Julia pulled a pair of reading glasses from her purse and perused the documents. There shouldn’t have been anything remotely sexy about that, but for whatever reason, Guy felt his dick get hard all the same. He squirmed and rolled his eyes.
Clearly it was past time to get laid.
“The two of you can get together and decide which exercises and lectures will compliment the other. In essence, you’re a team as well.” He slid a look at McCann and offered a pointed smile. “Might I suggest getting better acquainted over dinner?”
Startled, Julia looked up. Her gaze darted nervously between Garrett and himself and it was quite obvious that the idea of sharing a meal with him wasn’t what she’d like to do at all.
Which was probably why Guy grinned broadly at her and heard himself say, “That sounds like an excellent idea.”
Julia smiled weakly, but didn’t say anything.
“Wonderful,” Garrett said, evidently pleased. “For lodging, please check in at Olson Hall and they’ll get the two of you fixed up. Gladys has called ahead, so they’re expecting you.”
“Is that everything?” Guy asked.
“For now,” Garrett told him. “I’ll be checking in to see how things are going.” He glanced at Julia. “Ms. Beckam, if you have any questions feel free to give me a call, however I think that McCann will be able to field most inquiries. He’s familiar with the way things are run here on post.”
Julia nodded, shot Guy another one of those hesitant looks which said she doubted the credibility of that claim. For whatever reason, Guy got the distinct impression that she’d taken his measure and found him lacking.
Not the usual reaction he normally received from women--he didn’t have to beat them off with a stick, per se, but a smile and a wink usually did the trick. Could be that she was the exception to the rule. He slid her a brooding glance, intrigued beyond reason. Stranger things had happened.
Julia stood and shook Garrett’s hand. “Thank you for this opportunity, sir. I think you’ll be pleased with the results.”
Garrett smiled. “I’m counting on it.”
Guy acknowledged Garrett with a nod of his head, then followed Julia Beckam out of the Colonel’s office. She walked ahead of him without sparing him so much as a backward glance. Tit for tat? he wondered. Or was she simply that rude?
Time to find out.
“Do you know where you’re going, Ms. Beckam?” Guy drawled.
She turned and shot him a droll look over her shoulder. “No, but I have a map of the area in my car and, being as I’m neither blind nor stupid, I think I can figure it out.” She turned back around, purposely, it seemed, discarding him.
Both then, Guy decided, scowling. “How about I make it easy for you and you follow me?”
She didn’t bother looking at him. “Very chivalrous, but no thank you.” Chilly sarcasm hung like icicles in her voice.
What the fu--? “Do you need help getting that thing out?”
This time she did turn around and looked thoroughly perplexed. “What thing?”
Guy smiled sweetly at her, provoked past his normal limits. “The stick up your ass. I imagine it’s uncomfortable.”
A fleeting flash of hurt clouded her gaze, then she blinked and the usual chill emerged. She deliberately retraced her steps. “Let’s get something straight. I am perfectly aware of the fact that you don’t want to work with me. You made that abundantly clear the instant I walked into Colonel Garrett’s office.” She rolled her eyes, made an exasperated huff as though mystified and repulsed by the workings of the male brain. “I’m treading on your precious male territory, or ruining your ‘manly’ team-building exercises with my touchy-feely approach to trust-bonding and you’d just as soon not work with me.” She pinned him with a glare. “Well, newsflash, buddy. As shocking as it might be, I don’t particularly want to work with you either, but it’s a necessary evil and I’ve accepted it. I suggest you do the same.”
“When did you accept it?” Guy asked as a horrible suspicion rose.
She blinked, her tirade derailed. “Two weeks ago when Garrett informed me that I’d be working with you.”
Guy smirked at her. “Newsflash,” he said sarcastically, throwing the phrase right back at her. “I found out I’d be working with you two minutes before you walked into the room. I haven’t had time to ‘accept it’ yet.”
She paused, her clear green gaze considering and something about that look made him feel distinctly uncomfortable. “Now that’s interesting.”
“What’s interesting?” Guy asked, unnerved by that probing I-know-something-that-you-don’t look.
She cocked her head and an infuriating little grin turned her lips. “That Garrett’s put a guy he clearly doesn’t trust in charge of a trust building class. Irony, I wonder,” she mused annoyingly. “Or something else.”
And with that parting shot she turned and walked away, leaving him to wonder as well.
About her.
ABOUT RHONDA RUSSELL
A New York Times best-selling author, two-time RITA nominee, Romantic Times Reviewers Choice nominee, and National Readers' Choice Award Winner Rhonda Russell writes hot romantic comedy for Harlequin Books and Firefly Press, her indie press. With more than forty-five published books to her credit and many more coming down the pike, she's thrilled with her career and enjoys dreaming up her characters and manipulating the worlds they live in.
Rhonda previously wrote as Rhonda Nelson, but getting married necessitated a name change. She and her husband (aka The Sweetest Badass in the World) and their menagerie of pets happily make their home on a 166-acre farm in the middle of nowhere in a small town in Northern Alabama near the banks of the Tennessee River. If you’d like to see videos of baby ducks, spoiled turkeys who like to ride in the car, guineas who think they’re turkeys, then be sure to check her out Facebook Page Author Rhonda Russell.
Major Perfect: Men Out of Uniform Book 2 Page 16
