Page 7 of Billionaire Protector

“Are you sure that’s what this is about?” As usual, Jack missed nothing. “It doesn’t have anything to do with Sarah having the job you believe is yours?”

“Of course not,” Cole denied. Yet the words echoed hollow, even to him. He cleared his throat. “I didn’t expect to walk into your job.”

“But you didn’t figure Sarah would have it.”

Not in a thousand… no, a million years. “I would’ve been slightly less surprised if they’d hired the Easter Bunny.”

Jack smiled. “Sarah is better than any rabbit. This may not have been your plan, but it’s a long time since you’ve seen her. Give her a chance.”

It was good advice – from anyone but his father. Jack Carter always saw matters in black and white, without a single speck of gray. So why were his views on Sarah every shade of the rainbow?

There was no time to ask now, as Cole stood and shook his father’s hand. “This will be my first time working with her. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

And who arrested who.

* * * *

“Nine.”

Sarah had been attempting to conquer the massive paperwork backlog all morning, with slightly less success and no more grace than an ostrich at a beauty pageant. Now she stood in the center of the department headquarters, absently preparing her coffee as she reread the notes on a recent robbery.

“Ten.”

She finished the paragraph, realized she hadn’t processed a word and started over.

“Eleven.”

She looked up from her paper to blink at Zoe Howard, her deputy and best friend since middle school. “Would you mind counting silently, Zoe? I’m having trouble concentrating.”

“I can see that.” Zoe tossed her head, sending golden ringlets flying. “Twelve. You’ve now added an even dozen teaspoons of sugar to your coffee.”

Sarah gasped and looked down at her drink, where a little mountain of white granules floated like a tiny iceberg. She stirred the grainy mixture, gave up and tossed the entire cup into the garbage. Her usual aim was off, and it splattered on the gunmetal filing cabinet. Biting back a scowl, she grabbed a roll of paper towels and sopped up the textured liquid.

This was Cole’s fault. The man was ten types of distraction, even and especially at work. Usually she was most comfortable here, the headquarters of the Harmony Creek Police Department. It consisted of little more than a series of boxy offices, joined by a modest common room that served as intake/reception/lounge and about half a dozen other functions, depending on the day. A small jail with several cells comprised the back, which was thankfully sparsely and infrequently occupied. For the few cases comprising something serious, the culprits made their way to county lockup pretty quick.

At least the space was well lit, with picture windows allowing ample natural light, slanting yellow beams that illuminated diamond dust and paper mountains. The furniture was decades-old Formica, with seats hard enough you had to walk at least once an hour to avoid a sore backside. Still, they livened up the place with flowering plants, colorful cross stitches and handcrafted quilts donated by the Women’s Club.

“Lucky you weren’t disarming a bomb.”

Sarah threw out the soggy paper towel and turned her attention back to Zoe. “A bomb in Harmony Creek is unlikely.” Which was lucky since none of the officers had experience withmajor weapons. Although, actually, with Cole back from the military…

“Is something distracting you?”

“No. Nope. Not at all.” Yet the words were far too quick and a lightyear less than truthful. One man had usurped every thought since he tried to arrest her. He would remain unnamed. “Just work stuff.”

“Want to know what the rest of us are thinking about?” Zoe grinned widely. “Cole Carter.”

There it was.The man tormented her even while absent, like an itch in the middle of your back you couldn’t quite scratch, no matter how much you reached, stretched and dislocated joints in the attempt. Unfortunately, Zoe took Sarah’s silence as encouragement. “Half the women in Harmony Creek are already in love with him. Do you think he’s single?”

Sarah sniffed. “Makes no difference to me.” And it totally didn’t. Not even a little. And that weird feeling in her stomach? Definitely the extra onions at lunch.

Zoe cocked her head to the side. “Weren’t you guys a thing in high school?”

“No!” Sarah yelped, stopping all conversation in the room. She exhaled, stretched her lips into a smile-grimace and waved off the attention.

“I see.” Zoe’s voice was quiet as normal activity resumed. “Hey Sarah, you know how you always see the real me, even under all my adornments?”

Sarah nodded. With her blond bombshell looks and affinity for loud fashion, Zoe was accustomed to unsolicited judgement from strangers and acquaintances alike. People assumed she wasn’t smart, yet it was a gross misjudgment. She was highly intelligent, with the bravery and dedication to back it up. People grumbled and gossiped when Sarah gave Zoe a job, but she’d proven herself time and time again.

---