He wasn’t going to let that happen. He would do whatever it took to protect her sunny view of the world.
What was it about her that had gotten under his skin? There was something about Julie that made him want to linger around her. She was always smiling, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. She had endless energy and an insatiable curiosity.
But there was something about Julie that made him sweat. There was a natural sexiness about her, in the way she walked, in the way she laughed and the way she dressed. At the last casual Friday, Julie had worn a pink tank top, blue jeans and flip-flops. Eric had been so mesmerized that he had found it difficult to concentrate.
And he needed to concentrate right now. Eric wiped the water from his face and gripped the edge of the sink. Today he had to give some bad news to the company. He immediately conjured an image of Julie. She was going to be upset and there was nothing he could do to comfort her. It was just another mark against him.
Eric took a deep breath and straightened to his full height. He wasn’t one to procrastinate. He tugged at his shirt collar, checked his watch and headed for the conference room.
The moment he walked into the room, everyone at the table fell into silence.
There were only fifteen people who worked at Gunthrie S&I. Ten of them were only qualified to do the administration work for the security accounts. The remaining employees were licensed investigators.
Ace, a computer nerd who only wore jeans and gaming T-shirts, did computer forensic work. Martha did interviews and surveillance. A grandmotherly type, she often said that she was good at her job because she was practically invisible. Max was retired military and did most of the background checks.
All of these investigators learned on the job with Perry. The only employee who had any real experience was Asia. She had been a police officer and was Gunthrie’s top investigator.
Until Eric had shown up. Asia wasn’t pleased when he started taking over. Eric knew he had the skills Perry needed right now to keep Gunthrie S&I open for business. He coordinated missions, trained lower-level agents and knew how to represent his work to other organizations and companies.
While working with Perry over the past six weeks, Eric had been giving the older man a crash course in the cutting-edge techniques for conducting criminal investigations. In the past, the latest trends would have excited Perry, but now it made him feel overwhelmed and defeated. When Eric had suggested trying a different kind of investigation, it took a while to convince Perry to give it a try.
Eric saw his godfather sitting at the head of the table and gave him an encouraging smile. Eric automatically searched for Julie.
She was whispering furiously with her friend Asia. As Eric moved to the foot of the table, he considered how strange the friendship was between Asia and Julie. They were an unlikely pair. Asia was shrewd and abrasive while Julie was warm and friendly.
He reluctantly pulled his attention away and noticed the other employees watching him. Did they know everyone was in danger of losing their jobs? They were good people, though some were odder than the others. There were a few he wouldn’t trust with a car, let alone a gun. All of the employees seemed to emulate their detective idol, right down to the catchphrases. They made up for their lack of experience and technological know-how with hard work and enthusiasm.
“Okay, everyone,” Eric said. “I’m going to just open the meeting with some news. We no longer provide security services for Bellows and Groggins. Murphy and Associates won the bid.”
There was a beat of heavy silence. Eric paused to let the news sink in. His attention gravitated toward Julie. He frowned when it registered that she didn’t seem particularly worried. In fact, she looked at him as if he would come up with a perfectly good solution to keep the business afloat.
There was something about that look. It was as if she trusted his skills and strategies completely. As if she knew behind the scars and the fatigue, there was a hero inside him ready to save the day.
The way she was looking at him, he almost believed it, too.
He didn’t realize he’d allowed the pause to linger for too long. The employees started to all talk at once, their voices beginning to rise with panic and anger.
Eric raised his hands and motioned for them to quiet down. “But this gives us an opportunity to move in a new direction.”
He was determined to give the idea a good spin, but he didn’t know how the rest of the office would react. When he ran it by his godfather, Perry was surprised. The sad thing was that it didn’t shock Eric at all. He wondered if that was a sign. Was he jaded? Was he that world-weary and cynical?