Slow No Wake - By Dakota Madison Page 0,16

being double teamed.

“It’s also possible we have a date Saturday night,” I said.

They both went wide-eyed.

“Daniel has worked here for years and we’ve never heard about him dating anyone,” Serenity said.

“He’s quiet, though,” Trinity added. “And mainly keeps to himself.”

“He is attractive,” Serenity said. “If you like rugged guys.”

I shrugged. I wasn’t sure what I liked anymore.

Serenity continued, “Do you think it’s a good idea to get involved with someone at work?”

“What if it doesn’t work out and the two of you still have to see each other every day at the office?” Trinity added.

“Have you heard the term cart before the horse?” I asked. “We’re really just friends and we haven’t even gone out yet.”

Trinity put her hands on her hips. “I’m sorry, but friends do not look at each other the way Daniel was looking at you. There was definitely some eye fucking going on there.”

I tried to stifle a gasp. I was definitely in trouble.

Trinity placed a hand on my shoulder. “Just be careful, okay?”

I nodded.

“Yeah,” Serenity added. “You’re the first counselor they’ve ever hired who we’ve actually liked. If you leave, it will just be the two of us with Brad again. Please don’t go.”

I sighed. “I’m not planning on going anywhere and I definitely don’t want to jeopardize my career for a guy.”

That seemed to appease the twins but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to convince myself.

Is it bad that as I stared at a stack of cases I was assigned to review, the only thing I could think about was going to lunch with Daniel?

I had gotten about half way through the stack when my cell phone beeped. It was a text from Daniel: Something came up. Won’t be able to meet for lunch today. Sorry. How about tomorrow?

I texted back: Tomorrow’s okay.

Why did I feel like crying? Lunch was an insignificant thing in the grand scheme of all things, but at that moment, it felt like everything.

I went back to my stack of case files and dug in.

At noon, I went down to the cafeteria and grabbed one of the box lunches. It was another beautiful day in South Florida, so I decided to sit outside by the pond. I closed my eyes for a moment and listened to the sound of the small waterfall. It was peaceful. A moment of serenity until I heard a deep voice say my name.

I opened my eyes and the intake counselor from the staff meeting, whose name I didn’t know yet, was standing above me.

“I haven’t had a chance to introduce myself,” he said. “I’m Ricky Calvo.”

He put a hand out and I shook it. I noticed he had the same rough and callused hands as Daniel and Eddie. Weird. I wondered if it was some kind of Florida thing I wasn’t aware of.

“Do you mind if I join you?” he asked.

I noticed he had a sack lunch he must have brought with him.

“Sure,” I responded.

He sat on the other side of the bench. “I’m glad you joined the team,” he said. “I have a growing stack of clients, who need to be seen. Brad is—well—particular about the clients he’ll see and the twins are—well—the twins.”

Our eyes met and he gave me a slight smile. “Let’s just say I prefer to hand the twins family cases they can work on together.”

Ricky exuded confidence and he was definitely smart. I could tell he had his act together by the comments he made in the staff meeting.

“I’m glad you have so much faith in my abilities.”

He smiled. “Let’s just say I’m a good judge of character.”

We both took bites of our sandwiches. I had to admit, I found Ricky a bit intimidating. Even though I was the one with the Master’s degree, he seemed much sharper than me.

“So, where are you from?” I asked, trying to make conversation.

His head tilted slightly as if he was trying to assess why I asked the question.

“You have a slight accent,” I added.

He gave me a sexy grin. “Very perceptive.” The guy was hot and he knew it.

“I am a therapist,” I joked.

“I guess all of those accent reduction classes didn’t do the trick.”

“I did say slight,” I reminded him.

“I grew up in New York but I was born in Puerto Rico.”

“Do you get back there much?”

“Which place?”

“Either—both?”

He shook his head. “Too many bad memories. Florida is my home now.”

I sensed there was a lot to the bad memories but I didn’t want to pry.

“And where are you from?” he asked, clearly trying