He glanced at the other man, wanting to ask him why. This had not been a simple skim-through-the-footage-of-a-single-camera task. This had taken time. A hell of a lot of it.
“It’s my way of saying thank you,” Reordon said somberly, “for getting Kate and so many others to safety.” He shook his head. “I shudder every time I think about how many would’ve died if you, Joe, and Stuart hadn’t helped evacuate the building while the Immortal Guardians defended it.”
Cliff picked up the flash drive and curled his fingers around it in a loose fist. “Thank you.”
Reordon leaned forward and crossed his arms on the table. “The other thing I can do for you is this.” He nodded to the room around them.
Cliff arched a brow. “Take me on a lunch date?”
Laughing, Reordon shook his head. “Give you more leeway, more room to breathe.” His expression sobered. “I know you’ve been… antsy since your return. Those fuckers tortured you and drove you to experience your first break. Who wouldn’t be antsy? I also know you’ve been having trouble sleeping.”
Cliff hated that Chris knew he was struggling.
Hell, he didn’t like anyone knowing he was struggling.
“So I thought you might need a distraction.” Reordon studied him carefully. “Do you need one? A distraction?”
Though it galled him to admit it, Cliff sighed. “Yeah.” Reordon had done him a solid. The least he could do was be honest in return.
“Then from now on you can leave your door open at night and roam sublevel 5 freely. Just don’t disrupt the researchers’ work too much. We don’t want to do anything that might slow them down. And anytime you need to stretch your legs during the day, Todd and the other guards who accompanied us can bring you here for lunch. You can even use the exercise facilities on this floor if you need a workout and don’t want to deal with Whetsman’s dickishness. I can have a treadmill capable of supporting vampire speeds added to the rest of the equipment in there by the end of the week.”
Cliff stared at him. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
He glanced at the men and women dining around them. Many a glance skittered away from his in a lame attempt to hide the fact they were staring. “Don’t you think some of these people would object to that?” Particularly if Reordon didn’t intend to accompany him.
Chris shrugged. “It might make some a little nervous.” An understatement, to be sure. “But they’ll eventually get used to it.”
Get used to it… as if he expected Cliff to visit the cafeteria often.
Cliff thought about how nice it would be to move around during the day without having to deal with Whetsman’s sorry ass. “Can Stuart come, too?”
“I’m afraid not. He’s still new here, and none of us know him well. Plus if both of you left sublevel 5, I’d have to up the number of guards who accompanied you, which likely would make the rest of the employees nervous. I like to keep everyone here as happy as I can. A happy employee is a productive employee. And I appreciate everything they do for me.”
Damn. This all made Reordon seem like a good guy. Cliff was going to have to reassess his opinion of the man.
“I was also thinking about having Todd interview you,” Reordon continued. “He and Sheldon have interviewed a few immortals for the network’s classified internal newsletter. According to Kate, a lot of employees—particularly those you saved and those who have heard about it—are very curious about you. So it would be a good way to help them get to know you and see you as a person rather than a vampire.”
“Okay.” It was worth a try.
“Great. Let’s bus our trays, then I’ll show you around the gym. Todd will take you back to sublevel 5 once you’re finished.”
Returning Reordon’s smile, Cliff rose, tucked the flash drive in his back pocket, and grabbed his tray.
Chapter Five
“Emma!”
Yelping, Emma jumped and banged her head on the underside of her desk’s keyboard tray. “Ouch! Damn it, don’t do that,” she grumbled, backpedaling on her hands and knees. Sitting up, she glared over the desk at Cynthia and rubbed the back of her head.
Cynthia rolled her eyes as she entered. “Oh please. Your hair is so thick and pretty it’s like wearing a cushioned helmet. You probably barely felt that.”
Emma laughed. She’d pulled her hair back from her face in braids today and wore the