by Leslie Kelly
His mind drifted to Olivia Perez and immediately his heart rate reacted. A frown furrowed his brow. What was it about the woman that got under his skin? He’d known her scarcely two months. She was a colleague, for heaven’s sake. Not once in his career had he been attracted to a coworker. Even Jennifer had not possessed the ability to distract him from his job. She would be the first to say so. But Olivia… The dark hair that hung nearly to her waist made him want to run his fingers through it. Jennifer had worn her hair short. She’d always said it was more practical. There was nothing practical about Olivia’s long mass of silky tresses.
He fisted his hand at the thought of touching her hair. He had once. Accidentally. His fingers had tingled, his pulse had raced. The whole concept was ludicrous. As if that wasn’t bad enough, her big hazel eyes tugged at him. Made him want to reassure her whenever she looked stressed or frustrated.
The whole scenario was utterly foolish. He was not a schoolboy, far from it. Yet when she came near he felt exactly like one.
Perhaps it was time for a change. He certainly wouldn’t go back to Durango. But there were other places in the Four Corners area. Places where he wouldn’t have to see her every day. Where he wouldn’t hear her soft, velvety voice, or the sweet sensual laughter that pulled at his senses.
Something to think about.
A car pulled to the curb up the street, just past his driveway. He couldn’t quite determine the make since a well-shaped spruce lay atop its roof. A Christmas tree, he realized. Most of his neighbors already had their trees. The lights twinkled nightly from the windows.
Someone visiting a neighbor, he supposed.
The car door opened, but the brief light from the interior prevented him from seeing if it was a man or woman.
He started to turn away but then the figure, tree in tow, stepped into the pool of light near his sidewalk. For one second he was certain his errant thoughts had prompted a delusion.
But, no, it was her.
Olivia Perez marched up the sidewalk to his door, lugging a Christmas tree.
Chapter Nine
Olivia rang the bell twice. No answer. She was certain she was at the right house. His SUV sat in the driveway. There were lights on inside. The glow filtered through the drapes.
Nice place, she decided. Classic bungalow with a generous porch for summer evenings. The stucco was painted a rich earthy brown with tan trim. The door was a mellow gold with a distinctive Spanish flare. Very nice place.
If he wasn’t home, she would just die. She could leave the tree and a note on his porch, she supposed.
The door opened.
She held her breath.
“Olivia?” He looked from her to the tree she’d broken her back heaving off the top of her car and hauling to his door.
“Merry Christmas, Jacob.” She managed to suck in a lungful of air. “I wanted to repay you for giving me a ride home the other night—”
“You made me dinner,” he countered. “This—” he gestured to the tree “—wasn’t necessary.”
She shrugged, almost losing her nerve. But she was here, by God. She was going to do this. “It is necessary. We work together. We’re friends. It’s almost Christmas and I wanted to…to show how much I appreciate all the times you go out of your way to make me feel at home…at work.” The more she said the worse it sounded. He must think she was an idiot!
He stared at the tree a moment before meeting her eyes again. “I suppose…” He stepped back, opened the door wider.
As soon as she had crossed the threshold he took charge of the tree. “Whew,” she said. “That thing is heavier than it looks.”
“I don’t have—”
“Don’t worry.” She’d figured as much. “I have everything you’ll need. I’ll be right back.” She rushed out to her car, got the bags of decorations and the tree stand. She’d also picked up some hot cocoa for him and another tin for herself. Snow or not, she could sit by the tree with her cocoa and pretend.
When she returned from the car, he was still standing right where she’d left him, looking completely dumbfounded. “Pick a spot,” she ordered.
He settled the tree on the floor, closed the front door and looked around the room.
Impatient, she suggested, “How about by the front window. It won’t be in the way there.” Not that he had that much furniture. He actually had several good spots for locating the tree, but the big window would allow his neighbors to enjoy the lights. She missed that in her apartment.
“Sure,” he said.
Olivia took the lead. She set up the stand and guided the trunk into it as he positioned the tree upright. Once they’d secured it and added water, she grabbed the packages of lights. Jacob’s movements were a little stilted and awkward at first, but by the time they got to the glass ornaments, he was moving along quite efficiently. She’d even coaxed him into conversation.
“You have a large family, Olivia?”
Olivia hid her smile. He’d just asked her a personal question. He never did that. “Yes. Two sisters, three brothers. We’re all either lawyers, doctors or law enforcement.”
“Impressive.” He smiled—just a little but she noticed.
“You?”
“A brother and an aunt in Durango. He’s a university professor, she’s a retired nurse.”
They were making progress. The last item she pulled from one of the shopping bags was instant hot cocoa mix. “Now we have to celebrate with hot cocoa.”
She could tell he wanted to decline. But then he surprised her again and agreed.
Ten minutes later they were sitting on his sofa enjoying the cocoa. If she had known chocolate would relax him like this she would have brought Godiva to the lab weeks ago.
He regarded the decorated tree for a moment. “It looks pretty.”
“More?” She reached for his cup.
He held up a hand and shook his head.
“I’ll take care of this.” She picked up his empty mug and stood.
“That’s okay.”
She just smiled and kept walking toward the kitchen. He joined her.
“I have a dishwasher,” he reminded her as if the appliance tucked into the cabinet next to the sink wasn’t visible.
“I can see that.” She rinsed the cups and spoons and stacked them into the dishwasher. He hovered nearby. This domestic scene made him nervous. She picked up on his tension immediately. She shouldn’t press her luck.
She dried her hands. “I guess I should go. This was nice.”
He stared at her mouth. Five seconds, then ten. She considered saying something else but she was afraid she would break the spell. He wanted to kiss her. She was sure of it.
Afraid to give him too much time to think, she went up on tiptoe and kissed his jaw. “Good night, Jacob.”
She didn’t give him an opportunity to analyze what had happened before she got out of there. By the time she pulled away from the curb, she’d managed to catch her breath again.
She’d kissed him.
Now she was scared to death what his reaction would be.
Tomorrow she would find out.
Chapter Ten
She’d kissed him! Actually stepped right up to the plate and done the deed. Second thoughts warred inside her. Was her move too forward? Would he tell her to never come to his house again?
She couldn’t think about it. Olivia turned onto Fourth Street so she could stop by Ferguson’s for a bottle of celebratory wine. She’d intended to pick up wine the other night but she’d forgotten. This was the first time in two months—since moving west, actually—that she’d felt like celebrating. And quite possibly she shouldn’t be feeling that way. Jacob might be infuriated that she’d been so bold.
Enough. Just put it out of your head and wait and see what happens. Shortly before making the turn she noticed the dark sedan in her rearview mirror. If there had been any traffic to speak of she might not have noticed. But there wasn’t. The car had followed her every turn since leavi
ng Jacob’s house.
She made the right into the Ferguson’s parking lot. Going inside would provide the opportunity to prove that the car wasn’t following her. The idea was a bit over the top. She might not have thought anything of it if the training for her job hadn’t mentioned the possibility she could become a target in certain high-profile cases.
None of the cases she’d worked on so far had fallen into that category, but there was no need to take the chance.
The car drove past slowly as she emerged from her Volvo. She didn’t recognize the make or model. There was a dent in the trunk area as if the driver had backed into something. The important part was that he or she had driven on. Olivia relaxed.
Inside the grocery store, she strolled the aisles looking for something chocolate she could munch on. Chocolate was definitely her weakness. She craved the stuff whenever she was nervous or stressed. It was a flat-out miracle she hadn’t gained twenty pounds since moving here. She’d recently made it a point not to bring chocolate home. But it was practically Christmas. Like the hot cocoa, chocolate was just a part of the holiday.
She picked out her preferred white wine—something sweet and a little bubbly. Finding nothing chocolate in a bag or box that tempted her taste buds, she moved onto the bakery section. Right there in the aisle in front of the bakery case, she melted. Chocolate cake with fudge icing.
Exactly what she needed. Thankfully it was one of the small cakes, more likely meant for two. In her case, it would amount to two servings. One for tonight, one for tomorrow night.
Almost as good as sex.
Yeah, right. Even she hadn’t done without for so long that she would presume to substitute chocolate for sex and come out satisfied.
Cake and wine in hand, she made her way to the front registers and paid. As she climbed into her car, she found herself scanning the street for the sedan that had been following her. Or the sedan she’d thought was following her. The latter was far more probable.
About seven minutes more and she would be safely tucked into her apartment, anyway. Security was good at her place. That had been one of the key selling points when she’d taken the lease.
If she remained in the area she would eventually need to buy a house. Something small and cozy…like Jacob’s. But she would make it a home. His still looked and felt like a house—not a home. No doubt a bachelor thing.
Lights flickered in her rearview mirror. The vehicle roared up behind her—too close for comfort. She couldn’t be certain it was the same car. Same color, it seemed. She hadn’t had a good look at the driver before. She peered into the rearview mirror, tried to make out what he looked like as she slowed for an intersection. Definitely looked like a he. Was he wearing sunglasses?
At night?
He was.
A shiver danced up her spine.
That was officially weird.
She drove to her block but didn’t turn into the parking lot. Instead she moved into the left turning lane as if she intended to maneuver into the lot of the building across the street. The car cruised by.
Her heart skipped a beat.
The same car. The dent in the rear end was exactly the same.
As soon as the car had driven past, she checked her rearview mirror and cut across the lanes to the garage beneath her building.
When she’d entered the code and gotten into the garage she breathed a little easier.
She’d definitely been followed. The only question was why.
Chapter Eleven
Three days ’til Christmas
Olivia had slept fitfully the night before. Not even the wine and the chocolate had relaxed her nerves.
The car had been following her. She was certain of that. She’d considered reporting the incident to Callie, but her boss hadn’t appeared to be in a very good mood this morning so she’d scrapped the idea.
Olivia would watch when she left work. If she saw the car again she would call the police then tell her superior. It wasn’t totally outside the realm of possibility that the whole event was coincidence. The car hadn’t made any aggressive moves. The driver hadn’t even looked at her.
It just felt…odd. Had her instincts on alert.
There were people who had light sensitivities who wore protective eyewear at night. She may have made too much of that part.
Bottom line, there was really no reason to get paranoid. Yet.
She had a bigger problem today, anyway. Jacob was avoiding her again.
He hadn’t said good morning. Hadn’t looked her way once. She shouldn’t have kissed him.
Even now her face heated at the memory. The move had been a mistake. If she’d needed any confirmation, his actions today had given her all she needed.
Just do your work, Olivia.
She could sit in the corner wearing a dunce cap when she got home tonight.
Bart Flemming and another of the lab’s forensic analysts, Bobby O’Shea, returned from a meeting in Callie’s office. Olivia had been a little worried when the meeting hadn’t included her, but Jacob hadn’t been at the meeting either. Meetings with Callie were usually about whatever case one was working. Olivia knew that, but she was feeling extra sensitive these days considering the mistakes she’d been making.
And that was another thing—she’d never made mistakes before. She’d always been one hundred percent. A lead analyst at her former job. Maybe this whole distraction with Jacob was interfering with her work. She would need to think long and hard about that. Or maybe it was the holidays. Or a combination.
“Olivia,” Bobby said as he passed her station, “Callie wants to see you.”
“Thanks.” Olivia shut down her system, something she’d started doing whenever she left her station. She refused to believe anyone here would sabotage her work, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
Ruthless. That was what Gerald had heard about the guys here. Olivia thought of her coworkers and honestly couldn’t bring herself to believe that rumor was grounded in any sort of reality. Probably just jealousy on the part of the MedTech personnel. But then, Flemming was a genius with computers.
Olivia shook off the idea and tapped at Callie’s door; her boss motioned for her to come on in. “You wanted to see me?”
“Have a seat, Olivia.”
Callie looked tired. Olivia had noticed an additional layer of weariness about her for a couple of weeks now.
“We have a problem.”
Those instincts that were already in overdrive started to hum. “What sort of problem?” This couldn’t be happening again.
“The file you sent me this morning,” Callie explained, “was empty. I checked the system and apparently you failed to follow through on the program before leaving yesterday and all your data was lost.”
That was impossible. Olivia had double-checked her work before sending the data to Callie. “That can’t be right. I—”
Callie shook her head. “Olivia, I’m not accusing you. Yet,” she qualified. “But something’s going on here. A glitch in your access code, maybe. I’ll have Bart check on things. Meanwhile, why don’t you print hard copies for me from now on? At least until we clear up this…situation.”
“Of course.”
Olivia moved blindly to the ladies’ room. She couldn’t go back to her station. Not yet. She had to pull herself together.
Did Flemming and O’Shea know? Had Callie voiced her concerns to two of her more trusted staff? Were they all suspicious of Olivia? The new girl? The outsider?
This was wrong.
Very wrong.
Chapter Twelve
It was past eight o’clock before she finished.
Everyone else had gone already. Except the security personnel in the lobby.
Olivia stretched her neck and rolled her shoulders. It’d taken her all this time to catch up with today’s work after redoing yesterday’s tests. But now, as Callie suggested, she was printing hard copies of everything. A copy for herself, which she locked in her station, and a cop
y for Callie, which she put in a large envelope and slid under the door of her office. She wasn’t about to leave anything lying around…to disappear.
Jacob had left at six. He’d said good night to Olivia but he’d rushed to get away after that.
She really had gone too far last night. He must think her a complete fool.
Maybe the whole problem—work, Jacob, all of it—was with her. Olivia wasn’t herself. Clearly.
She pulled on her jacket and retrieved her purse. She, apparently, was forgetting things. Her focus was easily distracted. But that was only because she had increasing difficulty keeping her mind off Jacob.
She took the stairs down to the lobby. Okay. Time to get her stuff together. She had to stop this whatever-it-was with Jacob. The distraction. The obsession. And she had to pay extra attention to her every step at the lab. Maybe she would even start a second log, one of her own that had nothing to do with the official system.
Good plan. She felt better already.
As she waved to the security guard, a thought she’d been mulling over entered her mind once more. She was grasping at straws…but there was only one way to be sure. She hurried over to the security desk and presented a smile to the guard on duty. She would never know if she didn’t ask.
“Can I help you, Ms. Perez?” he asked. The Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer pin on his shirt glowed.
Olivia smiled. “I like your pin.”
“Thank you. My granddaughter insisted I wear it.”
“I believe I was the last to leave last night.” She held her breath and took the plunge. “Did anyone from the lab come back after that?”
The guard turned to the computer on his desk and tapped a few keys. “No one except Bart Flemming. He returned around ten for half an hour.” The guard shook his head. “That young man is a go-getter.”
