Protect Me Not ((Un)Professionally Yours 2)

He shook his head. “No.”

She nodded, knowing that was all she was going to get out of him right now.

She rolled her head, trying to work the kinks out of her neck and shoulders.

“I hate this,” she admitted. “Interviewing people. I think that’s why I clung to Cassie for so long, hoping she’d improve, because I didn’t want to go through this again. It’s tedious and time-consuming. I have so many other things I’d rather be doing.”

“Just one more candidate today, right?”

Vicki sighed and forced herself to focus on the resumé on the desk in front of her.

“Jasper Cromwell, twenty-five, I don’t know why I short-listed this guy. He has had zero long-term jobs since leaving school at sixteen, but his favorite ninja turtle is Donatello and that resonated with me.”

Ty made a choking sound and sat upright. He reached across the desk to slide the document over.

“It actually says that? In his resumé? You’re kidding.” He flipped the sheet of paper toward him and read for a few seconds, his eyebrows shooting to his hairline. “I did the background checks based on their names and National Insurance numbers. I didn’t actually read the resumés.”

He scanned the document and gave a horrified laugh. “It says h-he enjoys communing with nature—provided there are no spiders around, and…” He spluttered for a few seconds and lifted his gaze to blink at her in astonishment. “What the hell is this? A dating profile?”

“Reads like one, doesn’t it?”

“And you think this guy is a viable candidate for the position? He sounds like a nutjob.”

“He seems like good fun,” she said with an airy wave of her hand. “Also, I knew you’d be here in case he turns out to be a, uhm, bad guy or something.”

“Vicki…” Shiver. She loved the way he said her name, even when it was wrapped in layers of censure and irritation. “The aim is to weed out the bad guys before they ever get in the same room as you.”

“Well, his background checked out, didn’t it?”

He sighed and lifted his shoulders. “Nothing popped out at me, but I would probably have looked a little closer if I knew the guy was this, well, eccentric. I wish you’d stop doing impulsive stuff like this. Your brother is so close to…” He stopped abruptly. His mouth clamped shut and his eyes frosted over.

“So close to what?” she prompted. She didn’t like how ominous that statement had sounded. And definitely did not like how he’d instantly clammed up. “Is he threatening to fire you? Or Brand? Because of me? Is that what it is? Is it because of Saturday night? Look, I’ll call him and tell him that it’s all me…that you’re not at fault. I don’t want to—”

“Fuck.” The expletive was quiet, but it emerged on such an intense note that it immediately silenced her. She could count the times she had heard him swear on one hand, so the profanity was shocking enough to shut her up instantly.

He tilted his head back to glare at the ceiling. Vicki found herself riveted by his Adam’s apple before her gaze dipped down to his open shirt collar, and the flash of smooth golden skin revealed there. He always looked so tan and healthy. She envied him that natural golden hue. To achieve that same glow, she would have to roast herself in the sun or slather on the fake tan. It just wasn’t worth the effort.

“What are you staring at?” The accusatory question startled her into meeting his eyes, and she found him glaring at her suspiciously.

“Nothing. I was lost in thought, and my eyes just kind of rested there.” She made a sweeping gesture with her hand, not indicating any specific point.

“You’ve been doing that a lot lately.” The gruff words tumbled from his lips with clear reluctance, as if he hated saying them but couldn’t stop himself from speaking.

“Doing what a lot?” she asked. Her voice was a thin, anxious whisper.

“Staring. At me.” Was it her imagination, or did the room temperature just shoot up by about a million degrees?

“Have I?”

“You know you have.” He was no longer slouched in the chair, instead he hunched forward, forearms resting on spread knees. His huge, capable hands dangled between his thighs as he made her the focus of his intense, unnerving gaze.

She wet her lips, and his eyes snapped down, drawn by the movement.

That was when she saw it again, the banked flame smoldering away behind his piercing violet gaze. He licked his own lips, an unconscious echo of her gesture.

“I didn’t realize I was doing so.” The lie emerged on a husky note. His eyes lifted and staked her to the spot again. “I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything. It’s not…” Her voice faltered beneath that relentless stare.

His lips curled at the edges, closer to a sneer than a smile. She recognized the spark of challenge in his gaze when he prompted her to continue. “It’s not what?”