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I wondered how old she was. She looked like maybe she was in her twenties, but she held herself with the assurance of an older woman. Noting the tiny laugh lines at the corner of her eyes, I was guessing early thirties.

Her outfit was nondescript, but then again, it wasn’t like she should be walking around here in a pencil skirt and heels. Even the boring conservative clothes couldn’t hide her curvy hips, thick thighs, and full breasts.

One corner of my mouth quirked up as I remembered the way she’d sassed me about my shoes. Looking down now, I could see that she did in fact have steel toed boots on, partly hidden by the hem of her black pants.

“Okay Mr. Jeffers, I’m ready now.”

I walked towards her and tried to look less grumpy. I’d been told many times that I had ‘resting grump face’. Mostly by my sister, but I didn’t want to alienate this woman more than I probably already had. After all, she was going to be my wife someday. She just didn’t know it yet.

“Please call me George. Only the suits go by ‘mister’ around here.”

She smirked. “Okay then George, in that case you can call me Cassandra. Let’s get started. Can you walk me through the process from beginning to end? And just so you know, I trained as an engineer, so you don’t need to dumb it down for me.”

“Can I ask you something, Cassie?”

She nodded. “Yes. And it’s Cassandra.”

I ignored her correction. Cassie seemed to suit her.

“You’ve done this kind of study for Thomas Industries before? At other factories?”

“Yes, not just at factories but at other work locations as well. I’ve been traveling all over the country doing this work for a little over ten years now.”

“Do you ever save them?”

A tiny little line appeared between her brows as she considered my question, making me revise her age up a couple of years.

“Save the factories?” she clarified.

“Yeah. Weston said if we don’t figure out a way to save the factory, you’re supposed to come up with a shutdown plan.”

She looked thoughtful.

“Saving the factories is always my goal George. I don’t want anyone to lose their jobs, ever. I’ve seen firsthand what that does to a town like this.”

As much as I was irritated that corporate had sent someone in to evaluate us, I believed Cassie when she said she wanted to help. It made my irritation towards her decrease dramatically. Well, my irritation over her project anyway. I’d been half convinced that corporate had already made up their minds and had just sent Cassie in for show, so they could say they tried to keep jobs in the country.

I was still at least a little bit irritated at the knowledge that, one way or another, this woman was going to disrupt my peaceful life.

“In that case, I’m going to do everything I can to help you succeed in your mission. You’ll have my full cooperation.”

“I’m thrilled to hear that, George. I have a feeling that we’re going to be a great team.”

Her smile lit up her face and stopped my heart for a beat. She was fudging beautiful. Crap, I was a goner about this woman already. What was I going to do?

Cassandra

“It’s not going to work.”

“Yes, it will!”

“The metal won’t hold.”

“I’m an engineer George, and I’m telling you that this metal will withstand the pressure. I’ve tested it myself.”

I’d spent the last two days following George around like a puppy, reviewing processes on the floor and making notes. And bickering. Somehow we’d started behaving like one of those old married couples you see in the grocery store, arguing over the price of milk. It was kind of fun honestly. Neither of us had been angry, it was more like we enjoyed arguing. It was almost like...foreplay.

Or maybe it was just me who was hoping we could put all this passion to another use.