by Margaret Kay
A crooked grin spread over Madison’s face. “You’re wrong. I went to the grocery store this morning and I have yogurt, chicken breasts, and fresh kale in the refrigerator.”
Cooper smiled wide. “But you haven’t made yourself anything for dinner yet.”
“No, I haven’t.” She’d let him have that one.
“And pizza is much better than kale.”
Madison chuckled. “Much. And I like everything on my pizza, so I won’t be giving you any of my toppings.”
“Damn,” he said feigning disappointment with that cocky smile of his plastered across his lips.
“You obviously aren’t in a dark place that often. There is no way you eat much junk food.” With that incredible body.
Cooper laughed. “I’ll PT the hell out of myself tomorrow to compensate for eating this tonight and it will be nothing but lean protein and vegetables for rest the week.”
“Good, I’m glad you will have to suffer.”
They sat at the table and ate the entire pizza, and each drank two bottles of beer. The conversation bounced from Doc and his fishing trips, which was where he would be these two days, to funny stories about the various team members, to their mutual love of tropical Caribbean islands. They talked about favorite trips, scuba diving, and laying on the beach. Everything but work. Whenever she tried to ask anything work-related, he nixed it and directed the conversation to another topic.
“We should all go on a group vacation after the next big Op,” Cooper suggested. “That would be something. We’ve never done that before.”
“I’m not sure any resort could survive our group all at once,” she replied with a laugh.
Cooper was pleased she had said our group. She counted herself as one of them. He feared she had already checked out. “I’m not saying all of us, every last member of Shepherd Security, just our team and Angel of course. Can’t expect Jackson to go without her.”
Madison smiled and nodded. She rose from the table to clear it. After she threw the empty pizza box and empty beer bottles in the recycling container, she placed the plates and forks in the sink. She’d worry about them tomorrow.
Cooper watched her fuss with the trash and as the seconds ticked by, the easiness that had washed over her while they ate, disappeared. It was quickly replaced by the edge she had when he arrived. He rose as well and stepped in front of her. “Madison,” he said as he wrapped her in an embrace. He felt her stiffen as he drew her into his chest.
“Cooper, what are you doing?” She asked in a whisper, pulling away as far as she could with his strong arms around her. No, she wouldn’t tell him she was completely freaked out by the physical proximity, well, freaked out and physically aroused.
“What I should have done on the chopper after we left the Inverness Academy. I’m sorry I didn’t give you what you needed.” He pulled her into his chest and held her firmly.
That statement pissed her off. “Do you hug all the team members like this after an Op?”
Cooper chuckled the sexiest sound she’d ever heard. With her head against his chest she heard it from the inside and out. “No, lucky for me you’re female, so I can do this, and it won’t seem weird.”
“I don’t want to be treated any differently than any other member of the team.”
Cooper breathed out a heavy sigh. “Each person on the team is different and gets treated slightly different. Can you honestly say you treat Doc and Garcia the same?”
“I guess not.”
“You’re wound tight. I saw the spring coil back up after you got up from the table. It was like a switch was flipped.” He held her to himself with one hand gently stroking her back, the other began to massage her head. She relaxed into him.
“Oh my God, that feels good,” she said on a sigh.
He pushed her away from himself so that she leaned against the counter and then used both his hands to massage her temples, her forehead, down her neck, over her shoulders, and then up to her temples again. His fingers took in the incredible softness of her hair and of her skin. He’d wanted to finger her tresses for some time, which of course had been a thought he had kept pushed away.
After a few pleasurable minutes she opened her eyes and met his stare. “That does feel great.”
“It’s how I like to be touched when I’m stressed, and I thought it might make you feel better too.”
“It does, thanks. Is this a Lassiter thing to relieve stress?”
Cooper smiled. “No, there is a woman, a massage therapist I see when I need to relax. This is her trick.”
“Oh, is she a massage therapist or a massage therapist,” she joked alluding to a massage of a sexual nature. When she saw the flash of recognition through his features, she instantly regretted her words. “Oh, I see.”
His smiled morphed into a smirk as he watched a blush spread over her cheeks. “We’re both adults with sexual needs. It could help you a lot if you had someone,” he began.
“Okay, this just passed into weird territory,” she said grabbing his hands, stopping them. The last thing she wanted was to hear about his needs or talk about hers with him, especially because she was so attracted to him. “I’m glad you have a massage therapist who helps relieve your stress, but I’m fine.”
“You said you don’t want to be treated differently than the remainder of the team. What do you think we talk about after a stressful Op when we need to blow off some steam and relieve stress?”
“I’ll go with hitting the gym,” she said, her words dripping with sarcasm.
Cooper laughed loudly. “You could say it that way. Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out or make you uncomfortable.”
“No, it’s fine,” she said dismissing him. “As you said we’re both adults.”
He stepped in close, uncomfortably close for Madison. His hands took hold of her biceps, holding her in place. “You need to find something or someone for after an Op. This was a successful one. Trust me, it can be rougher.”
“I’ll deal with that if or when that occurs.”
He shook his head at her. “Xena till the end.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Cooper’s eyes wandered over her face, over her perfect feminine features, her impossibly soft skin. He was aware he still held her upper arms, held her body close. It was a contact he didn’t want to break. His eyes settled on her lips, wanting to kiss them. He knew he needed to leave before he let this go where it shouldn’t.
His silence and intense consideration unnerved her. His words had pissed her off, but now her anger calmed as her arousal flared. She knew she should tell him to release her, to step away, to leave. This whole conversation since dinner had gone off into a very weird direction, no make that a very wrong direction. It appeared appropriate on the surface, but she wasn’t so sure it was.
“I should go,” Cooper said. Part of him hoped she would argue with him. She didn’t. Her head faintly nodded yes. He released her arms and stepped back. “Get some rest and enjoy your day off tomorrow. I’ll see you Thursday morning.”
Madison gave a curt nod. “Thanks for the pizza and beer, and the company.”
He grabbed his jacket, and she walked him to the door. As he settled into his car, he had to rearrange his swollen dick in his jeans. “Oh fuck,” he groaned aloud to himself. He stared at her house for a second contemplating that he nearly kissed her when his eyes had been focused on her perfect lips. He shook his head as he shifted to reverse and backed out of her driveway. He knew he needed to keep his distance from her, but how would he accomplish that as her SO?
Madison leaned against her closed front door after Cooper left. Her mind was reeling with the weird turn of events this evening. On one hand, John Cooper was more human and more open with her than he had been since she met him. Dinner and the conversation had been easy, light, fun. She’d actually felt relaxed. But after, whew, that had taken a Twilight Zone turn. She knew she had reacted badly to his revelation of how he blew
off steam. Why did she feel almost jealous? Of course, he had some sort of fuck partner. She was sure all the guys did.
She was also pissed with herself for not keeping her own hormones under control. He was her boss. She had to stop noticing how good he looked. Being surrounded by well-built men was nothing new. Why in the hell did she keep reacting to him the way she was? He wasn’t even her type.
She went back into the kitchen and grabbed another beer. Then she headed up the stairs to her bedroom. An early bedtime was in order. She was beat. She downed the beer in record time and then flopped on her bed, replaying the evening in her head. She fell into a shallow, restless sleep.
Oscar
Madison was not sure how she felt as she ascended the stairs the Thursday morning she returned to the office. The two days off had felt like two weeks. She’d spent a lot of time thinking about the team, the job, her role on it, and of course about Cooper and what had happened after they had eaten the pizza. She had a nine o’clock appointment with Lassiter. She knew he would expect her to have figured a few things out. Beyond how important this job had become to her, she wasn’t sure if she had.
She pressed her palm to the scan pad at the eighth-floor door. It clicked, and she pulled it open. The long hallway was empty, which she was glad. She wanted some time alone in her office to read the complete mission report. She was curious what the other members of the team had recounted in the official record.
“Hey, Madison,” she heard Garcia’s voice call to her from within his office as she passed by.
She poked her head in. “Hi Anthony. You’re here early.”
He shrugged. “I rarely go home for very long.”
“I’m surprised Lassiter lets that fly.”
Garcia chuckled. “He’s not so bad, took me a few months to figure that out when I first started. I was in a very dark place when I signed on with the team. He was in my face droning on and on to face my feelings and talk with him about it. I just wanted him to shut the fuck up.” Garcia paused, chuckled, and shook his head. “But he’s a good guy and I can honestly say I’m not sure I’d be where I am mentally without his help.” He shrugged. “Anyway, just my unsolicited two cents. You meet with him at nine.” He said it as fact.
Madison was surprised by his entire statement. And she wasn’t sure what to say about any of it. “Yes, nine.”
“You should take a few minutes and read the final mission report, might help you gain some perspective. And then I have the background for the next Op loaded in your queue. You’ll need to get through it before the Ops briefing at eleven. That meeting’s been added to your calendar.”
Madison nodded. “Okay.”
She stepped away and closed herself within her own office. She removed the long-sleeved, unbuttoned blue button-down shirt. She had slipped it on over the dark blue short-sleeved girlie tee to hide her gun which she had holstered in the small of her back. She was alternating between the .9 mm and her snub-nose .38, trying to decide which weapon she felt more comfortable carrying on a daily basis. The jury was still out.
She spent the next hour reading, re-reading, and dissecting the final mission report from the Inverness Academy Case. It was thorough, detailed, and credited specific contributions from each member of the team, including herself. A supplemental page held the team member’s statuses in a report from Doctor Lassiter. It was a simple statement of cleared or pending. Everyone except Doc and her were cleared for duty the day after the Op concluded. Beside both of their names it read pending final review with no date. She didn’t know why, but that bothered her greatly.
The words within the document as it related to her were complimentary. Terms such as competent, skilled, invaluable, and calm portrayed her team’s confidence in her. The notations from Cooper reporting as her Supervisory and Training Officer were equally glowing. Nowhere did it state any negatives, nor did it relate any thoughts regarding how anyone felt about her level of buy-in as a team member, though the mission report would not be an appropriate place for it.
She remained holed up in her office all morning. Thankfully no one disturbed her, not even Cooper, which she found odd. He knew she was back. She had expected him to initiate contact with her before her appointment with Lassiter. Maybe he wasn’t in yet or maybe he was in the field. She knew she had access to the building entry and exit records as well as the staff calendar records. She could run a query to see if he was in if she wanted to. She didn’t.
At eight-fifty-five she descended the stairs to the fourth floor to go see Joe Lassiter. She hoped she would be cleared for duty at this appointment. As she pushed open the outer door and stepped within, the inner door opened, and Doc came out, still talking with Lassiter and Cooper, who she saw within.
“Thanks, Joe,” Doc said. His eyes landed on Madison. He flashed a smile of recognition and gave her a head nod. “How’s it going?”
“Good,” Madison lied. “You?”
“I was kind of hoping for another week off. The salmon are running in Vancouver, but I need a full week to go.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe next fall.”
Madison watched him leave before turning her attention to Lassiter and Cooper.
Joe Lassiter smiled warmly. “Come on in.”
She forced a pleasant smile as she passed into the inner office area. “Good morning,” she greeted both men. She was surprised Cooper was there.
“Did you have a good day yesterday?” Lassiter asked. He led the way to his actual office. This wouldn’t be a coffee in the kitchen discussion.
“I did, thanks.” Her eyes flashed to Cooper’s briefly as she settled in on one end of the couch. He sat on the other. “I did miss being at work though.”
“For the official record this is the post-Op fitness for duty review, that is why your SO is present,” Lassiter said.
Madison nodded. “I understand.”
“He will only remain for the first portion of this meeting, and then he will leave, and you and I will have time alone for me to conclude my review.”
Madison again nodded.
“Cooper, do you have any reservations with putting her back in the field?”
Madison’s heart dropped, while she waited what seemed a lifetime during the few seconds it took him to think through his reply.
“Miller performed admirably during the last Op. She followed all direction from her teammates and Ops, specifically Yvette, and she followed all protocols. She filed her portion of the mission report timely and adhered to agency regulations regarding follow-up with you, the team psychologist. I would have no hesitation putting Miller back in the field and serving beside her.”
Wow! Madison had not expected that. A small smile came to her lips.
“And Miller’s withdrawal from the team after the Op was completed?” Lassiter asked.
Oh shit, here it comes, Madison thought. She braced herself.
“As her SO, I found it troubling, but it was her first Op with us, so she didn’t know what to expect. Given her cooperation with you, Joe, if you clear her, I have no reservations putting her back into the field. I do want this issue revisited after the next Op to see if it has been resolved.”
Lassiter nodded. His eyes shifted to her. “Madison, do you have any reservations with being returned to active duty? Any issues you still feel need resolve before that takes place?”
“Not a one,” Madison replied immediately. She gave Cooper a small smile. “Thank you.”
“Madison, do you deny you withdrew from the team and from Cooper, your SO, after the Op was concluded?”
Her eyes reaffixed on Lassiter. “No, I don’t deny that. I know I did, and I know it was wrong.” Her gaze shifted to Cooper. “I didn’t want to seem weak or emotional. I was trying to remain professional, but in hindsight I understand it separated me from the team. I know communication is vital in building trust, and trust is everything on a team like this.”
Cooper nodded, very pleased. “I also would like it stated in this officia
l record that as her SO, I have seen growth in this area.”
“Duly noted,” Lassiter said as he clicked at the keys on his laptop. He nodded to Cooper when he had finished.
Cooper came to his feet. His eyes landed on Madison. “When you’re done here, come to my office.”
She nodded she would and watched him leave the room.
“So, it would appear you gave what we talked about Tuesday a great deal of thought,” Lassiter said drawing her attention back to him.
“Yes, after you left, I went for a good, long run. That helped to think about things differently.”
“So, Cooper’s visit later that night didn’t help any?”
