Her face scrunches up. “I think I’ll do it on my own. I want to talk to them about how everyone feels about the move. Danica Meyer, our translator, prefers to work from her apartment, and this is going to be an adjustment for her.”
“Because of the sensitive nature of our product, we typically require everyone to be on our network here in the office. But if you believe she needs to work from home, we can figure it out.”
“I think she should work in the office, too. I thought I might sit in the bullpen with my team and leave my office for times when it’s too loud for someone to work, and they can work there.”
My eyes grow wide. I’ve never seen a partner willing to give up their office. “Are you sure? We have conference rooms.”
“At least for now, I think it will help the transition.”
There’s a knock at the door, and I look up.
A beautiful woman—brown skin with dark freckles across her nose and cheeks—sticks her head in and looks at Tinsley. “Hi. Where do you want me to put my stuff?”
Tinsley stands. “Landon, this is Vanessa Brown, our industrial designer. She’s going to take the translation software and put it into a small earpiece.”
She smiles and steps forward with her hand extended. “Nice to meet you.”
“Welcome to Disruptive Technologies,” I tell her.
“We’re happy to be here,” she replies.
I help to get my team settled, we do our HR stuff, and before we know it, it’s lunchtime. I was prepared for some off-color, sexist jokes from the Disruptive developers, but mostly we got averted eyes. These guys are scared of women.
As we walk through the lobby, a tall, leggy blonde is standing there, looking around expectantly.
“Have you been helped?” I ask.
She sighs. “No, I haven’t, thank you. I’m looking for Landon Walsh. Is he in today?”
The hair on the back of my neck stands up. “I believe so. What’s your name?”
She gives me a withering look. “Lori Laine.”
It hits me who she is—a local newscaster and minor celebrity. “Let me see if he’s still here. I’ll be right back.” Looking over at my team, I tell them, “I’ll catch up with you guys downstairs. Save me a seat.”
I walk back to Landon’s office, and he’s on the phone. I write a quick note.
Lori Laine is here to see you. Are you available?
I hand it to him, he nods, and I walk back out front. “He’s on a call, but he knows you’re waiting.”
Her face brightens, and I hear Landon behind me. “Lori? What brings you here?”
I turn to him and force a smile.
“I thought we might grab some lunch, if you’re available.” She rubs her tongue across her top lip. Gross.
She steps toward him, and I’m definitely a third wheel.
“Excuse me,” I say, turning to go.
“Wait, um, Tinsley, meet Lori Laine. She’s with the local news. Lori, Tinsley is our new partner and the developer of the software we’ll integrate into our offering.”
Her face says she’s not interested in talking to me. I don’t care. She’s a bunch of empty space anyway.
“Oh, right.” I nod. “I thought I recognized the name. I guess they’re right. With the right makeup, the camera does hide your age.”
She attempts to vaporize me with her eyes. I turn to Landon, who smiles.
“Ladies, why don’t we all go to lunch together?”
I shake my head. “I’m good. I’m taking my team out to lunch. Thanks, though.” I turn and push the button to call the elevator, praying it comes quickly.
As I step into the car, I hear her say, “She’s just jealous of me—I have the brains, the beauty, and I have you.” She talks in baby talk. Bleck. She giggles as the doors shut, and I roll my eyes. I’ll never watch her newscast again.
I stalk out of the elevator and into the restaurant in the lobby of our building. I’m mad, and I don’t know why. Landon and I aren’t dating. We had a one-night stand—a one-hour mistake. I don’t know why I’m letting some bimbo get to me.
I join my team at the table and try to put it out of my mind. That is until I look up and Landon and Baby Talk are strolling by, hand in hand.
“Oh, there’s Landon. Isn’t he dreamy?” Ginger Wang is my tester, and she’s the most desperate of my team to be in love. She’s wonderful, but I think she begins planning a wedding after every first date.
“Hey, look. He’s with Lori Laine,” Vanessa murmurs. “Figures he’d be with a celebrity.”
“Damn, that man is absolutely fine. I wouldn’t kick him out of bed for eating crackers,” adds Danica, her brown eyes flashing. She smooths her copper hair flirtatiously, and I suppress my annoyance. She’s our lead translator and speaks eight languages.
I can’t take much more of this. “Okay, you three. Let’s stop focusing on Landon and worry about how we move forward with our piece of the project. We’ll be working with his team, so let’s try to keep our tongues in our mouths.”
“Oh, I could lick him right up,” Ginger remarks dreamily.
Chapter 4
Landon
Lori couldn’t have picked a more inopportune time to come here. She called last night while I was having dinner with Claire and Tinsley. I didn’t call her back, because I don’t want to see her anymore. I certainly didn’t want her to show up unannounced and uninvited at the office.
I watch Tinsley get in the elevator. No matter what she said, I should have gone to lunch with her and her team. It’s their first day. Claire is usually the one who won’t take no and muscles her way into what’s right—like taking the new employees
