Page 5 of Under His Command

Nonetheless, with the deed already done, and the ink dry on her contract, he’d taken her new, used car to his trusted mechanic for a thorough inspection. On the way, he’d given her, his beloved only daughter, another lecture—for the hundredth time by her count—on defensive driving.

Cassie would be getting an earful on the importance of routine maintenance at this very minute if he knew she’d let it go two months overdue for an oil change and tune-up. It couldn’t be helped, however. Her life had been crazy since her new job required a cross-country move in a matter of weeks. She marked finding a reputable auto shop as priority one on her mental to-do list. For now, she relegated the annoying rattle to the back of her mind while staring through the windshield at the Naval Base Command Building in front of her.

Nervous butterflies danced in her stomach, though they shouldn’t. She’d conquered bigger challenges than this. Five years earlier, for instance, when at twenty-six, and never once away from the West Coast, she traveled solo to three job interviews in three eastern cities. Then, in the span of a month, survived her first major move, apartment hunting, and beginning a new life in a new town all alone.

Her parents had been beside themselves with worry about having their only child three thousand miles away. But in the saturated computer market, she had to go where there was work, especially as a woman in a male-dominated field. Being young and inexperienced certainly hadn’t helped her odds in beating out the hundreds of men applying for the same jobs. And, being a petite, blue-eyed blonde with an uncanny resemblance to perky Elle Woods from thoseLegally Blondemovies only made matters worse.

Cassie knew the job market was tough, and she might have to start at an entry-level position, gain experience, and work her way up in a company to get where she wanted to be. But she hadn’t expected the brick walls, glass ceilings, and the insincere “we’ll be in touches” when shemanaged to get an interview, which wasn’t often, all because she lacked one particular job requirement—a penis.

Thirteen months after completion of her graduate degree in computer science from Stanford, which by itself should have opened doors but didn’t, when an offer came from Foster Dynamics in Boston, she felt she had no choice except to pack up and move.

Now, here she was, five years later, doing it all over again. Almost.

Yes, she was starting over in a new city, but it wasn’t exactly a new job. She’d be working for the same company, the same supervisor, the same program they’d been developing for over a year. Except her new assignment was as a subcontractor for the military on a naval base.

It might as well have been a new planet.

Sure, her company had Department of Defense contracts, but she’d never worked outside the computer lab at their main headquarters. Cassie knew little about the military and even less about the Navy. No one in her family had ever served. The closest she got was Julie, her best friend, and roommate from college.

Jules was married to a Navy SEAL. But she’d only seen her a handful of times in the past few years on her infrequent trips home from Boston to visit her parents. And with her husband Colt overseas, often, she’d seen him even less. But they had recently stationed him on Coronado as a SEAL Qualification Training (SQT) instructor.

Having friends living nearby had influenced her decision to move to San Diego. Although, as her bad luck would have it, they’d been called out of town on a family emergency right before she arrived.

Her phone rang at the same time her alarm sounded, interrupting her meandering thoughts. Grabbing it off the seat next to her, she turned off the annoying preset signal and noted the caller. Next, she checked the clock. 8:40.

Plenty of time for a mini-pep talk. Cassiehit the green button, her lips turning up in her first smile of the day.

“Do you have ESP? I was just thinking about you.”

“Did you make it okay?” Jules asked. “Any trouble on I-94 coming in? It can get so backed up this time of day. Or on I-5? The bridge traffic usually isn’t bad, but you never know. Maybe we should have had you take the ferry. I can’t believe you took an apartment in Emerald Hills. You could have stayed at our place, and when we got home, we would have helped you find something affordable on the island, closer to us.”

“Slow down. I made it in plenty of time. As we speak, I’m sitting in my car in the parking lot of Base Command Headquarters trying to calm an acute case of the butterflies.”

“Deep breaths and focus,” was her friend’s sage advice.

“After that mile-a-minute greeting, you’re telling me to breathe?”

“You’re right! Sorry. I just hate we couldn’t be there for you.”

“It’s not your fault Colt’s mom took a fall, just bad timing.”

One year ahead in college, Jules had always taken the big sister role. And when she married Colton Jameson, he’d stepped right in as the protective big brother. Something Cassie didn’t mind, having neither growing up. When she’d moved east, she’d missed them a lot.

“You’ve got this, Cassie. You’re going to knock all those badass SEALs on their butts with your mad computer skills.”

“It’s nice you have such confidence in me. I wish I did.”

“Picture them in their underwear; I hear that works.”

As she made the suggestion, two men in camouflage pants and tight white tees walked in front of her car. Both were solid walls of ripped muscle and completely drool-worthy. She’d seen others like them while driving in. In fact, the entire island was swarming with Navy men just as impressive.

“Uh, Jules. You’ve been to the base. Picturing men who look like Colt in their skivvies is only going to make the butterflies worse.”

She laughed while agreeing, “This is true.”

“How’s Marie doing? Is the physical therapy helping? When do you think you’ll be able to get back?”

“Friday. It was only some bruising and soreness; no fractures, thank goodness. We’ve got her settled in her new apartment, and we packed up her house. Colt hired a Realtor to handle the sale, but he’ll have to come back for the closing since she made him her power of attorney. Otherwise, I think we’ve got it covered for now.”

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