Page 14 of Locked Down

With a curt nod, he propelled her forward through the doors into the rain, and directly into his Porsche.

She was silent as he got in on the driver’s side. She didn’t know what to say to him. He’d just started working for her uncle, so she didn’t feel like she could quiz him on the security changes he was making, but she wondered about his overall assessment. Not that he hadn’t already told her she was right. She knew she was right, and her uncle needed better protection, but what exactly did that mean?

“You are overthinking it.”

His voice in the quiet car startled her.“Excuse me?”she asked.

“Whatever it is you’re thinking of asking me, I can guarantee you’re overthinking it.”He shot her a glance.“Just ask.”

She swallowed. His voice made her tingle in ways she shouldn’t. She willed the heat out of her cheeks and butterflies out of her belly. She drew a deep breath and plunged in.“I was just wondering if you knew what changes you wanted to make to my uncle’s security? I know it’s only been a day so you can’t possibly have made any yet. You probably have just started a list but you know… I was just curious.”

“I’ve made some changes and yes, I have a list. It will take a while to implement some things. Others can be done immediately. Starting today, security will stay with your uncle when he’s moving around and when he’s in the office. I have my guys going to the house to add some cameras and move the existing ones. And I will coordinate with Joyce on all future bookings outside of the building.”

Vic snorted.“She’s going to love that.”

“She is a bit protective.”

“A bit? Try monumentally territorial. She reminds me of a chihuahua, always snapping at people and nipping at them. She hates my guts.”

Ryker glanced her way, and she immediately regretted her words. She shouldn’t have said that.No gossiping.It was one of her uncle’s rules.

“I’m sure she’s quite jealous of you. You are a threat to her.”

Vic blinked. She’d never thought of it like that. She didn’t want Joyce’s job and had no ambition to work any more closely with her uncle than she already did. What she really wanted to do was to find a way to travel. She’d never been outside of the US. Growing up in the commune, the opportunity never arose. Hell, even leaving the grounds to go into town was a massive undertaking. Once her uncle rescued her and put her in boarding school, she had to spend the holidays with him, and he never invited her on any of his trips. He’d left her home and made her get a job and there was nothing wrong with that. She was grateful for his mandate since now she had a great work ethic. Still, she would have loved to work in the travel industry instead of studying law, like her uncle wanted. She would travel someday. Three weeks and she would have a whole new life. It would take a while to make enough money to travel but the potential was there.Three weeks.

What were they talking about? She’d gotten completely lost in her own thoughts. In fact, she was shocked to find Ryker was already pulling into the parking garage. Five minutes later, they were getting off the elevator and found themselves in the midst of the most chaotic scene. Joyce looked like she was hyperventilating.“What do you mean you moved it? I didn’t authorize you to do anything. Put it back the way it was. You have precisely twenty-one minutes to do so before Senator Davis arrives.”

“Lady,”the building maintenance guy said,“I just did what I was told. You want it moved again, you gotta get my boss to sign off on it. I need authorization.”

“ButIdidn’t authorize this!”Joyce was waving her arms in the air and her face was an unbecoming shade of eggplant.

“I did,”Ryker said in a calm voice.

Vic looked up at him. He looked completely unbothered by Joyce’s anger.

“You?”Joyce’s mouth gaped open. She snapped it shut.“You had no business authorizing this without consulting me.”

“My job is to keep Mr. Davis safe. Authorizing this rearrangement helps accomplish that goal.”

Joyce’s eyes narrowed. Her gaze shifted from Ryker to Vic.

Shit.She should have gone over to her cubicle and stayed out of it. Somehow this would be her fault. Joyce would see to it she suffered over this. She turned and headed for her desk. No need to stay and make matters worse.

Tracy shot her a quick smile and slid down behind her cubicle wall as Vic put her bag on her desk. She looked around. The whole office was watching, a fact that Joyce probably wasn’t aware of until just that moment. Joyce looked around and her face turned a darker shade of red. She glared at Ryker and then addressed the maintenance man again but in a much quieter tone.

Vic couldn’t hear what was said but the maintenance guy hightailed it out of the office. He didn’t wait for the elevator, opting instead for a speedier retreat. The door to the stairwell almost drowned out the sound of his rushing footsteps. Vic considered following him right out the door.

“Your uncle is going to freak.”Tracy was back looking over the top of the cubicle.

“What happened?”Vic asked.

Her friend smiled.“I came in early to work on the project and Joyce arrived a couple of minutes after I did. She went into Austin’s office and came out yelling. A couple of maintenance guys came out after her. I had no idea they were in there. Anyway, one left while the other stayed to reason with her. You came just after that.”

“What’s going on in the office?”

The dimples were back.“Apparently, the hottie bodyguard moved your uncle’s desk and credenza away from the windows. I’m guessing he thought the desk’s view of prime real estate was a security risk.”

To hide her smile and the urge to laugh, Vic bent over in her chair and ducked into the footwell of her desk to stow her purse. If Joyce caught her even so much as smirking, the woman would be merciless. But seriously, all this drama over moving the desk? Ryker had no idea what he was getting himself into. She frowned. Guilt gnawed at her belly. She’d brought him into this mess and now he was getting yelled at. But he had to know this wouldn’t go down easily.

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