Page 19 of Delayed
“Anna.” Even her first name felt likesharing too much.
“You’re literally going to make me drag thisout of you one tiny bit at a time.” Taylor blew out a breath andshook his head. “I’m going to bring Brady into this. He’s muchbetter with the uncomfortable questioning.”
“Bring me into what?” A deep baritone voicebarked from the office doorway. He must have been in the officecrunching numbers and heard their conversation. Brady leaned hisshoulder against the door frame and crossed his arms over hischest. His crisp white button up shirt pulled tight, the top buttonopen and his sleeves rolled up. His height, build and postureintimidating to those who didn’t know him.
“Rex met a woman.” Taylor paused. “One thatmade him come back early from his D.C. travels and has him skippingoff to Tampa for the weekend.”
Brady raised a dark eyebrow.
“I know, right?”
Rex rubbed the back of his neck. “You guysare insane. It’s not a big deal.” He felt twitchy, his musclesquivering with his nerves. He hadn’t been this tied up over a womansince Layla. “I’ll be in the office putting together the reportsfrom this last week or so of visits. Things are moving smoothly inthe Midwest and D.C.” He swiped his laptop from the bar top andtook several steps in the direction of Brady.
“Not so fast.” Brady grunted and blocked thedoorway to the office. “I’m going to need the deets on thislady.”
“Fuck me.” Rex huffed. “I need to get thesereports completed so you can both review them. I want this donebefore I leave at 11:00. You’re wasting my time.”
“You have plenty of time.” Taylor popped upon the counter, his legs dangling over the cooler door that heldtheir canned beer.
“You two are ridiculous. Unconscionable.”Rex stood with his arms crossed over his chest and laptop.
“Unconscionable is a little dramatic.” Bradychuckled.
Rex moved to the other side of the bar andpulled out a stool. He might as well get this over with. His bestfriends weren’t going to let this rest until he gave them somedetails. “I met Anna at the Grand Rapids airport when the flightwas delayed due to the blizzard-like conditions.” Both guys nodded.The story flowed easily from there.
****
Several hours later, Rex pulled his red JeepWrangler into the parking lot of Sunshine Insurance. Concretepillars and floor to ceiling windows formed the exterior of thebuilding. The structure was modern but the metal roof added justthe right coastal touch. A steel sun hung above the entryway.
Rex opened the door and walked into a largeatrium walled off with glass and a security desk.
A bald man in a black uniform stood frombehind the desk. “Welcome to Sunshine. How can I help you?”
It had taken Rex hours of research to getAnna’s information—including her last name. Finally, he had locatedher on LinkedIn. The professional photo she’d posted had him groanat the memory of meeting her in the airport. Removing her workclothes to find the garter and stockings had been a dream cometrue. He knew what hid under her professional version. A vixen.
“Anna Montgomery, please.”
“Is she expecting you?” the security guardasked.
“No. I was in the area and thought I’d givethis a try.” Rex shrugged. “If she’s busy, I can give her a calland meet up with her later.”
“Can I tell her who is here?”
“Of course. Rex Bancroft.”
“Let me check.” The man picked up a phoneand dialed a number. He spoke quietly into the phone, nodded hishead, and hung up. “She’ll be right down.”
“Thank you.”
Rex wiped his sweaty palms on the front ofhis jeans. He paced the small waiting area. He’d never been soanxious about seeing a woman. What if she asked him to leave? Whatif she was angry he came to her work? What if she told him she hada boyfriend or husband and their time together was just a fling?What if this had been a gigantic mistake?
Just then a flash of chestnut hair caughthis eye, and he lifted his head. Anna stood on the escalator, herlong hair hanging over her shoulders in waves and her honey-coloredirises sparkling from the sunlight beaming through the windows. Herplum-colored skirt suit fit her like a glove and her navy-blueheels added to her sexy look.
For just a moment, his heartbeat stopped. Hestifled a moan.
When their gazes met, her eyes widened andthe corners of her mouth tilted up. For a second. Then she caughtherself and pulled her lips into a tight line.
And his heart sank to his belly.
