Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Owen

This wasn't going to work. Having Annalee sit at the desk on the other side of the one-way glass was going to be torture. I could see her, but she couldn't see that my eyes were having a hard time leaving her body. Especially now that I knew what she looked like naked.

Walking into the bathroom to find her sprawled on the floor, wet, was a new dimension of hell. I couldn't get the picture out of my head. The gentlemanly thing to do would've been to look away at the time but was that what I had done?

Hell no, because my eyes did what they wanted despite my brain screaming that it was inappropriate.

Plain and simple? I was fucked. I needed a certain new receptionist out of my house fast before I did something stupid.

Like fuck my co-worker.

"I heard our new receptionist stayed at your place last night." Easton dropped the corner of his hip onto the desk I was currently using.

I leaned back in my chair and turned to him. I wanted to make sure he understood how serious I was when I answered. "She didn't have a choice. It was late and driving back out of town to find a hotel would've been pointless especially considering her current situation."

That got my friend’s attention. "What situation is that?"

I explained the condition I found her apartment in and what she told me about her stepbrother. By the time I was done telling him everything that happened, both before and after her father's death, Easton's wheels were turning.

"Did she give you the two places she originally planned to look at?"

I motioned to where the addresses were written down on a piece of paper. They were the first thing I planned to look into today. You know, after I stopped staring at her through the glass.

"I know for a fact that one is no longer available. It's just down the street from Kati and they took the sign down yesterday morning. Not sure if someone rented it or they changed their mind."

Shit. That left only one other option because there was no way I could have Annalee sleeping in my bed for another night. It didn't matter how good she felt in my arms when we woke up.

"I can call the other place and find out for you. Have you started looking into the father's death and the stepfamily?"

I needed to focus. "I was just about to do that. Something is off with the father's death. The fact that he changed his will and sent her the letter tells me he knew he wouldn't live much longer. Annalee would've mentioned if he had cancer or something else that was slowly killing him."

"Based on what you just told me, it sounds like money is the motivator here."

Wasn't it always? People were greedy. It was human nature.

"That's my guess as well."

I took my eyes off my friend long enough to check on Annalee. She was still working at her desk except this time it wasn't Maverick helping her. Nolen was saddled up next to her and that damn smile he always wore was aimed at her.

"Relax." Easton's hand was on my shoulder and pushing me down before I even realized I started to move. "Everyone here knows she's yours. Nolen is just being his usual friendly self."

"She's not mine," I bit out too quickly.

"Sure, she isn't."

I kept one eye on the situation happening out in the reception area and turned my other toward Easton. "Who exactly told you Annalee stayed at my place last night?"

Unlike Kati, I didn't have nosy neighbors checking in on me. At least, none that I was aware of yet and those things tended not to stay hidden for very long.

"Lex told me you guys came straight to town. I made an educated guess and you confirmed it for me."

Motherfucker.

"Small-town life is rubbing off on you," I grumbled.

Easton laughed. He did that a lot these days now that he had Kati and Lucien, Kati's son, in his life. My friend was always kind and gave great advice, but laughing wasn't something he did often. Not until he found the love of his life. Now it happened often, even when Kati wasn't around.

"I blame it on Ms. Daisy. She's always cornering me when I get to Kati's house. I swear she waits for me to pull up, then rushes outside to tell me everything she saw that day."

Ms. Daisy was Kati's neighbor. Her parlor faced Kati's front porch and the old woman didn't miss a thing. She was the one to tell the entire town when Kati opened the door to Easton in nothing but a shirt.

"She's got a thing for you."

"More like she's bored and I'm just too nice to ignore her."

He certainly was and it was likely Ms. Daisy knew that and took full advantage. I've had the pleasure of meeting the woman, and I must say, she was sharper than people gave her credit for.

We sat in comfortable silence for a few seconds but it didn't last long. The chime above the door, warning us that someone had entered the building, went off.

"Looks like your woman came to visit you."

Easton didn't take his eyes off Kati as she walked straight up to Annalee.

"Oh trust me, she's not here to see me."

Most people didn't realize that our reception area was set up similar to an interrogation room. We could see out to them, but they couldn't see back here. Add in the fact that we could hear what was going on out there and I didn't miss when Kati informed Annalee about the mirror.

"Uh-oh. Looks like someone's in trouble."

Busted. Annalee whipped her head around and was looking straight at me but I doubted she realized it. The fire in her eyes had my cock fighting to get out of my zipper. At this rate, the damn thing was going to have an imprint of the zipper teeth.

"I'm surprised Maverick didn't tell her when he went over the job description."

We both laughed but Easton recovered first. "He's so damn twisted up about trying to run this place I doubt it even occurred to him. He's probably back in his office thanking the universe Annalee's here so that he doesn't have to do the paperwork side of things."

Easton was probably right. The one thing none of us were ever good at was paperwork. Give us a gun and a mission, and we excelled. Leave us in charge of something like spreadsheets and suddenly we looked like toddlers slapping keys on the computer. The Marines didn't prepare us for the business side of this venture.

"He should've thought about that before he jumped feetfirst into this. Wes warned him it was more than just taking on clients," I said.

Wes had made a similar mistake when he started but apparently the man now had a Nancy. Oh, and a Missy to handle the office part.

"Mav has a thick head. We knew that when he told us his plan but we followed him anyway."

I sighed. “That we did.”

"I better get out there and see if I can save our asses before Kati makes things worse. I love that damn woman but she just threw us all under the bus."

I sighed again. “That she did.”

I watched my friend head out through the door and greet the woman who changed everything for him. Not only did she give him love but she gave him a son who looked up to Easton.

I thought when I left the Marines, I would be happy to work and live out the rest of my life relaxing. Easton and Kati's love showed me that maybe I wanted something more. Then I heard a sweet voice on the other end of the line and I knew it was no longer a maybe. I did want more. Getting involved with a co-worker though was destined to mess things up. I had to keep reminding myself that, despite the way my body reacted to her.

And just now, when she briefly glanced my way despite not knowing my eyes were on her, I had a feeling I was going to lose the battle. The question was, would she be willing to take the chance as well?

Something told me the answer was no.