Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“Well, Kenzie never snuck out of the house and got herself kidnapped by a rogue agent,” Charlotte said, her jaw firming.
So Kala was totally interesting. “Yeah, Brynn never did that, either. Kala seems cool. We all have issues. Hers are laid out for all to see, and that can be hard.”
Charlotte seemed to think about that for a moment. “I never thought about it that way. I’ll consider it. Now how did things go with West? He’s not usually so serious. I thought he would be the best person for the job because he’s normally fun to be around.”
That didn’t surprise her. “Oh, I bring out the bad side in many men.”
“Bad side?”
“Let’s just say he’s made it plain that he’s not a fan.” Before Charlotte could say anything, Ally shook her head. “It’s fine. It’s better, honestly. We can both do our jobs and not worry about anything else. It makes things easier.”
She wouldn’t have to worry about falling into bed with him. She wouldn’t have to think about how good his hands would feel on her skin or how long it had been since she’d been so wickedly attracted to a man.
“Are you sure? I can talk to the other two guards. Tessa can’t take the lead on this one, but I might be able to convince Wade to approve of Matt. That would cut down on the time you would have to spend with West. I’m really surprised. He’s usually quite charming.”
This was a conversation she’d had many times before. “Trust me. It’s me, not him. You bring my sister in and he would be sweet as pie to her. I irritate all the little boys. I kind of got the feeling I irritated your husband. It was cool how he did that lower his voice and the world suddenly seemed cold thing.”
“He’s got that down, and everything irritates Ian. Don’t worry about that. I think if he spent time with you, he’d likely find your honesty refreshing. He’s a lot like Kala. Oh, here’s one of the people I wanted you to meet. Matt, come and meet Ally Pearson. You’ll be working with her for a couple of months. Ally, this is one of our newest employees, Matt Edwards.”
A man who looked to be in his late twenties/early thirties stepped into the break room. He was handsome, with dark hair and blue eyes that would probably catch the attention of most women.
He looked far smoother than West, and for some reason, that turned her off.
“Ms. Pearson, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He reached a hand out.
She put her knitting down to shake his hand. Instead of shaking it, he placed his other hand over hers, surrounding it. It irritated her because it was far too much intimacy, too fast.
Although she wondered if she would think the same thing if West had been the one to do it.
“You, too.” He was slightly shorter than West, but she would bet he was more muscular. West’s strength seemed to be all lean while Matt barely fit into the tight dress shirt he wore. “I hope this is a totally boring assignment for you.”
“I doubt it.” He gave her a ready smile. “I doubt anything about your life is boring. I’m ready for some adventure.”
“There will be no adventure,” a deep voice said.
Well, her hidey-hole was getting full. West Rycroft walked in, staring down at her hand between Matt’s.
She pulled her hand away, not liking the weird sense that went through her. Like she was betraying someone. Which was stupid since it wasn’t even like West considered her a decent person. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Matt.”
“I bet it was,” West said under his breath. “Ally, it’s time to head out.” He frowned. “Are you going to kill someone with those?”
It took her a second to realize he was talking about her knitting needles. “Are you offering?”
“I was just wondering what you were doing with them.”
“Knitting, asshole.” She stood, packing them and her yarn away. “I’m sure that it will come as a surprise to you that I can manage to do anything beyond order my next latte. Speaking of, we’ll need to stop somewhere to get a latte. I need my fix.”
She wasn’t going to win with this guy, and she wasn’t a masochist, so she wouldn’t even try.
It wouldn’t be the first shitty relationship she’d had with someone she was working with.
“West?” Charlotte’s eyes had gone wide. Likely because she’d never seen him act this way.
Ally simply walked out because it was nothing new to her.
It was time to ship her stepdad out and then she could concentrate on the movie.
And utterly ignore West.
* * * *
“What was she like? Does she have the most perfect skin or is that all a filter they use?” Martin Rehn sat at the bar in the two-bedroom condo West shared with his twin, Rand, in Lower Greenville.