Brittany blinked. “Was that a joke?”
“Why would you think so?”
She laughed. He was quite funny. “Probably because computers don’t have emotions, so they can’t worry. Now, what brings you here?”
“I need you.”
Those words almost melted her on the spot. She had the greatest urge to hop across the coffee table between them, right into his lap. The butterflies in her belly had just gone absolutely wild. Never had she been so thoroughly turned on, and incredibly, just by words.
Chapter 10
IT TOOK BRITTANY NEARLY A MINUTE TO CONVINCE HERSELFthat Dalden’s definition of need was a far cry from hers. That he hadn’t moved from his position on the couch sort of pushed her toward that conclusion sooner than her body was acknowledging. Sheknewshe should have broken down and bought an air conditioner for the apartment; a blast of icy air would definitely be welcome at the moment.
She settled for sinking into the matching lounge chair next to the couch and inconspicuously fanning herself. Hearing his definition of need would probably help even more, so she asked, “What can I do for you that your embassy can’t?”
“I must find the man Jorran in all haste,” he told her. “Yet I am not assured of recognizing him if I see him, because he may have changed his appearance from when I last saw him. You would know him, though, as you did me, for someone not from your country.”
“Well, that’s debatable,” she replied, pointing out, “It was only your accent—”
“He will speak differently, as do I.”
She chuckled. “I hope you’re not talking about having a chat with everyone in town, just to hear their accents.”
“If such is needful—”
“Time out,” she cut in. “I was joking. We’re a small town, but we still have a population now exceeding twenty thousand residents. If even half of those are men, you’re talking a heck of a lot of time to track them all down for a little chat. And I was under the impression that you don’t have a lot of time.”
“Nor do I. Nor will it be needful. Jorran will wish to make contact with the one you call Mayor, so he will most likely be found in the vicinity of this leader.”
“What’s he want with Mayor Sullivan?”
“His position.”
“His position on what?”
He looked confused. Brittanywasconfused. He tried to clarify. “He will try to become mayor here. I must stop him before he succeeds.”
“He’s here to run against Sullivan? But I thought he was a foreigner like you?”
“He is.”
“Then I don’t get it. You have to be an American citizen to run for political office in this country. How could he not know that?”
Dalden grinned, showing signs of relief. “Because he is as ignorant of your traditions as I am.”
She grinned back. “Well, there you go, your problem is solved.”
He sighed now. “Actually, it is not. I still must find him and remove him from your country before he causes problems here.”
“Ah, international incident of the big sort, huh?” It was pretty obvious when he glanced down at the earphone at his feet that he was in need of an explanation. Brittany tried. “A big ruckus that would make the papers in both our countries, to everyone’s embarrassment?” When he still looked blank, she added, “Oh, go ahead, pick it up. I’m sureshecan make you understand.”
He nodded, did so, and after a very long moment of having the earphone attached again, said to Brittany, “Your analysis is appropriate. Will you help me?”
“I’d love to, really I would, but I don’t see how I can. You need someone with more time on their hands than I have. But with two jobs tying me up for most of the week, the only time I could help you would be on Sundays, and that doesn’t seem nearly enough when you’ve made it clear you’re in a hurry to get this wrapped up.”
“You misunderstand, Brittany Callaghan. I wish to pay for your time, for you to work only for me until my task here is accomplished.”
He lifted the large medallion off his chest and off his neck, leaning over to hand it to her. Her hand actually dropped before she put some effort into holding it up. The medallion was really heavy, with the added weight of the chain, which was more the size of a bicycle chain than a piece of jewelry, probably weighing ten pounds itself.
