“Maybe. A couple of guys I’ve hung out with before,” she noted, her green eyes swinging over to Baz as though to rub it in.
Ah, hell. That was what this was? Jealousy?
Shit.
“If you need me to meet with them, I’m there,” Reese told her. “But, please, both of you, if you’re gonna take time out of my day, be serious about your choices.”
He couldn’t miss the glare Baz shot her way and decided the last place he wanted to be was in the middle of … whatever the hell was going on with them.
“Come on, Tesha,” he said to the dog sleeping near his feet. “Let’s head over to the house. Need to get some measurements.”
With that, he snuck out the door.
Before it closed behind him, he heard JJ say, “A woman, Baz? Really?”
No, he definitely didn’t want to be in the middle of that.
***“You got a problem with me wantin’ to hire a woman?” Baz shot back, pleased that JJ would be bothered enough to confront him on his selection.
“As your partner?”
“I didn’t say my partner,” he clarified. “I said she’d make a good partner.”
“Like there’s a difference.”
He leaned back in his chair, clasped his fingers behind his head, and stared at her. She really was a beautiful woman, especially when there was that sparkle in her eyes. Today she wore her auburn hair back in a sleek ponytail. Between that and the dark liner on her eyes, the light green seemed almost iridescent. That or it was her ire that had them sparkling.
“Technically, there is a difference,” he informed her. “I was gonna make a suggestion to—”
JJ waved him off. “Do whatever you want, Detective. With whoever you want. It’s not like I give a damn who you spend your time with.”
And now he was back to being Detective.
Something inside him snapped, had him surging to his feet. In three steps, he was at her desk, spinning her chair around so she faced him. Baz bent over, planting his hands on the arms of her chair and putting his face in hers.
“First of all, don’t feed me this shit about you not givin’ a damn,” he said, his voice low. “You can pretend all day long that there isn’t somethin’ here, but I’m not buyin’ it. I feel somethin’ for you, JJ. What, I don’t know yet, but I’d damn sure like to explore it and find out.”
Her mouth opened, then closed. She’d clearly cut off her retort.
Baz shifted his hands so he could make the chair lean back, allowing him to look down on her.
“This … whatever this is, JJ, is worth explorin’. Don’t pretend otherwise.”
“It’s not if you have a female partner,” she whispered back.
Baz released her chair, stood tall, then forced himself to walk away. Part of him was relieved that JJ was actually showing a reaction at all considering this back-and-forth they’d been doing since he started working here. No, it hadn’t been long, but with the tension growing between them, it felt like an eternity.
As he strolled away from her, he recalled his conversation with Reese. He had mentioned JJ’s ex had taken up with his secretary while they were together.
Son of a bitch.
He exhaled slowly, calmed himself so he could be rational.
And to think, he’d entertained the idea of talking to Brantley about keeping him here in the office with JJ. He could manage the caseload for the teams, work through what he could, reach out to the original detectives to get a feel for what you couldn’t learn by reading notes and divvy them to the teams based on who had the time or the most experience with that particular situation. He seriously doubted Brantley or Reese would have time to do that. From what he could tell, they were anticipating handling the new cases.
And right now, Baz was the only one with real experience when it came to missing persons. Trial by fire notwithstanding.
“She’s gay, JJ,” he finally said when he turned back to face her.
“What?”
“Charlie. She’s a lesbian.”
“So you didn’t sleep with her?”
He laughed, but it sounded a bit hysterical. “Just what do you think of me, JJ? That I’m some sort of player? The hit-it-and-quit-it type?”
“I don’t know what you are,” she snapped back. “I don’t know you, Baz.”
“But the time you’ve been with me? Is that how I come off to you?”
She had the decency to look embarrassed. “No. That’s not how you come off.”
He took a step toward her, then decided he would extend the olive branch.
“I like you,” he admitted. “A lot. No, a helluva lot. And like I told you, I’m in no rush. I’m willin’ to be your friend until you deem me worthy of datin’. If that day never comes, I won’t consider it a waste of my time. I just want to spend time with you, JJ.” He held up a hand before she could argue. “No, not only here in the office, either.”
