Page 14 of Obsession

“Shocking, I know.”

I laughed. “I don’t know about shocking, but I figured you were sales.”

“There’s a fair amount of that too. Blake is all about the innovation. I make it practical for the civilian sector.”

My eyebrows shot up. Seemed to be a constant facial expression for me today. “Army?”

“Ranger,” he corrected.

“I’m trying to picture that.”

“I hate suits, but I’m used to them. It’s just a uniform without the cool medals.”

The door opened on the executive floor. “So, what about the seventh floor?”

“That’s our showcase floor.”

“I thought that was the lobby.”

He grinned. “Well, that definitely shows off our goods, but the seventh floor is even more impressive. Blake will show you around there tomorrow.”

My belly flipped at the thought of Mr. Carson showing me anything. He was…intense. But maybe if I got him alone to talk, he’d be a little more approachable. “So, I just keep him organized? Which he needs. There’s no reason that he should have this much trouble keeping an assistant.”

Jack laughed. “I’ll remind you that you said that tonight.” He showed me to the desk he’d been at the day before. Their system was Apple-based, which made sense with the iPads I saw all over the building. Two large monitors were now on the desk, as well as a keyboard, mouse, and mouse pad with theCarson Covenant Inc.logo on it.

“We have closed circuit security here. No other signal will work in here except for ours. So, your phone is pretty much a brick until you’re one hundred feet from the building.”

“Whoa.” I took my phone out of my purse and sure enough, it worked just fine, but no signal.

“Don’t worry, we can get calls on the system. Your phone number is there on the little keypad.”

“But everything’s recorded?”

Jack shrugged. “Pretty much, but if there’s an emergency and someone needs to contact you, they can. Do you have kids?”

“No.” I glanced at the frosty gray glass box that was my boss’s office. Was he going to come out?

“Husband?”

“Definitely not.” I turned back to Jack. “It’s just me. No family.”

He frowned. “No one?”

The pang hit me. No, there really wasn’t anyone, except for my small family at the gallery. I had friends, of course, but I’d been so focused on my work that most of them had faded intothe Christmas card contact category. My entire world had been my glass and my grandmother.

He cleared his throat. I’d said too much, of course. People didn’t know what to say when you sounded too close to orphan status. I pasted a bright smile on my face. “I guess I don’t have anyone to train me if he chases away all the help.”

The relief on Jack’s face melted into a charming smile. “That’s why I’m the CEO. Blake wants to create, but he’d rather stay behind the glass, so to speak. I make sure people like us.”

“I bet.”

He leaned down and tapped the keyboard. When the system came to life, he pulled up a few screens. “Sit down and make yourself a password.”

I did, then scooted over when he leaned in again.

“This folder? It’s your lifeline.” He tapped it and a whole world opened up. Folders and names, spreadsheets, and a little icon that looked like an old-fashioned phone. He opened the drawer to my right. “Your headset is in here, but you’ll rarely use it. Just when fielding calls for Blake. Most people email or use the message feature through the system.”

I looked around at my desktop and saw a folder marked daily. I opened it and managed not to groan aloud. A to-do list—that looked more like a damn directory—was bulleted with instructions for how my day was going to go.

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