by Maya Banks
I check the rest of my texts on the four-block walk to the bar off the alley. Lincoln’s is tucked away and quiet, but they’ve got a good liquor list and food until three in the morning. What more could a working woman need?
I’ve got on a black jacket and black slacks with black heels. This is the extent of my entire wardrobe, and it makes me blend into a place like this. When I walk in, I spot Delilah by the pool table and make my way over. We met during the intern program at Osbourne, but she ended up taking an offer at another firm after our year was up. I couldn’t blame her. They were willing to make her lead of her own team right away, and that’s what we were both after. It was an unspoken competition, and one I’m glad didn’t end our friendship.
Her straight dark hair is to her shoulders, and she’s got on the same kind of dark suit I have. She’s taken off her jacket, and I do the same, revealing my black tank top under it. I see two beers sitting on a table next to her, and I raise an eyebrow.
“Yours should still be cold. I asked the waitress to bring it about ten minutes ago,” she says, racking the balls again.
“Am I that predictable?”
“Nah, I’ve still got a tracker on your phone.”
I shake my head. “One time I go on vacation and you never let me turn it off after.”
“Hey, that’s what friends are for,” she retorts, grabbing the pool stick and breaking.
Finally looking around, I see it’s crowded for a Wednesday night. “Why’s this place hopping?”
“No idea. I was going to ask Jim, but he isn’t at the bar tonight,” Delilah says, drinking her beer.
We know most of the guys who work here, but there’s a new one behind the counter tonight. Lincoln’s is normally pretty chill, and it’s nice for winding down after work. I love clubs, and I love to dance. I don’t get to do it as much as I used to, now that I work so much, but crowds don’t bother me. Most weekdays, however, I stay away from clubs and stick to the dive bars.
We order food and play pool for an hour until Delilah wants to call it a night. The place is packed now, and I have to admit that my curiosity is piqued. Before I can find out why, Delilah pulls me out into the night and waves us down a cab.
By the time the cab drops me off and I make it into my apartment, I’ve pushed all thoughts of it aside. I barely have enough time to strip off my clothes before I’ve fallen face first into my bed.
CHAPTER 2
Royce
“Next we’ll visit the head of security and you’ll meet Pandora Justice. She runs the department, and I’m sure she’ll help you with any questions you have,” Henry Osbourne says as he leads me from his conference room to the elevator.
We’ve been in meetings for the past week, going over what he sees as the future of the company and where he thinks there’s the greatest need for my expertise. I’ve met with board members and heads of every branch to try to supply him with the data he needs.
Henry has a great head for business, and the company is his first priority. It’s unusual for someone around thirty to be driven by something other than money. But from what I’ve been able to assess, we both have very similar backgrounds. This was his father’s company, and he’s taken over. Now he wants to see it thrive under his control.
I’ve enjoyed working with him and discussing ideas for a better future. We’ve got a plan laid out, and now it’s on to smaller department changes that could benefit everyone above and below in staffing.
Almost everyone I met came to the boardroom, but this time we’re going directly to the security floor. It’s different from what I’ve seen this week, but I’m curious to see the it.
“Is there a boardroom in security we can use?” Better to start with a question and see where that gets me. We step onto the elevator, and Henry hits the button.
He straightens his dark blue suit and brushes his hair out of his face. “Pandora likes things her way,” he says, and lets out a sigh.
That’s definitely not the answer I was expecting. It surprises me that he goes from confident and assured to almost nervous as the elevator doors open and we step off.
I follow him as he walks down a short hallway and into a large open area. There are desks all around and computer screens everywhere. People are talking to one another, and there’s an energy around the room that’s not quite excitement, but close. People say hello to Henry as we walk across the expanse, and he greets them all by name. I can tell this man loves his company but also cares about his employees.
The department takes up one floor, and that space has been opened up so information can be easily shared. It’s definitely not made for privacy, but in a security department, there’s no room for that.
There’s an office on the far side of the room that’s raised up a little. At least, I think it’s an office. One wall is made of glass and the double doors are currently wide open. Closing them could offer sound privacy, but with the way it’s situated, there’s no way the person behind the computer could blink without someone knowing it.
Henry is as tall as I am, at six two, and so I can’t see past him to who’s in the office. What I do see is when his shoulders stiffen as he gets to the doors and knocks.
“Hey, Panny, I stopped by to introduce you to the consultant. Remember?”
“I told you about calling me that at work, Casanova,” an unseen woman retorts.
He sighs and steps aside, holding out his hand. “Royce Davenport, I’d like to introduce you to Pandora Justice, head of security at Osbourne Corporation.”
I look over and see a small woman bent over a computer and not even looking up at us. I want to laugh at her balls. She clearly doesn’t give a fuck. I have to bite my bottom lip as Henry clears his throat to get her attention.
“Almost finished.” Her hands click over her keyboard at a crazy speed, and after about thirty seconds, she stops and stands up. “If you could get me more people in here who can code, instead of idiot rent-a-cops who passed a two-hour course on mall safety, my floor would function a hell of a lot better.”
Henry rubs his eyes and then looks at Pandora with pleading eyes. “Pan—”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Justice,” I say, holding out my hand, wanting to find out if she’s married.
“Pandora. Mrs. Justice is my mom.”
She takes it without hesitation, and I feel her firm grip meet mine. She’s not trying to hurt me, and it doesn’t feel exaggerated. Her hand feels strong in mine. This isn’t a show where she’s trying to seem tough. She actually is. I expected it to be soft and delicate, but her grasp feels like that of an athlete. The strength in her arm and her stance tells me that she’s not afraid of me. Or anything.
It’s a small touch, and I’ve sized her up with all my assumptions in one basket. And yet somehow I know I’ve got her all wrong. She’s showing me who she is, but I have no clue where to begin. I’ve never met a woman so overwhelming. I’m drowning in her, and for a moment my head swims.
“If you need to sit down, there’s a chair. I don’t want you to fall over and bleed on my desk,” she says as she pulls her hand from mine.
I’m sorry, but did she not just feel the earth stop moving?
I clear my throat and straighten my suit. My hair is cut short, and I can feel the cool air on the back of my neck just above my collar. I focus on that instead of the blood rushing to my ears.
“You’ll have to excuse Royce. We’ve been in the boardroom all day. I promised him lunch, and I knew that was the only way I could get you out of your office,” Henry says.
There’s a low-lying threat to his statement, and for half a second I think Pandora is going to challenge it.
“Fine, Casanova. But I get to pick the appetizers.”
They stare at one another, and for a moment I can picture them as children having this s
ame discussion. Something green and angry rises in my chest at the banter these two have. Their inside jokes are irritating me and I feel excluded.
“Maybe I could have lunch one on one with Mrs.—” She snaps back to me with her deep blue eyes, and I correct myself. “Pandora. I think we’ve gone over enough for today, Henry. I can email you the rest of what we discussed, and I can handle the remainder here.”
There’s relief in his eyes as he smiles and shakes my hand. “Perfect. I’ll speak to you tomorrow,” he says, and nearly bolts out of the office before Pandora can protest.
“It’s hard to respect your boss when you saw him poop his pants when he was six.” She shrugs and grabs the bag hanging on the back of her chair. “Never work with family.”
The warning somehow makes the green-eyed monster in my chest calm down, and I finally have a better understanding of the situation.
“I didn’t realize you were related,” I say, following closely behind her.
“Most people here know. It’s hard for them not to since our parents all worked together, and we grew up basically like brother and sister.”
Her long dark red hair is pulled into a tight ponytail, and it swishes back and forth as she walks. Her petite frame is moving fast, and I have to speed up my steps to keep up with her. I also have to force myself not to stare at her round ass when we get on the elevator. She pushes the button for the lobby and puts her hands on her hips.
“How do you feel about tacos?” she asks without looking at me.
“Never met one I didn’t like,” I say with a smile.
She slowly turns her head to me, and there’s not a trace of humor on her face. When the elevator doors open, she slides on her sunglasses. “Watch yourself, Royce,” she says before she steps off, and I have to hurry to keep up.
Fucking hell. I think I’m in love.
CHAPTER 3
Pandora
“I can smell the grease from here,” Royce says, looking up at the Taco Hut.
I love this place and love it even more when it’s nice out. They have little outside tables, too, so patrons can enjoy the sunshine. It’s nice to get out of the office sometimes and get some sun. I haven’t been doing that much lately. I really need a pool day with my sister.
I look over at him. He’s once again standing too close, and it’s really starting to annoy me, mostly because he keeps brushing up against me, and I don’t like it. Not even a little.
It’s amazing how easily I can lie to myself.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” I go to open the door, but he beats me to it.
He flashes me that perfect smile and brushes up against me again. I hate how short I am. Even in my heels, I still have to look up at him. I walk past, and the smell of tacos fills the air. But then all I can smell is him as he stands too close. He smells woodsy, nothing at all like I would have thought. With that suit that molds to his body so perfectly and a five-million-dollar smile, I was sure he’d have on some pungent, overpowering cologne. In fact, I think the smell coming off him is just the way he smells. Something about him isn’t adding up for me. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s there. Maybe it’s the things he’s making me feel, and I don’t know how to explain it.
He leans down, and I turn my head, not willing to step back. “You don’t know much about personal space, do you?”
That stupid smile only gets bigger. I shake my head, thankful for my sunglasses still perched on my face, because I didn’t want him to see the childish eye roll I just gave him.
I walk up to the counter. “It’s been a while,” Sam says, coming back from the kitchen.
“I know, I know.” I lean on the counter. “Miss me?”
“Every damn day.” I see a shadow loom over me, and Royce has his hands folded over his chest.
His smile is gone now, and he looks pissed. I ignore him and go back to talking to Sam. Sam has owned the Taco Hut for as long as I can remember. My mom and dad would bring us up here a lot after school when we were kids. Then Penelope and I started coming on our own. We even studied for some of our finals in here while devouring late-night snacks. Sam always gave us homemade churros that were to die for.
“Don’t mind him,” I say when I see Sam eyeing Royce. “He doesn’t know about boundaries. But I just met him today, so he could just be an asshole.”
Sam smirks but gives Royce a glare. I hear Royce grunt something, but I don’t catch it.
“How am I going to stay in business if your taco addiction is fading?” Sam teases.
“Blame Henry. He’s the one working me to death.”
Sam shakes his head. “Haven’t seen him for a few months either.”
“Because he knows I love this place and he’s avoiding me right now. Do you have any fresh churros?” I ask, giving him my best smile. I want something sweet for later when I’m at work tonight and have nothing to eat. Tacos don’t hold well, but the sugary dessert will.
“I think I may have a few,” Sam says, his eyes softening. “Only for you, though.” He shoots a look at Royce.
“Perfect, and I’ll take my usual,” I add.
“All right, eight tacos with extra cheese and sour cream.”
I hear Royce cough and mutter, “Eight?”
I look at him and shrug. “They aren’t giant. Kinda like mini tacos. They fry the shells, too, so they’re crispy little heaven-sent morsels of pleasure.” I can’t stop the moan that escapes me when I talk about them. God, it’s been too long.
“If they can make you make that sound, I’ll take eight, too,” he says, his smile back in place.
I turn in the other direction. I don’t want to face him because I can feel my cheeks burn. That did not just happen. “I’ll have a Diet Coke, too, and he’s buying.”
Sam chuckles and heads back to the kitchen. I go find a table outside and sit down. Royce follows me, setting my Coke down in front of me while taking a sip of his water.
“So I think our department is being staffed wrong. It’s not that I need more people, I just think that maybe there’s a faster way we can be doing things, something I’m not seeing. More productive, but not as much work—”
“Have you lived in New York long?” he asks, cutting me off.
I take a sip of my soda but ignore his question. “A few years back, a guy by the name of Jordan Chen used to work for us. Crazy good with computers, but he’s retired. Anyway, long story short, we never replaced him. He had contingencies in place, but I think things have become dated and some stuff has changed.”
“I can tell you were born and raised here. You talk fast.”
I take my sunglasses off and study him for a second. “What’s wrong? Can’t keep up?” I raise an eyebrow at him.
He only smiles. Again. Then takes a sip of his water. I inhale slowly and try to stay on track.
“Anyway.” I shift back as Sam comes over and sets our tacos down. “Thanks,” I tell him as he walks away. “I don’t think he’ll want to do it. I mean, I can reach out to him, but he has a daughter. She’s like him.” I think about it for a moment. “Kinda like him.”
“Did you know your lip lifts in the corner a little when you get annoyed?” His eyes are on my mouth.
“If you know you’re annoying me, then why do you keep doing it?”
He shrugs and opens the box with his tacos, but doesn’t move to eat one.
“Echo is—”
“See, your lip did it again. Does she annoy you?” He leans in a little, propping his elbows on the table and studying me. I don’t like it. He’s known me two seconds and already he’s reading me like he’s been doing it his whole life.
“Like I said, Echo is like her dad, but with some quirks. She can be—”
“Annoying?” he finishes. His eyebrows rise to let me
know I did the lip thing again, but all I can think about is him watching my mouth now.
I take a breath and sit back, crossing my arms. Echo can be more than annoying. She has to control most things. “She can be unpredictable. If I tell her to do one thing and she thinks I’m wrong, she’ll just do it her way. It’s always her way.”
“Then why would you want her?”
“Because she’s normally right and five steps ahead. She’s in her head a lot of the times and isn’t always vocal. She just does it.”
I knew this from experience. We shared a few classes together in school, and I got stuck on some projects with her. She’d actually skipped a few grades. Her parents are even pretty close with mine, so she was around a lot. But she normally favored hanging out with Penelope over me. She’s damn smart. She’s probably smarter than her father. They’re always on the computer together, and I bet it would be easy for her to pick up where he left off.
“Are you in a relationship?” Royce asks, catching me off guard.
I was sure he was going to ask me more about Echo, but he doesn’t really seem to care about work. All his questions are about me. That reminds me that I need to look into him, too. I did a soft check on him when Henry mentioned him, but I trust Henry. He wouldn’t bring him on if he didn’t think it was for the best. I always trust Henry’s instincts because they’re always spot on. Plus, the Davenport name is known around town. Royce comes from old family money. Probably thinks he can do and say anything he wants. I’ve meet a lot of men like him. It’s why, when I first meet new men I’ll be working with, I’m firm so they don’t think they can get something over on me.
Leaning over, I reach out and shut Royce’s taco box. I pick it up and place his box on top of my box, then stack my churros on top of that.
“You just lost your tacos,” I tell him.
I pick up my sunglasses, slide them back onto my face, and then grab the food. He can track me down when he actually wants to talk about work.