Firefly Lane (Firefly Lane 1)

He sat at his desk, looking tired. His long hair was a mess, as if hed been running his fingers through it constantly, shoving it back from his face. Dozens of newspapers covered his desk, so many that even the phone was hidden. "Mularkey," he said, sighing. "Shit. I forgot you started today. "

Kate wanted to make a joke about it, but her voice wouldnt cooperate. She was so keenly aware of him, it was vaguely disturbing that he hadnt even known she was here.

"Come on in. What do you have there?"

"Lunch. I thought you might be hungry. "

"You bought me lunch?"

"Was that wrong? Im sorry, I—"

"Sit down. " He pointed at the chair opposite his desk. "I appreciate it, really. I cant remember the last time I ate. "

She moved to the desk, began unpacking their lunch. All the while she felt him watching her, those flame-blue eyes of his intently staring. It made her so nervous she almost spilled the chowder.

"Hot soup," he said, his voice low now, intimate. "So youre one of those. "

She sat down, looking at him, unable not to. "One of those?"

"A caretaker. " He picked up the spoon. "Let me guess: You grew up in a happy family. Two kids and a dog. No divorce. "

She laughed. "Guilty. How about you?"

"No dog. Not so happy. "

"Oh. " She tried to think of something else to say. "Are you married?" popped out before she could stop it.

"Nope. Never. You?"

She smiled. "No. "

"Good for you. This is a job that takes focus. "

Kate felt like an imposter. Here she was, sitting across from her boss, trying to focus on saying something that would make him admire her, and she couldnt even make eye contact. It was crazy. He wasnt that good-looking. Something about him just hit her so damn hard she couldnt think straight. Finally she said, "You think theyll come up with a good story at Microsoft?"

"Israel invaded Lebanon yesterday. Did you know that? Theyve driven the Palestinians back to Beirut. Thats the real story. And were in the shit-ass office, dicking around with soft news. " He sighed. "Im sorry. Im just having a bad day. And its your first. " He smiled, but it didnt reach his eyes. "And you bought me soup. Tomorrow Ill play nice, I promise. "

"Tully told me you used to be a war correspondent. "

"Yeah. "

"I guess you loved that, huh?"

She saw something flash through his eyes then; her first instinct would have been to label it sadness, but how could she know? "It was insane. "

"How come you quit?"

"Youre too young to understand. "

"Im not that much younger than you. Try me. "

He sighed. "Sometimes life kicks the shit out of you; thats all. Its like the Stones said: You cant always get what you want. "

"The song says something about getting what you need instead. "

He looked at her then, and for a split second, she knew shed gotten his attention. "Did you find enough to keep yourself busy this morning?"

"The files were a mess. So was the in-box. And I organized and shelved all those tapes that were in the corner. "