Page 17 of Falling Fast

“Mr. Baker’s already up in his office waiting for you,” the shorter guard said, and escorted them to the elevator. He rode with them to the top floor but didn’t get out. It made Jamie edgy to be up here unarmed, but there was no help for it.

A stylishly-dressed woman in her mid-thirties was there to greet them. “I’m Mr. Baker’s personal assistant,” she said with a smile. “Can I get either of you some coffee or tea?”

“No, thank you,” Charlie answered.

“Okay then, right this way.” She headed down the carpeted hall and stopped at the door at the end. “The computer expert is here, sir.”

The door opened a moment later. Baker stood there in a charcoal business suit and red power tie, his dark blond hair neatly swept to one side.

His brown gaze settled on Charlie and swept over the length of her body once before switching to Jamie with a frown. “Why did you bring your neighbor here? That wasn’t part of our arrangement.”

Charlie shrugged a shoulder. “This is out of the ordinary for me. I’m only here because my contact convinced me to take the job. Never met you before, so being a single female, I wasn’t coming alone.”

One side of Baker’s mouth pulled up as he watched her. “Smart girl.” He looked her over a second time before shifting his attention to Jamie. “And what is it you do, James?”

“I’m a personal trainer.” Who will knock you unconscious without a second’s hesitation if you touch her the wrong way.

“He’s not thrilled about being here, because I made him miss a standing appointment with a regular client of his to come with me,” Charlie said. “So can we get going on this?”

Baker’s gaze flashed to her, a hint of censure there at her bossiness. But so far she was playing her part to perfection. Confident. Direct. No-nonsense. “Am I supposed to call you Spider?”

“Charlie’s fine.”

He nodded once, not moving a muscle as he stared at her. Silently sizing her up. To her credit, Charlie didn’t flinch. “All right then, Charlie. But just you in my office. He stays out here.”

“Fine, as long as you leave the door open.”

Baker gave another half-smile that made Jamie’s skin crawl. “So cautious,” he murmured, and set a proprietary hand on Charlie’s lower back, just above her ass where the leather jacket stopped.

Jamie hated the way the asshole looked at her. Like he was both fascinated and already imagining getting her naked. “Right this way.”

Charlie shot the man a warning look and pulled out of his reach, then walked into the huge office that overlooked the East River. Baker’s low chuckle trailed out the door as he followed.

Jamie lowered himself onto an upholstered bench in the hallway and positioned himself so he could see into the office. With the door open he had good sight lines on Charlie, now seated at Baker’s desk. The man stood behind her, not even trying to be subtle about looking down the front of her top as he looked over her shoulder.

It put Jamie’s teeth on edge. He knew Baker’s type, knew how they thought and what lengths some of them would go to in order to get a woman to sleep with them. Or worse, if the woman they wanted wasn’t willing.

Charlie must have been irritated by the crowding too, because she turned her head and aimed a hard look at Baker. “Do you mind giving me some space? I’m trying to work here.”

The man seemed almost amused by her directness as he eased back a step or two.

Jamie took a slow, deep breath and rested his head back against the wall, trying to appear bored when he was anything but. Shutting off the possessiveness he felt for Charlie was way harder than he’d imagined.

To take his mind off the way Baker was ogling her, he took the opportunity to glance around. All the other offices up here had their doors shut and as far as he could tell they were empty. The only exits were the elevator and the stairwell next to it.

Charlie knew what to do if they needed to get out. If the op went to hell for some reason, she was to leave the building any way she could—even if it meant leaving him behind to deal with the threat—then meet at the emergency extraction point where the backup team would take over.

She had the device with her to test it, but only if she felt safe enough. They didn’t want to risk tipping their hand by arousing Baker’s suspicion, and they still didn’t know how or if they’d get an invite to his place in The Hamptons.

Jamie scanned the far end of the hallway, noting the different kinds of art hanging on the walls. And one object in particular that would allow them the perfect segue into deepening Charlie’s connection with Baker.

It was perfect.

“Hey, Charlie, get a load of this.”

She glanced over at him from the desk with an annoyed frown. “I’m busy. Can’t it wait?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

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