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Oscar stood, snapping a salute. “Yes, sir.”

David motioned toward the door. “Dismissed.”

With that, Reyes walked out, a noticeable limp in his step. David stared at the door thoughtfully, hoping he wasn’t pushing things too far. Philip had enough sway with Command through his connections that David was already pushing his luck trying to move the man to another position. Reyes had only recovered from his injuries over the last few months, and there was no telling what his mental state was like after being half-blown to hell. If David’s decision blew up in his face, Reyes might pay a higher price than everyone else.

“Hell,” David muttered.

His door opened, and Christian walked in, frowning down at a tablet. “Why am I expected to order some fancy keyboard and have it here and ready to use on Monday?”

David eyed him. “Normally, people warn me before they walk into my office.”

Christian looked up. “And why is it being delivered to this office instead of somewhere else?”

David sighed. “Because you’re getting an assistant.”

Christian narrowed his eyes. “I told you, I don’t need the help.”

Yes, he had, several times as far as David could remember. Honestly, with how quick Christian was to refuse help and how adamantly he’d been sticking to it, David wondered if he hadn’t struck a nerve by suggesting it.

“Well, good for us both because this isn’t necessarily about helping you. It’s about helping the man who just left my office and me,” David told him.

“No offense, but how does my getting an assistant help you?” Christian asked, a wounded note in his voice.

David smiled. “You’re doing the work of three people, and then some probably. Trust me, this isn’t because you’re not doing your job well.”

“I wasn’t thinking that,” Christian said, though the relief in his eyes betrayed his thoughts.

David pointed to the door, “Close that if you would.”

Christian did so. “What’s going on?”

“I hope to place Reyes directly under Philip...as a second in command. It will give him a good feel for the job, and more likely than not, Philip will pass a great deal onto Reyes.”

“Which makes him look bad and Reyes better.”

David winced. “I don’t want...to ruin Philip’s career or have him demoted. There are plenty of positions somewhere else that would suit him far better. And I firmly believe Reyes has the potential to perform the role quite well.”

“So, not so much ruin him, but make Reyes look better.”

David nodded. “If I wanted to ruin Philip, I could. But this isn’t about that, and never was.”

“Wait, what dirt do you have on Philip?”

David blinked, realizing he’d let information slip. Damn, what was it about Christian that drove David to forget himself so easily?

“Don’t worry about that. That’s between Philip and me.”

Christian huffed. “Well, that’s no fun. You can’t tease me with some delicious tidbit and leave it a mystery.”

“I can when I shouldn’t have said anything to begin with.”

Christian continued to stare at him with a frown. David would never admit it, but he honestly couldn’t take the frown seriously. Something was endearing about his subordinate, a man over twenty years his junior, trying to stare him down. As much as he knew it would ruin Christian’s attempts if David called it cute, there was no way he was saying it.

Christian sighed, giving up. “Alright, so what am I supposed to do?”

“Order the keyboard for him and have it here overnight so you can look it over. After that, get him going with his setup and teach him how to do your job.”

“And how does that help?”