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His finger lifted to trace the slope of her jaw on the computer screen.
A white cocktail napkin waved in front of him.
“Would you care for a drink, sir?” The male flight attendant glanced at Nathalie’s photo on Ryder’s computer, then back at Ryder with a knowing smile.
Ryder opened his mouth to ask for a Coke. “Gin and tonic, please. Bombay Sapphire.”
He stared at Nathalie’s photo for the rest of the flight.
The appointment at Williams Advanced Avionics wasn’t until fourteen hundred on Monday. Ryder arrived early.
The company occupied the entire top floor of a six-story red-brick building in Fairfax, Virginia. He parked his rental Chevy Suburban in one of the open spaces. Despite the warmth of the day, he slid back into his suit coat, fastened the top button, and straightened his tie, then took the lift to the sixth floor.
His heart thudded faster with every passing number on the panel.
The doors opened to reveal a dark wood reception desk that dwarfed the black-haired, twenty-something woman in a maroon knit top seated behind it. The name Williams Advanced Avionics hung on the soft gray wall in a bold splash of metallic blue and silver. To the right of the reception desk was a small seating area with a dark blue couch and two solid gray armchairs surrounding a dark wood coffee table.
Ryder stepped to the desk, ignoring the receptionist’s widening brown eyes. “Good afternoon. I have an appointment with Ms. Williams.” His gaze dropped to the hardcover textbook in front of her.Managing Risk Through Catastrophe Modeling.
Impressive.
“Um,” the woman stammered. “May I ask your name?” Copper stained her dusky cheeks.
It’s not what you think.
In his opinion, he didn’t resemble the British actor everyone mentioned when they met himthatclosely, but he knew the effect his appearance had on people. They paused. Assessed. Having a similar accent as the other man didn’t help.
“I’m from Dìleas Security Agency.” He left out his name.
The receptionist picked up her phone. “Ms. Williams? A man from Dìleas Security Agency is here to see you.” She nodded at Ryder as she hung up and pointed to the seating area. “She’ll be with you in a moment. You can wait over there.”
“Thank you.” Ryder could feel her gaze linger on him as he walked over to the couch and picked up the magazine on the coffee table,Aviation Week. A restless energy plagued him, making sitting impossible. He dropped the magazine back onto the table and instead stared out the window overlooking the car park and landscaped natural areas.
In the distance, the cluster of high-rise buildings in nearby Tysons Corner dominated a skyline of mostly low and mid-rise buildings in the region. The canopy of trees showed faint signs of autumn with patchy spots of pale yellow, but the full display of vibrant gold, orange and red wouldn’t take place for another few weeks.
He’d dreamed of Nathalie last night—the way she looked when they were together, lying on a blanket in the Oxford Botanic Garden on a crisp spring day, a faint mist coating her skin as they traded kisses while pretending to study. He’d pretended, at least. She’d been the better student all around.
He’d try to distract her by running his lips along the back of her neck, sliding his fingers beneath the hem of her jumper to stroke the satiny skin of her back. She’d shiver in the cool, damp air and swat at him with a mock frown, even as her eyes promised hot, sweaty nights.
Not even an ice-cold shower had tamed the hard-on he’d woken up with this morning in his hotel room. Taking matters into his own hands, he’d cursed Nathalie for the power she still held over his memories.
And that’s all she was. A memory.
One he would put into proper perspective once he met the current version of Nathalie—as far removed from the girl she’d once been as he was from the boy who’d loved her.
The reality of standing in her father’s company—her company now—waiting for her to receive him brought him back to the task at hand. Lucas Caldwell wanted Nathalie safe. His job was to perform a threat assessment and convince her that Dìleas could be of service.
He texted Penny that he’d be meeting with the president of Williams in place of Caleb and asked her to email a copy of his credentials to Nathalie.
Next, he performed a quick scan of his surroundings. The lift opened directly into the reception area and only required an access key after six p.m. What about the stairs? Someone knowledgeable could access the sixth floor via the emergency stairwells, even with the doors locked on the stairwell side. No security cameras were evident.
He made some notes on his phone to send to Nathan so the former SEAL could do a sweep of company spaces and recommend security upgrades. These offices were a soft target that needed to be hardened as much as was reasonably possible.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” A sultry alto he remembered all too well came from the hallway to his left.
He shoved his memories, along with any residual emotion, into the far recesses of his brain and slammed the door before pivoting to face the woman who’d walked away from him without a backward glance.
His heart jolted like it had been defibrillated back to life.