Betrayal of the Dove - By Capri Montgomery Page 0,14

a living quarter. Judging from the small bathroom he was nearly sure of that. It had probably just been for storage, and maybe a break room area. There was an employee bathroom in the hall leading to the stairs for the upstairs flat, so he was sure whoever previously had possession of the store probably would have employees use that one during store hours. It wasn’t a bad setup from a business standpoint, but it was horrible from a security standpoint.

“Maybe she needed the kitchen equipment,” he shook his head as he gathered some of his supplies. “But she didn’t have to paint.” He thought security came first, and it should have. She didn’t have to put in a new tile floor when she opened her shop. She should have updated her camera, her locks, all of it, before she tried to make the place look pretty. Had he known her place was in the Dark Ages he would have loaded his truck before he left this morning.

He decided to change into something he could work in before heading back. A pair of dark blue jeans and a fitted white t-shirt that stretched across his body like a glove. He changed his dress shoes for his work boots and then did one last check to make sure he had everything he needed for today. This wasn’t a task he was going to accomplish in one day only. Updating her security was going to take some time, but at least he would be able to get a few things done today. The locks were priority, then the security camera after hours if she would be okay with that, if not he was going to have to do it during store hours and he didn’t like that idea at all. It was too open and too many people would be able to tell what the security updates would be. He really needed to do it after hours. After he got that situated he would work on getting those windows secure. She really needed something with a thicker pane and sturdy locks.

He had a lot of work to do if he wanted to get those locks changed before the close of business today. He could work on the cameras tomorrow if he had to, but he wouldn’t sleep well tonight if he left knowing she had the world’s most pick-able locks.

He punched in Valencia’s number as he climbed into his truck. When she answered he had three words for her. “It’s a go.” He was in and he wanted Valencia to know that so she could report back to whomever she was doing this for.

“So she hired your guy?”

“She hired me,” he said.

“I see,” she said evenly. He hoped he hadn’t made a mistake here. Had she really wanted him to get somebody else on this after all? “I trust you can handle her.”

“You mean her security?”

“That too,” she said. “Thomas has already warned me that she’s a spitfire when it comes to her independence. And from the woman I met at his wedding I’d say that was an understatement. Good luck.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I think.” He shook his head. “I’m updating her security today, and I’ll check in with you to let you know the progress as I go.”

“No need,” she said. “I trust you. If there’s a problem, call me. If I have a problem or need information I’ll call you. I’ll just let her brother know she’s in good hands and if anything comes up I’ll be in touch with you. You don’t need to give me a weekly progress report.”

“Good thing,” he said because he really didn’t want to have to give weekly status reports. If things changed and something happened that he needed to report then he would let her know; otherwise, he’d save his dime on the call. He disconnected the call before starting the engine on his truck, cranking up the air condition and heading back to Scottsdale.

As he drove down the back roads, avoiding some of the Interstate congestion he couldn’t help but think of Alyssa. She had blushed when she entered the bathroom and she had quickly set about trying to take her hanging panties and bras down. He tried, boy did he try, but he couldn’t resist taking a sneak peak at some of the pieces still hanging. She hadn’t seen him, which was good because she probably would have been red as a tomato if she knew he was enjoying the view.