Protect Me Not ((Un)Professionally Yours 2)

“Intentional.” The squeak in her voice was humiliating. She hated how much he could unsettle her with only a stare.

“I see.” He leaned back, resting his ankle on the opposite knee, the movement placing tension on the fabric of his trousers as it stretched over those thickly muscled thighs. But she kept her eyes fixed on his face, refusing to allow him the satisfaction of seeing her gaze drop.

The uptick of his lips threatened to bloom into a full smile.

“You stare at me too,” she pointed out defensively.

“It’s my job,” he reminded.

A familiar refrain. One against which she had no real defense.

“You never told me what Miles is so close to doing,” she said diverting the conversation back to the original topic.

“He’ll tell you when he’s ready. But it’s not as terrible as you seem to think it is.”

“If this is something directly related to my future, I have a right to know.”

“Agreed,” he responded with equanimity. “And I’m sure your brother will tell you if you ask him.”

“You’re so…”

“Knock, knock,” a deep, chipper voice called from the ajar office door, startling Vicki, and immediately putting Ty on alert. He was on his feet in seconds. His head swiveled toward the door, and he pinned his lethal glare on the tall, slender, attractive young man entering the office.

The man faltered in his stride when he ran headlong into that glare, and his brown eyes widened at the decidedly frosty reception from Ty.

“Hey? I’m here for the interview?” His wide-eyed stare swung toward Vicki, clearly seeking some reassurance, and she offered him a broad smile.

“You must be Jasper Cromwell,” she said pushing to her feet, and holding out a hand. The man—Jasper—surged forward to grasp her hand, enfolding it in both of his. He was an attractive guy, with wavy black hair, dark-brown eyes, and an easy smile. He was neatly dressed in navy blue slacks and an open neck white shirt, and—rather bizarrely—had a colorful lei draped around his neck.

“Please have a seat,” Vicki invited, with a pointed look at Ty who reluctantly moved away from the chair. He strode toward the door and shut it, while Jasper took the seat across the desk.

In the few seconds that Ty’s back was turned, Jasper turned to Vicki with a comical open-mouthed look, before fanning himself and mouthing, OHMYGOD!

Vicki smothered a grin, not wanting to encourage such inappropriate behavior in someone who was there for a job interview, but she immediately found herself liking his engaging personality, and complete transparency.

“So…Jasper,” she said resting her elbows on the desk, and steepling her hands. She nailed him with a sober stare over the tops of her fingers. “Tell me about that lei.”

“Do you like it?” he asked. He lifted the string of wilted flowers for her to have a closer look. “I wanted to demonstrate that while I don’t have mad skills just yet, I’m willing to try new things and learn.”

Vicki stared at the bruised plumeria, carnations, and chrysanthemums. For a complete novice, his color story and flower choices were surprisingly good.

“Full disclosure? I googled what flowers would look good in a lei,” he confided with a crooked grin. “But the color choices are all mine, and I thought the ’mums would add some fullness.”

Oh, she liked him a lot.

She allowed herself a small smile and dove into the interview, even though her mind was almost completely made up already.

“Hi…” Vicki stared at Ty in some consternation later that evening, when she opened the front door, ready to head out to Bella and Pete’s for their housewarming. She hadn’t expected to see him tonight. “Where’s Chance?”

“He was needed elsewhere.” He gave her a sweeping up and down look, face like granite. “Good to go?”

She lifted the potted cyclamen—a housewarming gift which Bella would probably kill within weeks—in one hand, and a bottle of zinfandel in the other, and nodded before squeaking, “Ready.”

He took the plant and turned away before she could thank him.

Vicki exhaled through her mouth, seeking some composure, and self-consciously smoothed her microscopic skirt down over her thighs. This odd, breathless reaction to his presence was becoming all too commonplace. She needed to get her hormones under control.

He looked gorgeous as ever in a navy blue—which flattered his eyes—suit, with an open-necked white shirt. He was sporting a five-o’clock shadow, and she wondered how much advance notice he’d been given tonight. Since she’d never seen him anything other than clean shaven, she surmised the schedule change must have been abrupt.

“Did you have other plans tonight?” she asked as they stepped into the elevator.

“Nothing that couldn’t wait.” Ty kept his gaze on the doors as they slid shut. Vicki’s eyes were trained on his profile, searching for any sign that he was annoyed about the change. Nothing to be seen there, just the tiny ticking of a muscle in his jawline.