was uncharacteristically messy. Still, she gave Teddy a warm smile. “You guys are miracle workers,” she said.
“Does this mean Joyce Alexander—”
Before he could finish the question, Romeo entered, wearing another of his federal agent outfits. At least he’d taken off the jacket. Although a white shirt/black tie/black trousers combo would have been boring on anyone else, of course he looked gorgeous. Which he undoubtedly knew. He greeted Lauren and folded himself into one of her chairs, his long legs elegantly crossed. Although he fussed a bit with the trouser pleat, which lost him a few coolness points.
Lauren took a seat, her palms flat against the glass top of her desk. “Thank you both for working so hard on this problem.”
Gratitude was nice, but Teddy wanted to know about Joyce Alexander. “Imani says the numbers work out.”
“They do. Production costs will go up a little due to the extra shaping and the frosted glass, but increasing the price by a dollar will cover it without pricing us out of range.”
“We don’t have to frost the glass,” Romeo offered.
Teddy shot him a glare. “Yes, we do. Ugly probe, remember?”
Romeo opened his mouth, no doubt to argue, but Lauren cut him off with a wave of her hand. “It’s fine. The glass will look nice.”
“And Joyce Alexander?” Teddy tried not to bounce in his chair.
“Is still interested in hearing our pitch.” But before Teddy could do an encore of the previous day’s celebratory dance, Lauren shook her head. “But there’s a complication.”
Oh no. That was a terrible word. It was right up there with We have to talk and I got the test results back. He didn’t want to know about complications. He wanted, in fact, a simple world, like in a Broadway musical, where the small problems would all be wrapped up within three hours and there would be a soaring reprise at the end.
“Complication?” Romeo asked. Teddy wanted to kick him.
Lauren gazed at them solemnly. “As you know, I was supposed to fly to Seattle to meet with Joyce.”
“Was?” Teddy also didn’t like the past tenseness of this.
“Was. But I’ve had an emergency come up.” She scowled. “It’s a stupid emergency, but I need to deal with it anyway.”
Romeo leaned forward with an expression of concern. “Is everything okay?”
“Ugh. My sister. It’s her wedding anniversary, and she and her husband have reservations for one of those all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean. You know—the kind where you can sit on the beach all day drinking mai tais instead of freezing your buns off or slowly losing your mind while stuck in traffic on the Stevenson Expressway.”
“That sounds nice,” Teddy said dreamily. He’d never visited anywhere tropical, but Gregory did so regularly, and he sure looked happy in his poolside selfies.
Lauren curled her lip. “Right. Nice. Except they have two daughters who are definitely not invited along on this trip.”
Romeo grinned, looking not at all like his usual grim self. “You have nieces! How old?”
“Ten and twelve. My mother was supposed to stay with them while the parents are gone. Grandparent bonding, yadda yadda. But suddenly my mother has fallen head over heels in love with some man, and they ran off last weekend and eloped. Can you imagine? That woman is sixty-four years old and she’s mooning around like a teenager.”
If Teddy hadn’t been opposed to romance, he would have oohed and aahed a bit. It was sweet, really, that Lauren’s mother had found someone to feel so deeply about and that she and her new beau had done something impulsive. Except it was also foolish. “How long have they known each other?”
“Before they got married? A week!” Lauren threw her hands up in exasperation.
Teddy clicked his tongue. “I don’t believe in insta-love.”
“Neither do I!” Lauren stood and paced her office a few times. “She’s old enough to know better. She used to lecture me to be careful and not step into relationships too quickly. And now she does this!” Again with the hands in the air.
“She’s a grown woman,” Romeo pointed out quietly.
Lauren blew a raspberry. Then she threw herself back into her chair. “Anyway. Since Mom’s currently off having a honeymoon in Las Vegas, of all the ridiculous places, I’m stuck with my sister’s kids for the next week.” She shuddered.
Romeo seemed puzzled by something, but Teddy didn’t ask him what. Instead, he sighed heavily. “So no meeting with Joyce Alexander. You can’t reschedule?”
“No. Her calendar availability is very limited. It’s now or never. Which is why I’m sending you