Rhett was quiet for a while after he got off the phone with his mom, and then he disappeared outside to talk to the new security team Carver had been able to put together in a matter of hours.

I’d met the linebacker-sized guys, but in the craziness, their names hadn’t stuck with me. I never wanted to be that asshole client who didn’t think of service providers by their names, but I thought I deserved a pass on this one. Besides, Rhett was covering that side of things. After I jokingly called us Team Awesome, I decided I wasn’t kidding. We could be a powerhouse duo. Before I could let my imagination wander, my cell rang through a secure phone line app that I’d gone back to using.

Esme and Erik.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“We’re holding down the fort. So far, so good.” This came from Erik.

“That’s good. No sign of the zero?” I asked. Erik had taken to calling Carlos “the zero” because he was on a World War II kick right now.

“Nope. Nothing. We’ve upped security protocol, and the critical team has been alerted that all precautions should be taken. The building isn’t admitting anyone who isn’t on the employee roster without heavy advanced screening.”

I didn’t like the idea of my company running like a prison, but in this case, I was happy to take the better safe than sorry route. After all, it wasn’t every day I got on the wrong side of a Mexican drug cartel.

“Anything else new?”

“Not much. We were more calling to get an update on how it’s going in lockdown land with the sexy Rhett Hennessy. Did ya get some?” Esme was shameless.

“As your boss, I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask that question.”

“Ohhh, you know that means she did! Score, girl!”

Erik’s enthusiasm had my cheeks turning pink and doubly glad this line was untappable and untraceable. “We are not discussing this.”

“Sure, boss. Whatever you say. Not discussing the fact that you finally banged the guy you’ve been lusting after your whole life.”

They didn’t realize what was happening between Rhett and me was so much more, but I wasn’t about to lay it out for them right now.

“And moving on . . . Is there anything else we need to discuss?”

Both Erik and Esme morphed into the super-capable employees I knew they were and gave me a rundown on everything I’d missed. Basically, despite the increased security measures, things were running smoothly.

“There’s only one thing that was a little weird,” Esme said. “I wasn’t going to mention it, but given the situation . . .”

“What?”

“Jan Hofer called in sick three days in a row after having nearly perfect attendance since her appendix was removed a few years ago.”

Jan Hofer was an R&D scientist who was part of the facial-recognition project.

“Have you called her? Checked on her? Found out if she’s really sick or if she’s missing?”

“We’re on it. We’re going to have security check out her place to make sure everything’s okay. HR called her twice, but got her voice mail both times.”

A creepy sense of uneasiness swept over me. “Tell them to be careful. Let me know what they say ASAP.”

“No problem. We’ll report back,” Esme promised.

When we hung up, I logged into my company’s intranet and dug up Jan’s notes from her research the last few weeks. Nothing was out of the ordinary, but still . . . I didn’t like the coincidence.

I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but I wouldn’t feel settled about it until Esme and Erik called back with more information. She can just be sick, I told myself.

In the meantime, I needed a distraction.

Rhett opened the door to the bedroom. “Hey, Red. You in a good place to take a break for a couple hours?”

Exactly the distraction I needed.

My stomach growled, and I realized it had been almost six hours since we’d eaten last. “I could be talked into that.”

He nodded. “Good. Then meet me down in the pool room when you’re finished. We’ve got a date.”

“A date?”

“Yeah. And if you wanted to put on a dress and no panties, I wouldn’t argue with you.” With a wink, Rhett closed the door before I could respond.

A dress with no panties?

I looked around the room as though someone else could confirm what I’d just heard, but there was no one.

What does he have planned? I rose from the bed and stretched my arms and kinked muscles before moving to the closet where my limited wardrobe hung. My gaze locked on a navy-blue T-shirt dress with a V-neck that I wouldn’t look out of place walking around in at home.

I stripped off my shorts and panties, and pulled it on.

Ask and you shall receive, Rhett Hennessy.