getting ready to go all Norman Bates on him.
The desk was still between them, but he raised his hands as if she was holding a loaded gun. He’d already seen how good her aim was.
“Whoa, there! Let’s dial it back a notch, okay? I’m Nick West and this is my office...I think. Am I in the wrong place?” The thought didn’t occur to him until he said it out loud. Shit. Had he just burst into some woman’s office and scared the bejesus out of her? What if this was the boss’s wife? He’d heard Randall’s wife was involved in the resorts somehow. Even if it wasn’t her, traumatizing a coworker wasn’t a good way to start his first day here.
The hand holding the scissors lowered and color came back to her previously white knuckles. She lifted her chin, but it trembled, and there was genuine fear in her eyes. It made him feel like a jerk.
“Look, I’m sorry. I was kidding around. I do that sometimes.”
“You scared the hell out of me, and you did it on purpose!” Those green-gold eyes flashed in anger. “Is that how you plan on introducing yourself to everyone here? Because I’ve got news for you—it won’t go over well.” She reached up to push her hair behind her ear and took a steadying breath. “This is your office, Mr. West. I’m Cassie...um...Smith, and I’ll be working with you. I was setting up your desk.”
Great. He’d never had a secretary before, and he’d just traumatized the first one he got. Smooth move, West. He grunted out a short laugh, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to figure out how to fix this mess.
“Let’s rewind and start over, okay? You’re my first secretary.” He stopped when her eyes narrowed. “What? What’d I say wrong now?”
“I am not your secretary. I’m Mr. Randall’s executive assistant, and I’ll be supporting you with some of your projects. I’ll provide data. I’ll run reports. But I don’t take dictation and I won’t be fetching your damned coffee.”
Well, well, well. The jumpy lady had a backbone after all. Nick knew how to be a good cop. He had no damned clue how to be a good executive.
“Not a secretary. Got it. Like I said, I’m new at this corporate thing. In LA, I had a dispatcher and a desk sergeant. Something tells me you’ll be closer to the latter.” He nodded down to her hand. “I’d be a lot happier if you’d put those down.”
Cassie looked down and appeared surprised to see the scissors still in her hand. She dropped them to the desk like they were burning her.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. She continued to look down, lost in thought.
Her body language was all over the place, causing his cop’s sixth sense to kick in. First she was jumpy and defensive. Then proud and outspoken. And now, as she apologized, she visibly shrank. He didn’t like timid women. They reminded him of victims, and he’d had his fill of victims. But then again, victims didn’t fling staplers at people’s heads.
“Don’t apologize,” he said. “That was a juvenile thing for me to do. I gotta remember I’m not in a police precinct anymore.” And he’d never be in one again. He rubbed his thigh absently. Shoving that thought aside, he flashed her a rueful grin. “I’ll probably need your help monitoring my corporate behavior.”
She nodded, not returning the smile, but straightening a bit. “I don’t like practical jokes, but I’m sure you’ll do fine here. It’s a good group of people, and they like to have fun.”
Interesting. She said they like to have fun, not we. He looked around the office. He’d barely noticed it yesterday, just dropping off his boxes and checking in to his room to crash after the long cross-country drive. The view of Gallant Lake was sweet. The giant flat-screen on the wall with all the changing camera feeds was even sweeter. He saw the photo on the bookshelf and blinked. Jada. It was her death that chased him out of LA and into this new life. The picture was a reminder of how quickly good things could go bad.
A large hand clamped down on his shoulder from behind, and Nick restrained himself from spinning around swinging. Old habits were hard to break. In this case, it would have been especially bad, since it was his new boss.
“Sorry I missed your arrival, Nick. We had a guest giving the desk staff a hard time about the five movies on his room bill. Turns out his ten-year-old has a thing for superheroes and didn’t realize movies are fifteen bucks a pop.” There weren’t many men who could make Nick tip his head back and look up, but Blake Randall was one of them. He was a few years older than Nick, but he had no doubt Randall could hold his own in a physical challenge. Blake spotted Cassie on the other side of the desk. “Oh, good, you’ve met Cassie. You’re going to want to treat this girl right because she’s the one who can make or break you, man.”
Nick met Cassie’s gaze. Her moods were as changeable as her eyes. Now that Blake was here, she was clearly more relaxed.
...she’s the one who can make or break you...
Even after Blake’s warning, Nick couldn’t resist teasing her.
“Oh, don’t worry, Blake. Cassie’s made quite an impression already.” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “She’s already throwing things...I mean...ideas...at me.” Her hands clenched into fists, and he was surprised his skin wasn’t blistering under the heat of her glare. “She even took a stab at trying to define her job responsibilities.”
Blake was oblivious to the tension buzzing in the room. “Trust me, there is no way to define her job duties. Cassie’s always surprising you by doing more than expected.” Nick’s smirk grew into a wide smile.
“Yeah, she’s full of surprises. Oh, look, the stapler fell off the desk.” He bent over to pick it up from where it had landed earlier. He couldn’t help wondering if exposing his back to the woman, with scissors still nearby, was a good idea. “We don’t want the boss to think you were throwing things at me, now, do we?”
“No, we don’t.” She watched as he set the stapler on the desk. Her voice was cold as ice. “But Blake knows me well enough to know I’d never launch an unprovoked attack.”
Nick looked up in surprise. Touché. She was playing along. He winked at her, and a little crease appeared between her brows.
Blake chuckled behind him. “I can’t imagine Cassie throwing things at anyone.” Her cheeks went pink, but Blake didn’t seem to notice. “Come on, Nick, let’s grab lunch and I’ll make some introductions. Would you like to join us, Cass?”
“No, thanks. I have work to do. You and Mr. West go ahead and...”
“Mr. West?” Blake looked at Nick and frowned. “We’re on a first-name basis up here, Nick.”
“No problem. Cassie and I were joking around earlier and she’s just trying to get a rise out of me.” Now it was her turn to be surprised. She looked at him and her mouth opened, but she didn’t speak.
For the first time, Blake seemed to pick up on the undercurrent of...something...that was swirling around them.
“Really?” He looked at Cassie with clear surprise. Apparently she wasn’t known for cracking jokes. She gave Blake a quick nod and smiled. It was the first smile Nick had seen from her, and it was worth waiting for, even if it was aimed at someone else. Her whole face softened, and her eyes went more green than gold.
“You two go on to lunch, and let me get back to work, okay?”
His curiosity was definitely piqued. Cassie Smith had a story.
* * *
On Thursday morning, Cassie was still trying to put a finger on her riled-up emotions. It started before Nick West’s arrival, so she couldn’t place all the blame on him for this low rumble of frustration and anger that simmered in her. In no mood to deal with her tangled hair, she pulled it into a messy knot on top of her head and frowned at the mirror. Simple khakis, sensible shoes and a dark green Gallant Lake polo shirt. Practical