She believed him. He wouldn’t be the guy who bugged her, needing some kind of answer as to why she refused to reply to him after the connection they’d made.
He was gone, and she would have to make sure she didn’t run into him again. The good news was she rarely ever worked with Kyle, and David Hawthorne didn’t frequent McKay-Taggart circles.
“Earth to Tessa.” Wade Rycroft was standing at her desk, and he’d said something about Kyle. “Are you okay?”
She set her phone down and tried to focus. “Yeah, boss. What’s up with Hawthorne?” She’d started calling Kyle by his last name as a reminder of why she wasn’t answering those texts. In the days since that night, Kyle hadn’t once mentioned his brother to her, and he hadn’t acted awkward, so she had to believe that either David hadn’t mentioned her or Kyle didn’t care. She was happy either way. “I thought he was about to go on vacation.”
She’d heard him talking about a beach, but she wasn’t sure where he was going. There wasn’t an assignment on the board with his name on it, so she’d assumed it was a vacation. Which seemed weird since he hadn’t been working for McKay-Taggart for more than six months. Vacation days didn’t kick in until then, but she’d guessed that being a member of the boss’s family had its perks.
Another reason to not date David Hawthorne.
Even when she wanted to. She’d sat up late the night before wondering how he was feeling. If he was hurt that she hadn’t replied or if he’d already moved on.
“Not a vacation, exactly, and that’s why I’m going to need you to report upstairs in thirty minutes.” Wade was a big man who’d spent as much time on a ranch as he had in the Army. He started out of her office, the obvious order being that she was to follow. “Kyle was finishing up a close-cover assignment this morning. He was putting the client on her plane back home when he dropped her luggage and broke his damn foot. He’s at the hospital now.”
She hustled to keep up with Wade. “That must have been some heavy-ass luggage.”
“Apparently it was a freak accident thing. He was in the exact right position to have it bust three bones. It’s not a big deal, but he’s going to have to stay off of it for a couple of days, and then he’ll be in a boot,” Wade explained. He had a folder in his hand as he walked down the hallway.
“That’s awful, and I’ll pitch in to send him a basket or something, but I don’t see what it has to do with me. He doesn’t have an assignment on the board.” He wouldn’t if he was going on a vacation. Tessa had a job starting the next day, but it was a short-term gig. She would be providing additional security for the former president, who was coming into town to give a speech at SMU. She was working with the Secret Service to ensure that President Hayes had a quiet, totally drama free three days in Dallas. Then she would have to stare down the weekend. Again.
How could she miss someone she barely knew? The temptation to call him, to apologize, was almost overwhelming, but it didn’t change the fact that it was a mistake to date someone close to her boss. And she knew she didn’t belong in the world David Hawthorne ran in. He wasn’t some down-on-his-luck professor. He had family money behind him, and that came with strings Tessa had already figured out could strangle a girl no matter how awesome the family was.
“This one was off the books, but it’s important to Ian, so I need you to take it.” Wade kept moving toward the stairs that would take them up to the main office of McKay-Taggart. She rarely went up, preferring the relative laid backness of what the rest of the company called the “Man Cave.” The bodyguard unit was on the floor below the main MT office and above Miles-Dean, Weston, and Murdoch’s elegantly high-tech offices. The Man Cave was comfy with a gym and a kitchenette, and sometimes Wade brought his German shepherd. She was comfortable here.
She shook her head. He was definitely not thinking about the assignment she already had. “I can’t. I’ve got a meeting with Secret Service this afternoon.”
She’d been planning this assignment for six weeks. She’d done the legwork, and now all that was left was to knock it out of the park, impress everyone, and get the promotion she deserved. The bodyguard unit was growing, and Wade was looking to break it into two teams with two leads. There was zero question Jamal would get one of those positions. She wanted the other one. Doing this job well would all but assure her of the promotion.
“I’ve already passed that on to Jamal. He and West will take over for you.” Wade opened the door and started up the stairs.
She hurried to catch up. “Hey, you can’t give my assignment away.”
“I can because I’m the boss. It’s literally what I do. I hand out assignments. This is your new one. I hope your passport is up to date.” He handed over the folder.
He knew damn well it was. “All right. I’ll bite. Where am I going?”
“Argentina. You’re flying to Buenos Aires this evening. From there, you’re going to a city on the coast, and then to a private island.”
“So this is a close-cover assignment?” Who was she dealing with? She’d provided security for movie stars and politicians and businesspeople. South America would have its own unique problems, like any place would. Any place in the world could be dangerous under the right circumstances. “Is the client wealthy?”
“He’s from a wealthy family, and he would definitely be considered a high-value target, if that’s what you’re asking.” They’d made it to the top of the stairs, and Wade held the door open for her.
“Do we have any known threats?” It was kind of sad that she was hoping the answer would be yes. It had been a while since her adrenaline had been up. The last time she’d been shot at had been years ago. What she needed now was a good high-danger case to take her mind off the sexy professor.
She wondered what he was doing for spring break. It had to be coming up soon. Would he head out to his stepfather’s lake house? Or take some luxury vacay?
Her mom used to spend her spring breaks preparing for the rest of the school year.
“Not that Kyle found.” Wade started for the big guy’s office.
Who was Kyle protecting? And why Kyle? There was no doubt the man was good, but he wasn’t seasoned. If this was a client Taggart wanted to impress, why send Kyle?
“You’ve got some of Kyle’s notes in that folder, but he’s going to send you the rest. He worked on a lot of this at his place.” A wide smile came over Wade’s face. “Well, hello, pretty lady. I heard there was an angel up on this floor, but I didn’t believe it.”
She didn’t gag the way she would have if Wade had been genuinely trying to pick up Taggart’s admin with that line. He’d already picked her up and taken her out and gotten her pregnant. Geneva Rycroft gave her husband a grin. “You still have it, babe. That would totally work on me.”
When she’d started dating Michael, this was kind of what she’d been looking for. McKay-Taggart was full of happy couples who worked together and never seemed to have a single problem unless Big Tag pissed off Charlie and then got his lemon snacks taken away. That had been a rough week.