Page 5 of Tempest

“When I was with Harke Security, I received basic training. The last six months has taught me more than I’ll ever need to know.”

“Great. I’ll let you get settled in, and then let’s get together later this afternoon. My partner, Grady, has his buddy coming in for an interview. So we may be adding to the team.”

“That’s wonderful news, we can always use another good man.”

Joel saluted and then strolled out of the office. Ivy pulled out her computer, plugged it in, and got herself settled. She had a couple of weeks in Miami, and there was a lot to accomplish. Once she was done here, she would have an outline of what the next steps would be for the expansion of SAI. The most important goal of the company was to bring on as many qualified operators as they could. And she was going to do her best to accomplish that.

As she got to work, Trevor stopped by and introduced himself, as well as Kyle and Dane. Each man more gracious than the last. Dane was so handsome and charming that she found herself wondering if it wasn’t time to get back in the dating game. Not with him, of course, but if men like him were out there, then she should probably make some time to have a personal life.

Her mind flitted momentarily back to Ryan, and then she mentally stomped her furry ball sandals on that notion and got back to work. The last thing she needed was an alpha male who had no idea what he wanted. After the last disaster in dating, she’d firmly decided that she wasn’t going to waste her time on a man who didn’t know what or who he wanted. She figured it was better to be alone than settle. If a man didn’t think she was better than chocolate cream pie, then she wasn’t interested. Repeat that phrase as often as needed, she firmly instructed herself.

TT bounced into her office. “Ivy, there’s a good-looking man out front, and he said he was here to speak with Grady about an interview. Grady is MIA, so I thought you could speak with him since you’re in charge of that sort of thing.”

Standing, Ivy straightened her dress and smiled. “Of course. Joel mentioned earlier that someone was coming in. I can get him settled and get the process started.”

Dane stuck his head in. “TT, I need you to come fix my computer. It’s doing that blinking thing again.”

Sighing dramatically, TT followed him. “I thought you we’re some kind of super-ninja, superhero, mighty warrior kind of guy. Why does your blinking computer freak you out?”

“I will drop into a hostile foreign country in the dead of night with only one other guy and face twenty Tangos and rescue five hostages with my eyes closed. But I’m not fooling with a blinking computer. It has the report for the Argentines on it, and I’m not redoing it.”

“Autosave, Dane. Why must I always remind you?” TT replied as she stomped out of the office.

Ivy laughed as she stepped out and moved to the reception area. Turning the corner, she spotted a man who was well over six feet, broadly built, and standing as still as a statue. His back was turned, and she noticed his dark brown hair was cut short. “Hello. Welcome to SAI. I’m Ivy, and I’ll take care of you until Grady gets here.”

The man turned slowly, and her mouth hung open when she saw Ryan Cordell standing inches away. Nothing came out as she stared at his pretty green eyes with lashes so long they should’ve been allowed only on a woman. When he laughed loudly, she pulled herself together. “Did you eat both of those ice cream sundaes that you ordered last night?”

Ryan stepped closer, which put him directly in her personal space. As much as she wanted to step away, she wouldn’t. The man was no different than the mountain lions back home. Show fear and they figured you were prey. Stand your ground and you became the predator. There was no way she was going to show an ounce of weakness to this man. Looking up, she studied him with what she hoped was a blank expression. Thank God for four-inch heels. They were the only thing saving her neck as she tried to hold his gaze. Just as he was about to say something, the sound of the front door opening interrupted his response. A couple walked in, and they unlocked their gazes.

TT strolled in and started making introductions. “You all haven’t met. Grady, this is Ivy. She flew in from Virginia last night. She’s the new Vice President of Operations, and Rory’s second-in-command.”

TT’s eyes bounced between Ryan and Ivy, and she shrugged her shoulders. “You two look like you’ve met and didn’t care for the experience. But I’ve been gone for only five minutes, so I can’t imagine what he could’ve done in that short amount of time.”

“I’m innocent,” Ryan stated flatly.

Ivy smirked, threw her hair over her shoulder, and turned toward Grady. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Before things could deteriorate further, Grady responded. “Nice to meet you, Ivy. Welcome to SAI.”

“Oh, my God. I love your shoes. Where did you find them?” the woman standing next to him said excitedly.

“This is my girlfriend, Sara Montgomery, by the way.”

Ivy greeted the woman and was soon pulled into a discussion about shoes, shopping, and Florida in general. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Grady step over to Ryan and clap him on the back. They must’ve worked together at some point, because they were acting like old friends. Whatever. Working with Ryan wasn’t going to be a big deal. She would make damn sure of it.

***

Ryan clapped his friend on the back and ignored the woman who had invaded his dreams last night. “Good to see you, Grady.”

“Welcome to Miami. Thanks for coming.”

“No problem. Rorke gave me a call last week, and I told him that I was already set to come down and talk to you.”

“Thank God. I was worried he was going to make an offer before we could.”

Sara turned away from the group of women and put her hand out to Ryan. “I’m sorry that I didn’t say hello. I had a moment of pure shoe lust, and I forgot my manners.”

Ryan laughed. “No problem. I hear it’s not that unusual.”

---