Page 4 of Tempest

CHAPTER TWO

Friday

Ivy stepped into SAI and glanced around. This was the only location that she hadn’t visited since starting with the company six months ago. It was located in the international business and banking center of Brickell Avenue in Coconut Grove. The office reflected the success that the company was having in its simple and elegant design. When she had taken the job, her boss, Rory had informed her that she modeled each office on the original San Diego location. Rory had each of the offices running efficiently, but with her third child on the way, she felt less able to run them as effectively as she liked. So, that’s where Ivy came in. When Max had informed her that Rory’s affinity for organizational operations was unrivaled, she knew she had a lot to live up to. He’d told her that, had she been in charge of Operation Desert Storm, it would have been accomplished in less than half the time. Not intimidating at all.

Max and Rory were the sort of couple who gave her hope. They were head over heels in love with one another and their family. The way Max looked at Rory gave Ivy an idea of what she hoped to see someday when she found her soul mate. And yes, she did believe in soul mates. The same way she believed in mermaids. Just because she hadn’t seen a lot of evidence didn’t mean that they didn’t exist.

Rory had told her when she started to ignore the constant wave of testosterone that that filled the company. Something about it being the nature of the beast. Rory swore on her father’s grave that at some point Ivy wouldn’t even notice it. And darn if that wasn’t happening. Working with retired spec ops men had come with a huge learning curve and one she hoped to be on the downhill side of. Her first job with Harke Security had given her a taste, but the last six months with SAI had been the full meal.

Which made her think about the man she’d met last night at the hotel. Ryan was made of one hundred percent testosterone with no fillers. When she first looked up at him, something had kicked her hard in the gut. The man was handsome as could be with his quiet confidence and sexy bedroom eyes. Too bad he was a player. A man who looked as good as he did and had that much swagger went for low-hanging fruit. Ivy had never been that and was never going to be. Ryan wouldn’t really be interested in someone like her, because as so many men before had pointed out, she was too much work.

Adjusting her bag on her shoulder, she dismissed the feeling of loss. Must have been too many days on the road. She had been traveling constantly for close to six weeks, and it was starting to catch up to her. She’d started leaving a pad of paper with the hotel name and location next to the bed so that when she woke up in the morning, she could confirm where she was. Also taking a picture of her rental car had become necessary. Standing in the parking lot, staring at a sea of cars without a clue as to which one was hers, was happening more often than not. This was her last stop. Next she would go home for a few days and then back to San Diego. It was time to decide where she wanted to live, and San Diego seemed like a good option.

A bouncy, energetic woman approached from the back of the office. “Oh, my word, you must be Ivy. Aren’t you gorgeous? I heard from Rorke that you’re sweet as pie and smart as a whip. When I asked him what you looked like, he just cleared his throat and mumbled. Which I thought meant that you were pretty beyond words. And I’m right, of course. Oh, my God, where did you find those shoes?”

Ivy cracked out a laugh and tried to figure out which question to answer first. Before she could, a large man strolled down the hall. That must be Joel, the lead partner in the office. She said, “I found my shoes at Neiman’s Last Call in Dallas.”

“I want a pair just like them.”

Joel cleared his throat and placed his hand on the woman’s shoulder. “TT, take a breath and give Ivy a minute to answer.”

Laughing, she put her hand out. “Lost my manners. Don’t tell my mama or my sisters. I’m TT DuMond, by the way. I’m helping out while Ruby is out on maternity leave. The baby is due any day and I can hardly wait. I just know that Ben put a big ol’ boy in her, and I’m just waiting to win the office pool. Maybe when I do, I can go out and get a pair of shoes just like yours.”

Ivy fell in love with the ball of energy and thought she was going to turn out to be one of the best things about Miami. “We’ll go and hunt them down. I’m not a woman who likes to be denied. So if you want them, then we’ll just have to find them.”

TT turned toward Joel and grinned. “I love her, Joel. Let’s keep her and not let her go to any of the other offices. I know Ryder has a big ol’ crush on her, and he may have a plan to steal her away.”

Joel took a long breath in, which made Ivy believe that he was accustomed to dealing with TT or, as she silently nicknamed her, TNT. Which described her perfectly. “I’m a free agent. No one gets to keep me,” Ivy replied.

Joel grinned and put out his hand. “Joel McDade. I allegedly run the place. Though, on any given day, that fact can be easily denied. TT is my sister-in-law, so anything she says and does can and will be held against her. I just want to warn you that beneath the jibber-jabber lies a fierce and powerful mind.”

“My favorite type of woman,” Ivy replied. “I like to keep company with women who are smarter than all get-out, have fabulous taste in shoes, and have the ability to drink more than three margaritas and keep their clothes on.”

“We have to keep her,” TT shouted. “She’s just like my sisters. Vivi is going to have a fit when she meets you, and Ronnie too. We’re going to have to have martinis together and wear caftans.”

Joel shook his head and grinned. “TT, your sisters have babies now, so getting drunk on martinis takes some planning.”

“Oh, poo,” TT responded.

“I don’t have any babies, so we can have a night out whenever you want,” Ivy laughed. “But first I should get to work. Can you show me where you want me to go?”

Joel stepped away from TT and led her down the hall. “We’re going to give you Lance’s office. He and Harris are working in Bolivia this week.”

Ivy followed him into a small office and dumped her bag on a chair. “I spoke with Rorke, and he said you all may want to coordinate the refinery contracts between the two offices.”

Joel nodded his agreement. “It’s the only way to handle the requests that we’re getting. I know he has some guys that are familiar with the area. Team Four operated in South America, so we’re hoping to capitalize on that experience.”

“He has three men who last operated in the area. Gage in the New Jersey office has two men who were on that Team in the last three years. Let’s look at the contracts, and then we can Skype with the guys and see how we can best use our resources.”

“Agreed,” Joel said. “Welcome to the team. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you, and I look forward to working with you.”

Ivy started to unpack her bag and grinned. “Despite the earlier conversation about martinis and shoes, I really am competent.”

“Rory gave me your resume, so I already know that you’re a force to be reckoned with. Two bachelor’s degrees by the time you turned twenty-one and a master’s from Wharton tell me we’re in good hands.”

“Thanks, Joel. I’ll do my best.”

“It’s all we have to offer one another. I figure the last six months has given you a fairly good idea about what you’re dealing with, so I won’t bother giving you the whole ‘what is a SEAL’ speech.”

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