Mount Hotness rose from his chair and crouched by the paper. He picked it up and offered it to her.
“I think you dropped this.”
His voice was deep and sent a tingle through her body. Of course a man that big sounded like that.
“Uh, thanks.” Selena took the map with a smile and tucked it back into her folder.
A sharp-nosed woman in cat eye glasses approached the service window. She pursed her lips in obvious displeasure before speaking. “Miss Cody?”
Finally.
Selena stood and hurried to the window, a vanilla folder in hand. “That’s me.”
The woman glanced down at a form sitting in front of her. “You’re here about filming permits in the forest reserve?”
“Yes.” Selena nodded slowly. “There’s been a mix-up. I’d already gotten permits approved by Tom, but now your office is saying they’re rejected, and Tom’s on vacation, and you know how things go.” She chuckled and offered the folder. “But I’ve already got things stamped in here. I’ve also printed off the email chain.” She pointed at the folder. “It’s all in there. I just need you to officially reissue the permits.”
The woman thumbed through the folder, a bored look on her face. “Oh, I see. I can’t help you.”
“What? You can’t? Why?”
“Tom made a mistake. You’re missing some forms.” She rattled off a couple of form numbers.
“Excuse me?” Selena took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. “Tom clearly stated in the email chain that I had everything I needed. He said those other things were formalities, and that no one ever required them.”
The woman shook her head. “Why would we have forms that we didn’t require? That doesn’t make sense.”
“But Tom said—”
“Tom isn’t here.” The woman scoffed. “We’re a government agency, and we need to follow county and state regulations. Those regulations require those forms. You didn’t go through the proper procedures when you obtained the permit, so they were revoked. It’s as simple as that, Miss Cody.”
Selena glared at her. “I did follow the procedure, and Tom said I did.”
“He made a mistake.” The woman pursed her lips. “Are you incapable of listening?”
“Then I’ll correct my problem. Give me the other forms, and I’ll get them filled out.” Selena pinched the bridge of her nose. “Please.”
The woman shook her head. “You don’t understand. It should never have been approved. They never finished cleaning that area up after the war. It’s dangerous. I apologize for the misunderstanding, but the old military storage facility in the area makes it far too risky. It’s simply impossible for you to get a filming permit for that area.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Selena threw up her arms. “I scouted the area we’re going to do the shoot, including checking out satellite pictures. There are waterfall pictures from people who have already been there. There’s no military stuff anywhere close to where we’re going to film. If we need to take a different route to get there, we’ll take a different route.”
“This isn’t negotiable.” The woman frowned. “Don’t be difficult about this. Regulations are regulations.”
“Okay. Fine.” Selena sucked in a breath and tried to recalibrate her mind for a different strategy. “I’m very close to losing my job over this. Is there anything I can do? Some way to convince you to give us the permit? We can sign whatever documents you want about not going near any old Army storage places. Waivers, the works. Trust me, the director is obsessed with the waterfall. We just need to get to a certain part of the forest for a particular backdrop.”
The woman reached and pushed her glasses up her nose. “I don’t how many different ways I can say no before you understand. We’d need independent confirmation from numerous agencies. This isn’t as simple as you think for something so potentially dangerous. We can’t have you getting yourself blown up. We would be the ones liable for issuing the permits.”
“But you’re saying that it’s possible.” Selena allowed herself a ghost of a smile.
“Possible and likely aren’t the same thing. You’re free to consult our website for more information, but this process can take several weeks.”
“Weeks?” Selena squeaked. She snatched up her folder. “I’ll figure something out. Just you wait.”
The woman behind the counter rolled her eyes, any hint of sympathy vanishing. “It’s your time to waste, but I think you need to step aside, so I can help…” She frowned. “…the other gentleman. See? You scared him off.”
She sounded disappointed.
Selena looked over her shoulder. Her tall stranger was stepping through the door. She raised her hand and was about to call out to him when he closed the door. No wonder the other woman sounded disappointed. Selena could at least empathize with her on feeling sad about the departure of Mount Hotness.
It was probably for the best. Any chance Selena had of getting him to ask her out probably vanished with him witnessing her rant against the local bureaucracy. Men didn’t like desperate and loud women.
Selena stomped toward the door. She might not have any dates lined up, but at least she could figure out a way to save her job.
Chapter Five
Maximus sat on a bench outside the front of the county building pretending to look at his phone, though not bothering to unlock it. His careful surveillance of the front door was concealed not only by his handy prop but also his sunglasses. Although his contacts provided a decent disguise, he didn’t see a problem with using a little backup, particularly in a place where no one would be suspicious. Sitting there staring at the door would be far too likely to standout given his size.
The bright sun hung in the blue cloudless sky. A park lay down the street, marked by an impressive Koa tree. Children ran around under the tree, having a great time. From looking around, no one would suspect that Doctor Quinen and the Phoenix Corps were on the island.
No. They might be on the island. Maximus had to keep reminding himself they
