Cady gave her a sympathetic look. “He’s not as much of an ass as he makes out he is.”
“Well, there are times that’s debatable.” Gray sent her a wink.
Lacey felt a flush of warmth. He was just being friendly. He wasn’t flirting with her.
“Come on, Lacey, I’ll show you around and introduce you to everyone. You’ve met the toughest of the lot. The rest are pussycats.”
Chapter Four
Pussycats. Yeah, right.
Lacey watched as Tiny, who was built like a boxer, pumped iron in the gym at Black-Gray, his biceps bigger than her thighs. Working at Black-Gray came with some awesome benefits. An onsite gym, membership to a shooting range, and every new and fancy gadget imaginable. Obviously, being in the security business was very lucrative. And they certainly paid well.
Even if the job fell through at the end of her months’ probation, she’d decided she liked living in Dallas. Plus, she was getting to spend time with Indie. Her friend had helped her find an apartment close to her own, so they could see each other when work allowed. Not that this job was all that demanding. Not at the moment, anyway.
She might only have been here for three weeks, but she now knew that everyone who worked at Black-Gray was slightly crazy. They all had their quirks. Tiny barely spoke unless he was talking about his girlfriend, then he lit up like a candle. Hunter was blunt, a bit rude, and everything he said sounded like an order. Connor barely looked up from his computer screen. She was starting to wonder if he actually lived here and just kept a few changes of clothes around to keep anyone from figuring it out. The others had all been busy on jobs these last few weeks so she hadn’t had much to do with them.
But as insane and weird and strangely protective as they all were, she liked working there. It wasn’t like the FBI, where it was every man for himself. Here, people actually cared. Sometimes a little too much.
Hunter had actually told her that one of them would walk her to her car if it was dark. It made sense that he was kind of paranoid about security. That was something she admired.
The best thing about this whole move was that she felt safe. Safer than she’d felt living in that cheap motel. Definitely safer than she’d felt in her apartment. The nightmares had lessened and she was starting to feel like her old self.
There was just one problem in this happy little scenario—Gray Mathers.
Three weeks ago, in her interview, she’d thought that if she was going to have any problems it would be with Hunter. But Cady was right, underneath his tough exterior he was actually a decent guy. And it was obvious to anyone who saw them together, he absolutely adored Cady. In fact, it was almost amusing the way he softened around her. When she walked into the room, he only had eyes for her.
He was also horribly overprotective. Cady told her he practically broke out in hives every time she went out in the field. So, she only went on jobs that absolutely required a female. Pretty accommodating of her.
Mind you, there was something sweet about how such a big, gruff man could worry so much over his fiancée. And while she’d seen Cady roll her eyes a few times, she never seemed to get really upset at his tendency to bark orders.
Of course, it could be a different story when they got home.
Lacey glanced around the gym as she ran on the treadmill. She preferred to run outside, but everyone at Black-Gray gathered here in the mornings to work out, and she figured she should make an effort to be a team player.
She studied Jaron as he smacked the boxing bag. Josh held it for him then they swapped. Cady was on the rowing machine while Hunter was doing sit-ups. He’d been going for the last five minutes without showing any sign of letting up.
The door to the gym opened, and she turned, her mouth going dry as she watched Gray walk in. Although walking wasn’t quite the right word. The man moved like he was gliding on air. It was just something else to hate about him. Okay, so hate might be a bit of an exaggeration. But there was something about him that aggravated her.
Perhaps it was because everyone else loved him. She’d never really experienced that. Complete acceptance. At school, she’d always been the smart girl. The one who always had her head in a book. At college, she’d always been more focused on her grades than making friends or attending parties.
All she’d ever wanted to be was a success. How well had that worked out for her? Her career was in the toilet. She had no social life to speak of. Other than Indie, she didn’t really have friends.
Everyone called out greetings to Gray, and he waved at them with a smile. Her stomach tightened as she watched him. She admitted that part of the reason she avoided him was because of her attraction to him. It made no sense. He was the opposite of everything she liked in a man. She preferred someone more like herself. Quieter, less showy, and focussed on his career. Who had goals and drive and ambition.
Not a gorgeous playboy, with more charm than substance.
Okay, not fair, Lacey. He couldn’t be all charm and good looks. He owned his own business. A successful business. Gray handled the clients while Hunter took care of the more practical aspects. Probably for the best that Hunter had as little interaction with actual people as possible. Gray charmed them out of their money, and Hunter made certain they actually got what they paid for.
Gray strode over to the mats to stretch. Her breath caught as she watched him move, his muscles rippling beneath his tanned skin. Her mouth went dry as a hot flush filled her body, which had nothing to do with her run.
For God’s sake, Lacey, chill.
With that handsome face, sexy grin, and those sharply intelligent eyes there was no way he didn’t have hundreds of women chasing him. Probably a different one in his bed each night. A guy who looked like that would never look at her. Not that she wanted him to. A relationship was the last thing she needed.
She sighed and glanced over at Gray again. She knew it wasn’t fair to feel such animosity towards him simply because he was so damn perfect. She hadn’t found someone with a bad word to say about him. He always took time to talk to everyone; he knew everyone’s back story. Except hers.
Unless he’d done a background check on her. She frowned slightly. If she were him, she would have.