summer vacations and learned useless information about metallurgy, weapons specifications and other things she'd never use, but she'd spent time with her father and that was important—to both of them—even if neither acknowledged it.

  Danielle dropped her briefcase and purse next to the desk and settled in. She powered up the computer and was just starting to get into the meat of her research when her father interrupted her.

  "Did you make your rappel?"

  Danielle glanced over her shoulder at him, surprised that he'd asked. He hated the fact that she engaged in dangerous pastimes, but they'd agreed long ago that adults made their own decisions.

  "I did." A smile she couldn't prevent spread across her face. "I really did."

  Her father's eyebrows rose. "Care to elaborate on that?"

  "I met someone, or rather I discovered I shared similar interests with a person I've known for years. It was probably one of the best days of my life."

  Her father tossed down his pen onto a stack of paper and leaned back in his chair. "Who do I have to intimidate? I do have a rather impressive collection of weapons."

  Danielle laughed, not sure where the parental posturing came from, but enjoying it nonetheless. "Don't worry, Dad, besides, I don't think you could intimidate this guy. He has his own money, says he doesn't like weapons, and is going to take me suit jumping off Mount Everest."

  Her father palmed his face and scrubbed his hands down his cheeks while blowing out a lungful of air. "You will be the death of me, yet. Who is this man? I need to make him go away. Mount Everest? Please."

  Dani threw back her head and laughed. It was rare for her father to engage on a personal level, and she was really enjoying his lightheartedness today. "I don't believe you can make Justin King go away."

  "Your boss?" The incredulity in his voice resounded around the small office.

  "Yes, my boss, but he's more than that; he always has been. We just...I don't know. We fit. We always have, at work and now."

  "Isn't that going to cause problems when whatever is between you dissolves?" He dropped his eyes to the stack of papers next to his computer.

  "Dad, I don't know where this is going, but in my heart, I’m hoping it doesn't dissolve. I care about him. I have for a long time now. The side of the man I discovered on this last trip only intensified those feelings. I mean who would have thought he enjoys rock climbing and rappelling. Oh, Dad, he did a rap rep off Gordon Dam! Can you imagine?"

  "What the hell is a rap rep?" Her father cut his eyes to her, a frown bringing his brows together.

  "A forward-facing rappel straight down a one-hundred-and-forty-meter dam in three leaping bounds."

  "Wonderful. You’re dating someone who should be institutionalized." They both froze as the specter of her mother invaded their playful exchange. He shook his head. "I'm sorry." Dani gave him a sad smile. He put his glasses back on and squinted at the computer screen. "Does he treat you well?"

  "He does, Dad. He's pretty amazing. I'd like you to meet him."

  Danielle chuckled at the grunt she got in response. That was more like her father. The open window for father-daughter time had closed. She rolled her eyes at him and turned back to her research.

  It took another four hours, but the information folder she handed her father held the most complete data she could find. "I don't feel good about this, Dad. You should hire someone who can dig deeper. Everything I found points away from the fact your employee is involved, but..." Danielle sighed, she couldn't tell what was wrong with the documentation in the folder, but something wasn't right.

  "Your gut telling you something is off?"

  Her father encapsulated her feelings. She nodded, still staring at the folder. Her eyes tracked from the papers stacked between the manila cardstock and met his. "I'm not usually a suspicious or nervous person, but with the guy that keeps popping up and–”

  "What guy?" Her father whipped his glasses off and snapped forward in his chair.

  "I may be paranoid, but I saw a gentleman in Perth, maybe mid-fifties. He walked into the drug store after me. I don't know why I noticed him, but I did. I could swear the same man was at the lodge in Tasmania where Justin and I stayed. Then this morning, c
oming into the building, for a moment I thought I saw him again. I don't know. When I say it out loud, it sounds stupid."

  "Did he approach you? Listen to any conversations you were having? Make any movement that would make you think he was a danger?"

  The rapid-fire questions pulled her from her musings. "No. I just noticed him, you know? Nothing to make me think I was in danger, but you've got to admit, that's strange."

  "Strange indeed." Her father pulled out a pad and paper. "Write down everything you can remember about the man at each occurrence."

  "Why?" The more they talked about her fears, the more she believed they were unfounded.

  "I don't think it was anything but coincidence or maybe some gentleman that happened to look like the man you first saw, but why not collect as much information as possible. If the guy shows up again, do not make contact with him. We'll call the police. You could have a stalker."

  "Really, Dad, a stalker? I'm not a celebrity, and there are, maybe, ten people that know I'm your daughter. Why would anyone want to stalk me?" Dani grabbed the tablet he was holding out to her and started scribbling, now confident that her imagination had been working overtime.

  "I'm not willing to take a risk. Just put down as much information as you can. Unfortunately, I don't think we can take this to the police as the guy hasn't made contact or threatened you in any way. But I want you to be hyper vigilant. Try not to go anywhere by yourself for a while. You can come back home and stay with me. The house has a solid security system. The apartment you live in doesn't even have a doorman."

  "I don't need a doorman, Dad, I have my Glock 43 in the hall bureau and a forty-five in the bedroom. If someone came into my apartment, they wouldn't leave unless it was in a body bag. I mean, you taught me how to shoot, and I'm pretty damn good if you do say so yourself."

  "True.” He sat back in his chair and studied her. “Even though I don't tell you often, I worry about you."

  Danielle stood and went behind his desk. He tensed up, like always, but she hugged him anyway. "I love you, too, Dad."

  "Yeah, yeah." Her father cleared his throat and leaned away from her. She'd long ago become accustomed to the fact his aversion to touch had nothing to do with her. "Go. You’re here on your day off, and I don't want to take you away from your new relationship. I appreciate you pulling this information for me. I'll look through it and stew on it for a bit. If there is nothing solid for me to take to the people I have on retainer, then I'll keep looking. I don't know why, but I don't trust the man. I can't fire him because I don't have cause. I can't let him work on the new weapon because my gut is telling me the guy is stealing design information from me. I'm in a Catch-22 position here." Her father spoke more to himself than her toward the end.

  "You can claim downsizing."

  "He has seniority. I'd have to lay off a third of my workforce to get to him. I can't do that to hardworking men and women who depend on this company to live." He looked up at her and gave her a half-hearted smile. "I'm probably just being overly cautious, but keep your eyes peeled and let me know if you see that man again."

  "Sure." She gathered her coat, purse, and briefcase.

  "Do you have a way home? I could get you a car." Her father lifted his phone.

  "No, that's okay. I texted Justin before I gave you the files. His driver should be downstairs by now."

  "Don't go outside if he isn't waiting." Her father rose and walked with her to the door of his office.

  "I won't. Let me know what happens here?"

  "That is a certainty." Her father glanced up and down the hallway before he smiled at her. "Tell that man he better be damn good to you; your dad has an arsenal at his disposal."

  "I'm doing no such thing. I'll call you later this week. We are having dinner. I want you two to meet. You'll like him; I promise."

  "I promise I'll try." Her dad winked at her and turned on his heel, heading back to his desk. She shook her head and turned, making her way out of the office maze that snaked through the entire floor. She didn't get to go upstairs to research and development this time, but the next time she was here, she wanted to go through the labs. People who watched the James Bond movies thought Q had a lot of toys. They had no idea.

  She made her way downstairs and crossed the lobby. Paulo waited for her in front of the building, double parked. She held her coat at the neck, hoping the freezing temperatures wouldn't invade the warm cocoon of her wool coat, but that wish was in vain. Icy winds swirled around her as she made her way across the sidewalk. Paulo was out of the car and around the vehicle by the time she reached it. She smiled at him and gladly slipped into the warmth of the black limo. She glanced out the window and at the faces of the people who scurried along the frosty sidewalk. She shook her head and pulled out her phone to check on her other job. She was an over imaginative fool. There was no way someone was following her.

  Chapter 15

  "There are four properties that initially caught our attention. The first of them is located in the southwest sector of the downtown area. While the pricing is competitive, our analysis of the area shows there isn't a customer base to make the venture successful unless we bring other businesses in with us." Danielle hit each talking point on the slides as she stood in front of the panel. Justin watched with pride as she sized up the assets her teams had located for the next possible location. He wasn't sure about expanding again. Quite frankly, he had other interests that seemed to fog the clear vision for the future he used to have. Danielle continued to present her findings. Justin already knew which building she’d settled on and why. The meeting today was to get the rest of the team's input. He had people who were exceptional at their job, and he wasn't going to mess with the process, although he agreed with Dani's assessment.

  "Are there any questions?" Dani flicked the presentation off and started fielding questions.

  Justin followed along but focused on Danielle more than the questions heading her way. It had been like that since he'd seen her on Gordon Dam. His heart hadn't settled into the same old dull thud. His mind hadn't gone off in pursuit of the next grand adventure because he knew what it would be. He was climbing Everest with Dani, and they were suit jumping down the slope. They'd been doing research about the camp levels, the guides, and requirements to make an expedition up the mountainside. The climatology and topography were also details they were taking into consideration. When they weren't planning the event, they were training. Justin shifted in his seat. Danielle was the last number of a combination on a mechanism he'd been trying to crack for as long as he could remember. With her, he was...Justin glanced out the window. With her, he was complete. That sounded sappy as fuck, but it was true. He didn't feel the itch to fill every waking moment with movement. He could be at peace. Justin glanced at the faces sitting around the conference table. They were fully engaged in the question and answer phase of the briefing. Did they have any idea the monumental shift that had occurred within him? Could they see the feelings he had for Danielle? Did he care if they could? The answer to the last question was a resounding no. She calmed the turbulence inside him. She vanquished the incessant thrum of restlessness that used to entomb him. She was his oasis, the thing that let him rest and, yes, he loved her.

  He'd admitted that fact to himself over a week ago, although he hadn't told Danielle. It was way too soon in their relationship to lay the "L" word out there. Or at least, that's what he assumed. Who knew? He was winging his way through this relationship anyway. They'd been back from Australia now for three weeks, twenty-one days of being more than the friends they had been, and twenty-one nights of sex better than he'd ever imagined. He shifted in his seat when his body reacted to the memories that flashed through his mind's eye. He caught Danielle's eyes as she swept the room when she spoke. Her voice faltered for a moment, and a light blush rose to her cheeks before she continued on with the briefing.

  Max let himself into the conference room, redirecting Justin's attention from Danielle. He carried a
now familiar packet of paperwork. There was little doubt the bound and sealed envelope was from his brother Jason, at Guardian. His gut sank as he took the sealed envelope and placed it beside his tablet. Max exited as quickly as he'd entered. His eyes moved from his assistant to the woman at the front of the conference table. For the first time since Gabriel had bailed him out of jail all those years ago, he was not looking forward to another assignment. He pulled himself out of his thoughts when Danielle started to sum up the meeting.

  "So we agree we will pursue the Bowman building if we can validate the zoning requirements and local laws are within our tolerance."

  Justin watched as everyone's head went north and south. He stood and dismissed the gathering. "Thank you for your time. We have a finance meeting at three, for those of you who will be attending, there are spreadsheets that I want updated. I need a cost ratio breakdown on the quarterly reports." He picked up his tablet and the sealed envelope while waiting for the room to clear.

  "Hey, you," Danielle spoke to him as the last person left. "You looked distracted today."

  "Only by you." Justin bent down and pressed a quick kiss against her soft lips.

  "Stop that. Remember our agreement, no kissing at work. We've proven we can't trust ourselves to behave."

  Justin barked out a laugh. More than once the first week they were back, Max had nearly caught them in a compromising position. The no kissing mandate sucked, but it was needed.

  "Are we on for lunch?" Justin put his hand on her back as they walked out of the conference room.

  "I have a meeting, remember?" She bumped into him with her shoulder.

  "I do, but I was hoping you'd forgotten." He stopped outside his office. Danielle paused before going on to her section at the other side of the building.