“That’s awesome.Congrats, Sand.”Carson smiled at his friend.
“Thanks.”
They stood in awkward silence for a moment.“What are you doing here?”Allie asked, breaking the silence.
“We’re getting lunch too.”
“Oh, what a coincidence; we’re in the same area at the same time.I thought you worked on the other side of town though.”She still didn’t know where it was.He was so secretive about the most mundane things.As if knowing where he worked, she’d just randomly show up there one day.
Sandy knew where it was, so why couldn’t she?Next time they were alone, she’d ask him just that.She didn’t want to embarrass him and put him on the spot by asking now in front of his friend.
“We don’t, but Jack here likes the food at Benji’s.”Carson looked at Jack and then back at her.“Sorry, Allie, this is Jack Williams.He and I work together.Jack, this is Allie.”
“Finally, someone introduces me to this beautiful creature.A pleasure,” Jack purred, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.
“Ah, one of the elusive secret government coworkers.”Allie giggled, looking at Carson before shifting her gaze back to Jack.He was handsome, and he seemed the type of guy who knew it and flaunted it.Not an attractive trait in her opinion.Sandy had name-dropped him once.She seemed to hate him for some reason.Called him a playboy.
Allie could totally see it.She pulled her hand back from his and wanted to go wash it.Who knew how many people he’d kissed with those lips?Ten?Hundreds?That was just today.
Jack’s eyes bulged open.“Carson told you that?”He looked over at Carson with a slinky grin.“Naughty boy, telling our secrets.”
“No, but he said he works for the government and doesn’t talk about it, so I just call it secret government work.”
“It’s hardly as exciting as you make it sound.Mostly paper pushing.”Carson’s phone started to ring.He pulled it from his pocket.“Excuse me a moment.”Carson stepped away and answered.“Hey, Charlotte.”He stepped even further away so Allie couldn’t hear any more of the conversation.
Allie noted how happy Carson was to be getting a call from this Charlotte woman.He was also being very secretive.She wasn’t expecting him to have a phone conversation in front of everyone, but he was hunched over and kept looking around as if worried someone would overhear him.
And what was with him saying he did paper pushing?One didn’t go on a business trip for that.There was a lot more going on here, and she was getting tired of all the non-answers.There were certain things he couldn’t tell her, that she understood.But this seemed like more.
“So, Allie, I hear you work with Sandy here,” Jack said, pulling her focus from Carson.
Was he genuinely curious or was he trying to distract her?Regardless, it was rude to ignore him.“Yeah, we’ve worked at the same place for a few years now.”
“What do you do there?”
“I’m the executive director of marketing.”
“That’s really cool.”He nodded, but she could tell he wasn’t really listening or engaging in the conversation, which made her think he was distracting her from Carson and his mysterious phone call with Charlotte.
“Do you even know what that is, Jack?”Sandy crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive move.
“She’s in charge of marketing.I do know things, Sandy.”
“How long have you known Carson for?”
“Since we were both hired around the same time, three years ago.”
“Oh, are you guys in the same department or just the same building?”
“Same department.”
“Were you a SEAL as well or another performing mammal?”Jack gave her a strange look while Sandy just laughed.
“More like a monkey, if you ask me.”Sandy snorted.
“Ha-ha,” Jack said without humor.“I was in the Army.Ranger to be exact.”Jack stood taller, giving her a once-over.“Much better than your performing mammal, was it?I was as stealthy as a panther, strong as an elephant, and I’m just as long too.”He smiled and winked.A look Allie was sure worked on many women but not her.
“Oh please,” Sandy muttered next to her.Allie could hear her eyes rolling.“Then how did you get injured, huh?”
