Slow No Wake - By Dakota Madison Page 0,6

here. We’re all like one big family.”

Tom seemed genuine and I was immediately put at ease. He continued, “Are you all settled in at your new place?”

I nodded. I didn’t want to burden him with the fact that I had rented a dump and was living next door to surfer boys, one of whom made me extremely nervous. I hadn’t even met his roommate yet.

He grinned. “Florida takes some getting used to. I don’t know if Mitch told you, but I’m originally from the Midwest, too.”

Mitch was my old boss, who got me the job with Tom. “No, Mitch didn’t mention it,” I said. Not that he ever would have. Mitch was a terrific boss but not a man of many words.

“He’s still all work and no play, I guess.”

I smiled and nodded.

Tom leaned back in his chair and threw his hands behind his head. “So what do you like to read?” he asked.

The question took me off guard. “A lot of different things,” I replied, unsure of the type of answer he was looking for. As a bookworm, I usually read several books a week.

“What was the last book you read?” he asked.

I had to think about it for a minute. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I actually read the whole trilogy.”

He sat back up and his gaze narrowed a bit. “You can tell a lot about a person by the books he or she chooses to read.”

I wondered what that choice of reading material said about me. I hoped he didn’t think I was anything like Lisbeth Salander.

“And what was the last book you read?” I ventured.

“Harry Potter. The whole series. What do you think that says about me?”

I thought about it for a moment. “That you have a seven year old son?” It wasn’t too much of a stretch. There was a huge framed photograph of a woman, who was presumably his wife and a little boy, who looked just like him, displayed prominently on his desk.

“Good guess,” he said. “My son just turned eight.”

Tom stood up and I followed suit. “I’m glad you decided to join the team,” he said. “I think you’ll fit in just fine. Now let me show you to your new office.”

***

By the time the gal from Computer Services set up my laptop and a man from Human Resources helped me fill out a mountain of new employee paperwork, it was nearly time for lunch. I hadn’t yet met any of the other counselors and wasn’t sure about the lunch protocol (if there was any), so I decided to hang low until I could ferret out some information.

My laptop binged and I saw a meeting request come through from Tom for the weekly clinical staff meeting, which I accepted. When I glanced back up, I noticed a tall guy standing in front of my desk, which startled me.

“Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

When he grinned, the tall guy’s face lit up the room. He wasn’t someone I would have immediately said was gorgeous, but he was ruggedly handsome and had interesting features. He seemed to be around my age, maybe a year or two older. I’d describe him to someone as a young Daniel Craig. He was wearing khaki pants and a button down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His clothes fit his muscular body well. It was obvious he was athletic or at least very physically active.

“I wasn’t expecting to see anyone standing at my desk,” I said.

“Get used to it,” he said as he held out his hand. “I’m Daniel O’Grady. I’m one of the intake specialists. I’ll be referring clients to you on a daily basis.”

“I’m Lexie Wilkins,” I said.

When I took Daniel’s hand, I was surprised how rough and callused it was. Not something I expected from a man with a desk job. Not that I had much experience touching men’s hands. The only one I had touched for any length of time was my ex fiancé’s and he had the smooth and delicate hands of a surgeon. A lying, cheating asshole of a surgeon, but a surgeon nonetheless.

The roughness and calluses felt familiar. But why? I couldn’t put my finger on it. (Pun definitely intended.) Then I remembered Eddie. How could I forget? His hand felt the same way when I shook it. I wondered if it could have been a coincidence. I never liked coincidences.

Daniel’s eyes locked with mine and we held each other’s gaze a little too long.