to the floor and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “But you are interested in him, aren’t you?”
“No! No.” Even she could hear the weakness behind her denial. She jumped up from the chair and faced the window, hoping he couldn’t see the blush on her face.
“Rosie, when Sam’s in your line of sight, you put out every sexual non-verbal message ever documented-you touch your hair, you straighten your clothing, you cross and uncross your legs, you even lean in his direction- standing or sitting. And this morning-in the firing range-as soon as you realized he was there, you bent down and waggled your butt in his face.”
“I was pulling up my socks!” Oh, Lord, she’d tried to be so cool, tried not to broadcast how attractive she found Sam yet Chad could read her as if she had Horny for Sam tattooed on her forehead.
Chad shook his head. “Okay, then how about later when we were talking in the office about the photographs? Don’t try to tell me your mind was on our conversation. You were watching Sam-your pupils had dilated, your breathing pattern shallowed and quickened. You were so turned on Kris had to physically touch you to get your attention.”
She buried her face in her hands, trying to hide the blood that rushed to her face. When she’d first joined Hauberk and started training in New York, the head of the team had said she had a transparent face. Rick had spent hours teaching her to mask her emotions but obviously she was still easily read. She should have realized that others, especially a former FBI agent would be even more skilled at reading her.
“Admit it, Rosie,” Chad continued, “you’re just as attracted to Sam as he is to you. And that scares the hell out of you, doesn’t it?”
“I’m not scared.” Try terrified.
“Sam’s one of the good guys. If you’ve said no, he’ll back off. I guarantee it. He’s not going to hold a grudge; he’s not going to sabotage your evaluations or put you in harm’s way.” He leaned back in the chair, hooking one arm over the back. “But why is the idea of him being interested in you making you run? Is there something in your past I should know about? Some old boyfriend you’ve got hidden in your closet? Most women are flattered…” He paused. “Is that it? You think he’s just out to add a notch to his bedpost?”
“Maybe.” Yes.
“I don’t think he is. Sam’s held off on his attraction for you too long if he was trying to play you like that.”
“Perhaps. I don’t know. But he’s not only my boss but my principal now and every rule about guarding a client is that emotions interfere with providing good protection.”
“Normally I’d agree that a relationship could get in the way. But in this case, I had my reasons for putting you in charge.” He held up his fist and unfurled one finger. “First, you’re a better protective officer than you give yourself credit for. I wouldn’t have put you in charge if I didn’t think you capable. ” Another finger unfurled. “Second, you have an intuitive sense of who to trust and who not to-and people will tell you things they wouldn’t tell me. Third, you have a way of getting people to do what you want them to do instead of what they want to do. And that’s a crucial skill for whoever is in charge of guarding Sam. I know him, he sets his mind on something and he’s bound and determined to do things his way. Got him in trouble a couple times at Quantico. Luckily for him it usually worked out in his favor. If I put Walters in charge-or Phillips-Sam will override them.”
“But he won’t me?”
Chad shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think it’s important to him to prove his confidence in you. He won’t want to embarrass you, or worry you. He’ll argue with you, loudly and often, in fact I think he gets off watching you get angry. But when it comes down to it, he’ll do what you tell him to do.”
“So you want me to use his attraction to me to keep him in place.” So she’d gotten the leader’s position thanks to a strange form of sexual discrimination. She had to use her feminine attributes to keep a man in line. Oh, brother.
“I want to keep Sam safe and I’ll use any weapon at my disposal to achieve that. Because not only is he my friend, but without Sam Watson at the helm, Hauberk won’t survive and we’ll all find ourselves out of jobs. Which brings me back to your request for a transfer.
“I need you, Rosie. The entire Hauberk company needs you. I’m not telling you to sleep with Sam. I’m not telling you to put up with anything he says or does that makes you feel uncomfortable. You have my permission to slap him in the face or knee him in the balls if you have to, though I doubt Sam will give you a reason. It won’t affect your performance review, I promise. So my question to you is-will you stay on as lead op?”
*
When he checked the text message, he started chuckling.
“What is it?” his wife asked as she accelerated up the ramp to the I-35E out of Dallas. “There a problem?”
“No. No problem. Just a little project I set into motion is finally coming together.”
“Oh. That’s good.” She shot him a look sideways. “Anything I should know about?”
“Nope. Better that you don’t.”
“Plausible deniability?”
“Something like that.” Sam Watson had just put himself in a very uncomfortable position over a woman. Just like Sam had put him in a few months before. And he was going to enjoy every single minute of that smug bastard’s downfall.
Chapter Nine
The next morning, Sam walked into the kitchen and found Kris sitting at the counter, eating the remnants of an omelet. Kris put down his fork and narrowed his eyes. “So you decide to fire me yet? Say I was insubordinate or some such?”
“Nope. You’re not fired. I appreciate that you were protecting a co-worker. I’d expect nothing less of a Hauberk employee.”
Kris hesitated, then nodded. “Just don’t forget that warning I gave you last night. I know a half dozen other fellas who would be equally peeved if you were to mistreat Rosie.”
“Hard to forget a threat to have a part of your anatomy used as a cat snack.”
While he was pouring himself his first cup of coffee, Sam remembered how Kris had stalked into the apartment the night before, kicking the door closed with his foot. “If you ever touch Rosie, or any woman, when she doesn’t want you to, I’m going to hunt you down, cut off your dick and feed it to the lions at the zoo. You hear me?”
Sam had stilled, his insides freezing like he’d swallowed five buckets of ice cubes. Had she told them he’d forced her, assaulted her? She’d never told him to stop-she’d even returned his kiss, told him what she liked, encouraged him. He would have stopped if she’d said the slightest word. But then again with his 6’5 compared to her 5’1, no judge or jury would find it hard to believe she’d felt threatened.
At least Chad had stopped in after talking to Rosie, and told him she’d agreed to stay as lead op. But it hurt like hell when Chad had told him her conditions. At the end of the assignment, Rosie would be transferred to the Miami office and he’d never attempt to see her again.
His impulsive action last night had not only failed, it had exploded in his face in catastrophic proportions. He was surprised the whole event hadn’t shown up on someone’s seismograph.
When the doorbell rang, Kris sauntered out of the kitchen.
“Heya, Phillips,” he heard Kris say. “I thought Andy was driving today?”
“He’s off doing some errand for Chad, so Rosie sent in the A-team which means you’re stuck with me today, Junior,” Phillips replied, his words clipped. “Mr. Watson ready to roll?”
“Hey, boss? You ready to go?” Kris called.
Sam grabbed his laptop case. “Just as long as we’re not stoppin’ off at the Zoo,” he muttered to himself.
As he approached, Phillips stepped into his path and got so close Sam could tell he’d used Scope that
