Page 38 of Unexpected Trouble

“Don’t mind Greg,” Trevor said as the door closed behind the men. “He’s having a midlife crisis.”

All the guys laughed. “Oh, is that what it is? I thought he was just having that time of the month,” I replied with a smile that brought along more laughter.

Alex spoke up. “I like your idea, Maggie, and don’t get me wrong, but do you think you’re up to that kind of traveling? It will be a week or two of rough conditions. You’d be stuck with a bunch of men, not much in the way of privacy or luxury accommodations. We’ll be tent sleeping, or in the trucks. Food is nothing to write home about, and you probably won’t get a shower for several days.”

“Even though I am wearing hundred-dollar pumps and dry clean only slacks, I do know how to rough it. While I might not have been in these types of situations, I have camped and done my business in the woods before. I’m not going to get freaked out by bugs or having to squat behind a tree. As long as you all keep the snakes away from me, I’ll be okay. Snakes are a no-go for me.”

Harvey chuckled. “Yeah, I’m not a fan of those bad boys either. I’ll have your back if Greg decides he can’t handle it.”

“I appreciate that.”

We all heard Greg’s voice raise in the hallway. “Are you fucking crazy!”

Alice grinned at me. “Greg’s not usually the uptight one.”

The guys laughed, and then we all remained quiet until the door opened again. Jake returned with a smile on his face, and Greg looked like he’d just ran his hands through his hair or had just woken up. He avoided eye contact with everyone as he took his seat.

“Alright, so now that we have that cleared up, Maggie, welcome, and we appreciate your assistance. The guys and Alice will give you anything that you might need, and there is a desk next to Trevor that you can use if you want to work here. That might be a better idea with some of our information.”

“Absolutely. I’ll let my boss know I’m working on a story and hang out here to get things going. That way, you can approve it before I send it out.”

“Excellent.” He turned to Alice. “Do you mind getting her set up? I have a few things that I need to go over with these guys.”

“Sure,” Alice replied, and the two of us left the room. Alice grinned at me as she closed the door. “Oh, I love that you got Greg all in a tizzy. He’s going to be so much fun to work with today.”

“You think?”

“Girl, that man is never quiet, so for him to sit there with his tail between his legs, and not only remain silent, but not look at anyone. Ha! He’s all worked up and not sure what the hell to do.”

I couldn’t help but snicker. “Serves him right.”

“I know this is not my business, but is there something going on between you?”

“I’ll answer that if you tell me if you and Jake are an item.”

Alice made a goldfish move, her lips flapping open and closed. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Oh, please,” I said as we stopped next to an empty desk. “You know I did notice the looks that the two of you were throwing at each other. Did you forget that I write a romance column?”

“No, seriously, nothing is going on between us.”

“And nothing is going on between Greg and me either.” The conference room door opened, and the men came out. Alice and I watched them, and then Jake and Greg both stood there staring at us. Jake spun and disappeared down another hallway, and Greg turned and headed out of the office.

Alice and I looked at one another and started laughing. Yeah, so we both knew the answer to the question. Maybe there was something going on, but the two men that were involved were not willing participants. At least not right now.

“Let me know if you need anything,” Alice said before she went back to the reception desk.

I dug out my laptop and all the notes that I’d taken and sat down to get to work. I called my editor and left him a message. All I said was that I was running down information for my column. He didn’t need to know that my column was already written for the next eight days. Nope. And he didn’t need to know that this wasn’t for my column, but available for a prominent paper to buy.

I didn’t have a buyer, but I did not doubt that if I submitted it to theTimesorThe Washington Post, I could have a spot immediately. If not them, there were a hundred political bashing sites that would grab hold of this and run with it. Not that I wanted to bash politicians, but I wanted the attention.

I worked for about two hours before I felt someone standing beside me. I looked up to see Greg, a cup of coffee in his outstretched hand. “Thought you might need one.”

“Oh, yeah.” I took it and immediately put it to my lips, swallowing the warm brew. “Thank you. I’m starting to drag a little. Didn’t get much sleep.”

Greg watched me for a moment. “I’m sure you didn’t.” He stepped back. “I’ll let you get back to work.”

I watched him head into a cubby catty-corner to me and get seated as he woke up his computer. He glanced back at me like he knew I was watching him and hiked a brow. I grinned and held up my coffee in a toast to him before I shifted so that my attention was back on my computer.

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