Page 48 of Bound By Fire
“Yes, obviously. I am his main point of contact at this facility. If I even looked at him sideways in a personal way, we would have a conflict of interest the size of this building.”
“So you have looked at him sideways.”
“Carla, please.”
She grins at me.
“I have not looked at him sideways. Stop twisting my words,” I tell her.
“But you did consider whether it would be appropriate, which means you thought about it long enough to decide it wouldn’t be. Which means?—”
“It means I am a professional and I am doing my job.” I start walking again, because it is the only way to end this conversation. “He is off limits to everyone, me included.”
Carla skips two steps to catch up, and I can feel her smugness radiating off her without even looking.
“Well, that’s a relief,” she says. “I didn’t want to have to fight you for him.”
I laugh all over again. I love her. “Don’t make me fire you.”
“You love me.”
“I tolerate you.”
“That is love in a small, tidy package.”
I shake my head, and I’m smiling, even though I’d rather not be.
“Excuse me…Carla. I need your help,” someone says from behind us, and I know exactly who that someone is.
A tingle rushes up my spine as I turn.
Ridge isn’t that far behind us.
Crap!
How much did he hear?
His eyes go to me first, then to Carla, then back to me.
“Dr. Keller.”
“Commander.”
“You can call me Ridge.”
“Ridge.” I say it only because he looks like he wants me to.
He turns to Carla. “I need to speak to someone in your IT department. I have questions about your intake systems and the pharmaceutical tracking software. Who is the right person?”
“Are you sure I can’t get you something to drink while you work?” Carla asks.
Ridge scowls like someone just shot him in the knee. “NO. I’m fine. I need someone from IT?”
“Oh…yeah…of course. No problem,” Carla says. “Jimmy is our senior systems guy. I can walk you up there now.”
“Thank you.”
His eyes come back to me while she’s saying it. He’s the kind of tall that makes me aware of my own neck. I tilt my head back a fraction so I can meet his look squarely, and I catch myself doing the top-to-bottom sweep of his shoulders before I register what my eyes are doing. I snap them back up to his face.
