"You're right. You can. I won't kiss you again." One corner of his mouth quirked in a lopsided smile as he stepped back. "Until you ask."
Gripping her hands together to hide their shaking, she turned away. "The Dow Jones will hit five million first."
His husky laugh embraced her. "Never say never, Houdini." He cut open the last canvas bag to hand her another pile of bills.
"I assume Trask has the vault log and a master list of teller endorsement numbers. When his secretary takes her lunch break, we can search his office."
She whirled. "If we're caught, I'll get fired, arrested, or both!"
"You forget who you're dealing with. In this situation, I am the law. Besides, everything will be legal."
"Talk about the fox guarding the henhouse."
Gabe's lips turned up in that heart-stopping grin. "There you go. Take that sassy mouth and turn it on Lucille."
"I'll work things out with her my own way." She snatched the pen from her jacket and logged them out, then shoved the pen back in her pocket. "We can't search Trask's office. I always take new staff to lunch their first day. My policy is well-known and any break in routine will raise questions. Trask is out more than he's in, so we'll have plenty of opportunity." She glanced at her watch. "It's noon, we might as well eat."
"Okay. We'll discuss tactics and you can tell me about the other employees." With a flourish, he swooped up his glasses. "After you, boss."
Tessa turned on her pager as she led Gabe toward the bank of elevators. "The cafeteria is in the basement, but I have lunch in the courtyard when the weather is nice."
After choosing their meals, they strolled out to the courtyard in the center of the six-story building. Relishing the ripe-apple scent of late autumn, Tessa led Gabe to her usual table in the corner, sheltered by maple trees. She brushed crisp orange and red leaves off the glass tabletop before depositing her salad. "I can't believe nobody else is taking advantage of this beautiful day."
His movements smooth and economical, Gabe slid into the seat across from her. "Getting outside feels great, doesn't it?" He removed his glasses and set them on the table. Closing his eyes, he leaned back and turned his face upward. Gilded bronze by the warm sun, his tanned features radiated peace and strength.
Her heart leapt, then flipped over. Heavens, he was gorgeous in spite of the ridiculous disguise. Desire saturated her limbs, quickly followed by the odd, disconcerting feeling that her fate was irrevocably sealed. Just like when she'd tried to get away from him in the car, the warehouse, then the cabin, there was no escape. She gulped iced tea, the cold burn helping rein in her panic. "You said you wanted information about our coworkers?" she choked out. "What do you need?"
His eyelids floated up, and his smoky, sensual gaze caressed her face. "Do you really want to know what I need, Tessie?" he asked, his low voice sliding over her like warm silk.
Suddenly she couldn't breathe.
"Hello, Tessa."
She jerked her startled gaze to the sandy-haired man striding across the courtyard. "Hello, Peter," she managed to say. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gabe thrust his glasses back on.
Peter stopped at their table. His pale, haggard face looked as if he hadn't been sleeping well. "I thought I'd find you here. Enjoying your lunch?"
"Yes. Would you like to join us?"
"For a minute." He took a seat beside her.
She gestured. "This is Gabe Bond, our newest teller. Gabe, Mr. Peter Richards, senior vice president."
"Hi," Gabe twanged out in his nasal nerd voice.
"Welcome, Mr. Bond. Did you come to us from another bank?"
Gabe shook his head. "No, I worked at Moore's pre-owned car emporium. You know, Come to Moore's, where Moore means less?" He snorted out a high-pitched laugh.
Peter's lips twitched into a pained half smile. "Miss Beaumont is the best, you're lucky to be working under her."
Gabe tossed her a surreptitious wink. He grinned, displaying his buckteeth. "I'm going to enjoy working under Miss Beaumont very much."
Tessa congratulated herself on her restraint for not kicking the living daylights out of him under the table.
Peter's brows dipped. "Ah, yes…" He cleared his throat as he turned to Tessa. "You've recovered from your ordeal? I was sorry to hear what you went through. When they catch this criminal, he deserves to be strung up by the, er, hanged."