Page 66 of Omega's Fever
His mouth quirks. “Better than the lobby?”
“Marginally.”
Kao’s already in the conference room when we arrive, surrounded by boxes of merger documents. His face lights up when he sees me, then does something complicated when he spots Kellen. He frowns, then grins and offers his hand.
“I didn’t thank you for charging across the park like some kind of action hero.” Kao settles back into his chair, grinning. “My brothers are still talking about it. They’ve insisted on escorting me to and from work now. Apparently, I need protection from scary men who might be lurking.”
“Not a bad idea,” Kellen says, claiming the chair nearest the door.
Kao catches my eye, and we share a moment of amused understanding about overprotective alphas. Even as warmth spreads through my chest at the thought of Kellen wanting to keep me safe.
“Can I borrow your laptop?” Kellen asks as we settle in to work. “Need to check on some things.”
I slide my personal laptop across to him without thinking. It’s almost peaceful, working like this. Kao and I trading notes on the merger while Kellen types quietly in the corner. Like we’re just three normal people doing normal jobs.
The illusion lasts until lunch, when Kao stretches and announces he’s going to grab sandwiches from the deli across the street.
“Want anything?” he asks, already pulling on his coat.
“Turkey on rye,” I say automatically. “Extra pickles.”
Kellen looks up from the laptop. “I’ll come with you.”
“Nothing is going to happen in broad daylight,” Kao says, waving him off.
Kellen looks like he is going to argue, but I lay a hand on his massive bicep and he relents.
After he leaves, the conference room feels smaller. More intimate. I can feel Kellen watching me as I work, the weight of his gaze like a physical touch.
“Find anything interesting?” I ask, not looking up from the contract I’m reviewing.
“Maybe.” His voice is thoughtful. “I think I’ve found Penelope.” He turns the laptop so I can see the screen. “According to this, she just started working at a nursing home uptown.”
I study the Facebook profile he’s pulled up. I have no idea how he knows its her. The name is Penny, no surname and her profile picture is a dog sitting on a bright orange sofa.
“You sure that’s her.”
“Yeah. She showed me enough pictures of that dog for me to recognize it anywhere.”
“You think she might testify?”
“Depends on how scared she is.” He turns the laptop back around. “But she knew the truth about what Cobb was doing. Saw things.”
Hope flutters in my chest. Until we found out about the baby, he point blank refused to get anyone else involved. “We could—”
“I’ll handle it,” he says firmly. “I need to keep her safe so I’m going to need to be careful about approaching her. I—”
He breaks off as the door opens: Kao returning with our food.
The rest of the day passes quickly. We work in companionable silence until the sun starts slanting low through the windows.
I stay finishing up a few things after Kao leaves. Kellen seems content to wait for me. He has a quiet stillness to him thatdoesn’t match what he looks like. It’s almost possible to forget he is there sometimes, but then I catch him watching me with those dark eyes and then I don’t think he is still at all. He’s a man who watches, thinks and when he looks at me like that, I realize that Cobb doesn’t stand a chance.
A small smile plays at the corner of his mouth as he catches me watching and I look away.
“Ready to go?” I ask, starting to pack up files.
“Yeah.” He closes the laptop, stretching muscles that have been still too long. “Good to be heading home.”