good employees. You obviously have skills, and you are smart enough to do what you need to do,” he said. “So whatever they figure out doesn’t really matter.”
“That’s true enough,” she said, “but I still have that pesky rent to pay.”
He grinned. “Yep, I hear you.”
She stood and said, “I need to get back to work too.”
“Well, if anybody says anything about you being here,” he said, “just tell him—or her—that I needed information.”
“And you did,” she said with a smile as she left.
He watched her go, only to hear Galen beside him. “What was that all about?”
He turned to look at his buddy and quickly explained what she just told him.
“Interesting,” Galen said. “Definitely suspicious.”
“Yet innocent enough on the surface. Smart even because, if she has a skill that they could use, of course they would want to bring along someone they’ve already got on board and make better use of those skills.” He looked at Galen’s laptop. “Did Stone help?”
“Absolutely,” he said.
“Good. I might have to give him a call a little later too.”
“I saw how you were looking at her, by the way,” Galen said, a smile in his voice.
Johan shot his friend a disgusted look. “She’s pretty, so how else can I look at her?”
“No way. I saw that look,” Galen said smugly. “Which is a whole lot more than just about her being pretty.”
“Well, in that case,” Johan said, “that is your answer.”
Galen looked confused for a moment. “To what question?”
“As to whether I’m interested or not,” he said. “So now she is off-limits for you.”
Immediately Galen’s face fell.
But Johan just laughed out loud, delighted with himself.
Chapter 4
The rest of the week was a repeat of Monday. She came into work, buckled down to the stacks of paper she had to go through, got up with her clipboard to double-check various things that needed checking, and wandered past the men working in the next room, and, most of the time, found them there. When they weren’t there, she stopped and wondered where the hell they were. But nobody talked to her about it. She had no more strange meetings. No more strange anything really, just the sense of being part of a conspiracy against the company. And that felt wrong too. Her section boss never called her upstairs anymore, and the other two women just kept working at her side. Nobody made any comments about anything.
On Friday, Johan stopped at her doorway and asked to speak with her for a few minutes. Surprised, she stood and walked toward him. “Is there something I can help you with?”
He motioned her out into the hallway and said in a low voice, “Come out for lunch with us.”
She checked her watch and nodded. “I have lunch with me today,” she said, “but I guess I can have it for dinner tonight. My lunch break is in about five minutes.”
“We’ll wait in the parking lot for you,” he murmured before he turned and walked away.
She headed back in to find the two women staring at her. She just shrugged and didn’t say anything. She sat back down to her work, but she only had a couple more minutes before she left again. One of the ladies, Doris, got up to go, leaving just Phyllis here.
“You got something going with that hunky investigator?” Phyllis asked.
Surprised, Joy looked at her and blushed. “No,” she said. “I don’t.”
“Well, you should,” she said. “You definitely should. He’s perfect. Real dream material and he’s interested.”
“Maybe so,” Joy said, “but that doesn’t mean he’s available.”
“Who cares?” Phyllis said carelessly. “Have a night’s romp and enjoy it. If he’s got a wife back home, it’s not like you’ll be hurting her.”
Joy hated that attitude but kept the smile pinned to her face. It never did any good to make enemies in the office.
Phyllis stood and stretched, then said, “I’ve got another half hour before I go to lunch,” she said, “but I have to take a pee break.” With that, she rushed from the office.
Joy wasn’t sure if Phyllis really was going to the ladies’ room or not, but, regardless, it was Joy’s lunchtime now. So, logging off her computer, she grabbed her purse, slung it over her shoulder, and walked to the nearest exit. She didn’t pass anybody on the way, but, for days now, she had felt like she was being watched.
Outside, she walked to the large parking lot, unsure where the guys were. A truck pulled up, and, seeing Galen in the passenger