Page 3 of Inevitable

CHAPTER TWO

Monday, July 17th

Claire shoved a pencil into the bun on top of her head and blew out a breath as she glanced at the two wall-mounted monitors. The one with a view of the south side of the city held her attention because she was tracking two men who were of interest to the company. Hunter had tagged the men’s vehicles last week with GPS locators and she’d hacked their phones.

As far as she could tell, the program she’d written was working and the data she was mining was going to be the difference between winning a case and losing one. At least, that’s what their client had said earlier when she’d given him an update.

Hearing heavy footsteps, she glanced up and watched Kane stroll in and collapse into a chair. “What’s up?” she asked.

“Did you and Andi have fun dancing the other night?”

Leaning back, Claire crossed her arms. “Not sure why you’re asking. You were sitting at the bar spying on our every move.”

He ran his hands through his hair and then gave her a sheepish grin. “Had to make sure the men behaved.”

“Surprised you didn’t bring the whole gang to watch us shake our groove thing and get our drink on.”

“Didn’t want you ladies to kill me, so I made it a solo recon mission.” He shrugged and then locked his hands behind his head. “You know I’m interested in Andi, and lettin’ a man get near her isn’t going to happen.”

“She wasn’t impressed with your spying and felt like a fool that she’d let you know where we were.”

“I’ve asked that woman out a hundred times and she keeps telling me she’s busy. Until she gets unbusy, I’m going to make damn sure no one gets close to what’s mine.”

“She’s a pediatric resident. She’s not going to be unbusy for a while.”

“Not a problem ’cause I’ve got a ton of patience.” Wiggling his eyebrows, he grinned. “Last man standing always wins.”

“And you plan on being that man?”

“Absolutely, darlin’. Absolutely.” He stood and threw her a wink. “And she must not have been that mad at me ’cause she gave me a couple of smooches before you all left.”

“I knew there was a reason for her smile. I just didn’t know what it was.”

“Me,” Kane replied as he thumped his chest. “The woman is going to be mine eventually.” He knocked the door frame before he walked out and started whistling.

After he left, Claire let out a laugh. He was a handsome man with a big heart and if she had anything to say about it, Andi would give him a chance—it just wasn’t time yet. And that wasn’t something that could be changed. There was no way to make something move faster any more than you could slow something down.

Talk about timing. One of her monitors beeped, which told her the program she’d installed was done running. Scooting her chair backward in the direction of the far wall, she bumped into something solid. Lifting her head, she looked directly into Brady’s metallic blue eyes. “Hey.”

“Hey, darlin’.” Resting his hands on her shoulders, he grinned. “I came by to see if you had a chance to look at the phone I left on your desk this morning.”

The weight of his hands felt nice but she was getting a crick in her neck, so she slipped away from his hold and stood. “I haven’t had a chance yet.” Her haphazard bun was starting to loosen, so she pulled out the pencil she had shoved in earlier and was surprised to see three fall into her hands. “Unless it’s a matter of life and death, I won’t get to it until tomorrow.” Sweeping her arm around the room, she frowned. “I have at least a dozen projects going and I don’t expect to dig out anytime soon.”

“Okay, no problem.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “How was the dancing the other night?”

Groaning, Claire stepped around him and pushed her chair back to her desk. “You are the third man to stop by today and ask. Why is my social life so damn interesting all of the sudden?”

“I was just making conversation.”

“To answer your question, it was fun. I met a nice man who I might meet for coffee later this week.” She collapsed into her chair and grinned. “I have a good feeling about him.”

“Really…”

Leaning back, she crossed her arms. “Is it that hard to believe that someone would want to spend time with me?”

“No, not at all.” He walked over and leaned his hip against the desk. “You are smart, beautiful, and funny. There isn’t a man alive who wouldn’t give his left nut to spend time with you.”

“Just the left one and not the right?” When he looked embarrassed, she patted his leg and then laughed. “Thank you, Brady. That was a very…interesting compliment.”

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