problem.” His plate was overflowing but he’d work more hours. If he was exhausted enough, he could sleep through the night. Otherwise he would lie awake in the dark, swamped by waves of grief and regret.
Derek gave him a searching look. “It’s a short deadline for such a complex RFP.”
Leland raised his eyebrows. “Have I ever missed a due date?”
“That doesn’t mean it’s okay to kill yourself doing it,” Tully said. “Let this one go, partner.”
“You’re determined to annoy me today,” Leland said.
“I’ll send you the RFP and you can decide after you read it.” Derek nodded toward the computer monitor. “Is the SBI project the one at the gym where Alice goes to work out with her friend Dawn? She told me the data traffic picked up again, only on cell phones.”
“Indeed it has. There’s something very strange going on in Cofferwood, New Jersey. Who’d have thought?” It was odd, but hearing Derek mention Dawn’s name gave Leland a little kick of pleasure, as though it had brought Dawn into the room with them.
“Well, it got you out of the office for a few hours this morning, so I’m in favor of it,” Derek said.
“Amen to that!” Tully exclaimed.
Leland refused to rise to their needling. “I believe I accompanied Derek to a client meeting for an entire half day last week.”
“Only because the client insisted on meeting our computer genius,” Derek said. “His IT guy wanted to touch you.” Derek glanced at Tully. “You should have heard the jargon flying between them.”
Tully chuckled before he headed out the door. “I gotta get to a meeting with a client myself.”
Derek locked his eyes on Leland before he said in a low, commanding voice, “No strippers. Swear it!”
Leland just smiled.
Dawn had checked her phone between every client, but no email from Leland showed up. She shoved her arms into her jacket with unnecessary force before she stalked into the lobby to head home.
Chad was propped against the front desk, flirting with Tiffany, the nineteen-year-old night receptionist. When he saw Dawn, he straightened and walked over to fall into step beside her. “You look like you’ve had a bad day. Let me buy you a drink to cheer you up.”
He snaked his arm around her shoulders, sending her nervous system into overload. She twisted out of his grasp to face him. “How many times do I have to say no to you before you get the message?”
Chad held up both hands, palms out. “Hey, just being friendly. A beer is all I had in mind.”
“Sorry, I’m just cranky.” Disappointment over Leland’s silence made her irritable and she’d overreacted. “Long day.” She waved her hand in apology and jerked open the door.
“Rain check,” Chad called out as the door swung closed behind her.
Jesus, the man really didn’t quit. However, he flirted with everyone, so she decided it was nothing more worrisome than an exasperating personality trait. It wasn’t his fault that his clueless persistence triggered her reflex to knee him in the balls.
She walked the five minutes to her apartment building, sticking to the bright pools of illumination cast by the streetlights. She made sure that the entrance door to the building was locked before putting her key in. Then she scanned the small front hall and staircase before she stepped inside to check her mailbox. Bills and junk mail.
She jogged up the stairs to the second floor, where she keyed in a six-digit combination to open her apartment door. The solid thunk of the high-quality dead bolt sliding back always reassured her. Once she was inside, she disarmed the alarm and then rearmed it the moment the door was closed again. The tension in her shoulders eased and she blew out a breath of relief.
After dropping her gym bag on the table by the door and shrugging out of her jacket, she headed for the kitchen. She had the ingredients for a broccoli-avocado tuna bowl spread out on the granite countertop when her cell phone rang. She glanced at the phone but didn’t recognize the number. “Stupid telemarketers,” she muttered as she sliced up the avocado.
But a ping indicated the caller had left a voice message. Curiosity got the better of her, so she punched her voice mail button.
“Dawn, it’s Leland. I hope you don’t mind that I called in a favor to get your cell number from Alice. She thought it would be all right with you since we’re working together now.” Leland’s honey-smooth drawl seemed to stroke over her skin.