Page 6 of Seductive Architect
I spun on my heels. How long had the mystery man been listening? He probably thought I had lost my mind as I argued with myself. With a thought, the projectors shut down, and I stood in a normal office. My security system hadn’t gone off. My fingers flexed, ready to activate my gauntlets and blast the man… the veryhandsomeman from?—
“Package for Orion.” He eyed a rectangular box in his hand. “No last name.”
He wore the gray uniform used by Synergy Research. No matter how much I complained that sharing office space could be a security risk, especially with their secretive projects around superheroes, Arthur refused to believe we were in danger. I blamed it on Ricardo, Synergy’s owner and Arthur’s boyfriend. We were playing with fire, and it was only a matter of time before they discovered Secret Identities employed peoplewithsecret identities.
“Last names are how they track you.”
My delivery man stood in the doorway, his shoulders almost wide enough to touch the frame. Even his neck and head were rectangles. The cut of his beard highlighted theangles of his chiseled jaw. It wasn’t a physique from the gym, but I bet he got twice his steps in every day. He was far more attractive than a dwarf, and I wouldn’t have to bend over to see eye-to-eye with him.
“I need you to sign for it.”
“He’s cute.” I ignored Connie’s whispering in the back of my head. “I’d take a spin on his hard drive.”
My cheeks burned as he pulled out his phone and scanned the package. Did he spend hours every morning trimming each individual hair on his head? The moment he left, I’d scour the building’s facial recognition. Couldn’t be too careful when he somehow evaded our security. Though the goofy smile on his face made him anything but threatening. I wanted to know if the rest of him was as chiseled as his jaw. For research, of course.
“Get his digits!” Connie had gotten herself worked up. Thankfully, nobody else could hear her admiration for our mystery man. “If I had legs, they’d be?—”
“New here?” Not my best line, but it beat asking to see his pecs.
His head cocked to the side. “At Synergy? Oh no, I’ve been working in the mail room for months.” If someone wanted to infiltrate any secure building, the mailroom would be the perfect cover. “Usually, I’m just sorting and scanning packages for explosives. Can’t be too careful.”
My eyes narrowed. “No, you can’t.”
He laughed at my cynicism. “You’re a funny guy.” Fromanybody else, it might have been an insult. With the slight chuckle, I think he was being literal. A man who said what he meant? That won him a few points.
“What was all of that?” He gestured to the room. “It looked complicated.”
He could be an operative for the competition. We had to be careful of similar companies popping up since we launched the app. Hero Rescue 911 would do anything to get their hands on our code. They had been devious in trying to get their agents through the front door. The delivery man seemed oblivious, or maybe aloof. The part of my brain that drew connections about the horrible things happening in Vanguard refused to work while he fumbled with the package.
“Just wrapping up some work for the day.”
When I looked down, he had his hand out. I did a quick inspection for neutralizing devices. It appeared to be an honest handshake.
I shook his hand. “Hi. I’m Hudson.”
Connie squealed. “My future ex-husband. Let’s make some regrettable choices. Ask him if he’ll play with your controller!”
“Orion… but you knew that.” Could I be any more awkward? “Nice to meet you.”
On our third up-and-down, I heard a faint whisper. I let go of his hand, and it vanished. Unlike most supers, I didn’t acquire my gifts. I had been born with them and had yearsof experience. Somewhere on this man, the tech attempted to have a conversation with me.
“Here you go.” Hudson smiled as he handed me the box.
I took the package with one hand, awkwardly holding his wrist with the other. My powers flared, and the gibberish grew louder. I couldn’t make out the words, but I recognized the language. Working this close to Synergy, I overheard their tech all day. It wasn’t originating from his phone, and I couldn’t see any obvious implants. It wouldn’t surprise me if any company embedded tech in their people. Hudson had piqued my curiosity, and not because of those towering thighs… okay, those too.
“Ask him out or it’s salad for life!”
Connie needed to stop listening to Janet’s phone conversations and picking up her bad habits. We’d have a talk once Hudson left. Yet, a handsome man and his mystery tech had my attention.
He eyed my hand, still gripping his wrist. “Does this count as an awkward introduction?”
His voice didn’t hold judgement, no sarcasm, just a simple, straightforward question. Yet, he didn’t let go. Finally, I broke our lengthy shake. “I guess it does.” I mustered a grin. The muscles in my face struggled. “I need to work on my people skills.”
“Yes, you do!” I’d unplug her at this rate.
“That’s my first awkward introduction. I’ll add it to mylist.” First? I thought every introduction held a little awkwardness. Yet, he said it with a growing smile, as if he could check it off a bingo sheet. “Nice to awkwardly meet you, Orion.”
Did he have no agenda? No surveillance? Just… a normal human with a bit of charisma? It threw me more than the Synergy code.
