Page 5 of Seductive Architect (Grunts of Vanguard #2)

Janet: Connie sold you out. Interoffice romance?

Janet: What’s our stud’s name?

Wyatt: He’s big like me. I hope he likes little men, Orion.

Drew: Why do we have to go to Connie for info on you?

Drew: You know you can talk to us.

Wyatt: Yes, Earth friend. Share with us.

Janet: Unless you’d prefer I order you a Turbo Thunder 3000.

Janet: Money well spent!

In the building lobby, I sipped my frappe, watching employees arrive for work.

While Secret Identities only housed five employees, Synergy had hundreds.

Despite Ricardo’s protests, I ran facial recognition on every person who entered.

If anybody out of the ordinary set foot on the property, I’d receive a notification.

Today, however, we only had the usual suspects.

We were overdue for a supervillain to trash the front yard.

Ricardo stood in the lobby, hands on his hips.

While he greeted his employees, shaking hands and waving, I imagined him coated in silver.

I hadn’t told Arthur I knew his boyfriend had a secret identity.

If they wanted to keep it undercover, they shouldn’t be having sex in the janitor’s closet.

Ricardo got brownie points for the unique uses of his powers while naked.

Not even a year old, Synergy’s lobby had already been destroyed once.

New buildings always had a tendency of being demolished by supervillains.

I’m pretty sure it was a requirement to join the Chamber of Commerce.

Thankfully, the pristine, state-of-the-art facility persisted.

We had a betting pool for the next attack.

Arthur protested… until he placed his bets.

With this many people in a building designed for scientific research, the hum of electronics bordered on deafening.

Deep in the background, I detected the same code I had with Hudson.

It was probably nothing more than a company-issued device, but I couldn’t shake a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Something set off alarms, and I learned to listen when they sounded.

I reached the end of my frappe, slurping the last bit. It was almost time for me to head to work. My reconnaissance would have to wait until lunch.

“Please tell me you’re just enjoying your… what the hell is that?”

Janet had arrived at work, her usual seven minutes late. “A cookie frappe.” I slurped, trying to get the last chunk of chocolate. “It’s delicious.”

“Speaking of delicious…” Janet didn’t have a subtle bone in her body. If she thought it, her mouth spoke it. I’d never admit it aloud, but I appreciated the candor. Most people filtered themselves until they distorted reality. Not Janet.

“Can we talk about that mailroom guy?”

“Hudson.”

“Even the name.” She leaned on the table, pressing her breasts together. The “ladies,” as she liked to call them, might very well be her superpower. On more than one mission, they had come in handy. “What do you know about him?”

“He works in the mailroom.”

“It’s cute that you think I’m like everybody else.” The thought couldn’t be further from my mind. “So, he introduced himself. Woo.” Her finger spun about as she rolled her eyes. “What do you know about him?”

Everybody at Secret Identities tolerated my determination to uncover the truth. Arthur called it a hobby. Drew thought I might be paranoid. Wyatt… I never knew what he th ought. I barely understood the average human. Aliens were another matter altogether.

“His work files say he was doing mail intake. He recently switched to delivery. He’s been at Synergy for six months. That explains why we haven’t seen him before.”

The crowd thinned as employees vanished into elevators and offices.

A handful of people sat in the area with sofas, poking at laptops.

If I concentrated, I’d be able to see what they worked on.

Most of Synergy’s projects were boring, developing technology I could make in my sleep.

Now and then, a scientist had a breakout moment.

I filed those inventions away for future investigation.

“What doesn’t it explain?”

Janet waggled her eyebrows. She might be the embodiment of chaos, but there were moments when I wondered if it was a clever guise. I’m glad she played for the good guys. Janet was only a secret lair away from being the most dangerous supervillain in Vanguard.

“He doesn’t exist before his employment here.”

“Did you try looking?—”

“No. I mean, there is nothing on him prior to that.”

Janet mulled it over for a moment, chewing her top lip. “Social media?”

“None.”

“Driver’s license?”

“Nope.”

“Dating profile? ”

“Yes, but not before?—”

“So, you saw his dating profile?”

Dammit. Janet had led me down the path, trapping me. Did I tell her his profile photo had the same goofy grin? Or that it included a lot of talk about looking for somebody to experience the world with? No. No. No. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

“I’m thorough.”

“Hung?”

“What?”

Janet reached across the table, grabbing my wrist. “I need to know. Does he have an impressive package?”

“It didn’t say. Before you ask, no, there were no photos.” She let go of my wrist, standing up. “And can we take a minute to discuss the memo from HR? Why should we be submitting nudes?”

“Identifying marks in case of kidnapping.” Janet smirked. With anybody else, I’d be suspicious. With her, she might actually be serious. Though I’m sure if I pressed, there were ulterior motives as well.

“Can I be honest with you?”

I raised an eyebrow. If Janet asked for permission, it meant I wouldn’t like whatever was about to come out of her mouth. Did she even know the definition of consent?

“You’re going to ask, anyway.”

“Ask him out.”

“Hudson? ”

“I don’t even know him. There are no files?—”

Her face went neutral, and I bit my tongue.

I sensed the building of a Janet “Truth Bomb.” Despite her ability to throw every conversation into disarray, Janet had a way of presenting a blunt reality.

It was both exhausting and refreshing. Whatever stirred in that brain, she prepared to unleash a world of wisdom… or pain.

“There are more ways to learn about a person than reading files.”

“But—”

“Does conversation scare you?”

“I’m having one with you.”

“Are you scared?”

“No,” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest. Janet had become a worthy sparring opponent. Should she grow bored with being a good guy, we’d have to assemble all the heroes in Vanguard to stop her.

“If Connie can find herself a man, so can you.”

My desktop computer had found herself a man?

She hadn’t mentioned it last night as we scoured the wall.

Though the more I thought about it, I could see where my laser focus alienated those around me.

Knee-deep in case files, hacking security cameras, and scouring the dark web, I didn’t stop to ask simple questions like, “How was your day?”

Dammit. Her truth bomb had gone off, leaving me feeling like a terrible person .

“Wouldn’t it be nice to sit down and have a real conversation?”

If she knew what happened with the last man I mustered the courage to speak with, she might think otherwise. She pointed toward the door. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Talking to people wasn’t just awkward. It was dangerous. Conversations weren’t code I could debug. He wasn’t some corporate plant. He was… normal. That was the problem.

I watched as Hudson sauntered through the lobby.

The bright white dress shirt hugged his belly, showing off his love handles and struggling to contain his chest. If that wasn’t enough to get my attention, the suspenders holding up his pants emphasize his width and girth.

He could’ve passed through a hundred times, and I wouldn’t have noticed.

Not because he wasn’t handsome, but because I never looked up from my screen.

Janet had a point. If that slipped by unnoticed, perhaps I needed to stop and evaluate my life.

Not all men were four-foot-tall dwarves, unable to raid a wizard’s dungeon on their own.

Part of me hated that I lusted after him.

Not that the biological response bothered me.

It had more to do with admitting I wanted to talk to him like a person.

“I know that face.” She stood up, throwing down an invisible mic. “You’ve been bombed!” Her hands went up in an explosion. “BOOM! You’re welcome. ”

Janet’s sound effects got Hudson’s attention. I could get lost in his smile. He gave a slight wave as he headed toward the elevator. I flashed a quick smile, showing far too many teeth.

Janet had a point. Perhaps I needed to come up from my research.

What could go wrong with a casual conversation?

I didn’t know the answer. Unlike machines, I couldn’t predict outcomes or adjust code as we went.

At best, it remained awkward, at worst… no, I wouldn’t let that happen.

If I needed an exit strategy, I’d fake a phone call and call it a work emergency.

Even as I planned the escape, I thought back to the long handshake.

I wanted to touch Hudson again.

Not for research. He made me want to try. That was the worst part.

“Now get to work,” she said, turning around and walking to the elevator. “Your tardiness is going in your file. And don’t forget the physical assessment photos.”

Why did I need this job again?

“Thanks for dropping off Janet’s package.”

I stared at the text message. Did I start off with an introduction?

Should I mention Janet’s vibrator? I had paced about my office for the last ten minutes while our update went out to the cell phones of every hero in Vanguard.

Janet’s taunting had gotten to me. I would have said I could handle small talk, but my agonizing over the text made it clear I struggled.

“Just send it,” Connie said.

“Does it send the right message?”

“Would it be better if you mentioned wanting to see him naked?”

“I don’t want to?—”

“Liar.” Connie had been especially spicy today. “I’ve seen your browser history. He sort of looks like a tall dwarf. Besides, if you don’t…”

I heard the swoosh of a sent text message. Glancing down at my phone, my eyes widened at the “Sent” on the screen.

“Oops,” Connie said. “My finger slipped.”

A holographic winking emoji appeared in the center of the office. I wanted to be angry, but it saved me spending another ten minutes debating on what to send. Connie didn’t have the programming for fear.

Hudson: Who is this?

Shit. I got his phone number from the company records.

Now, I’d either appear an idiot, or worse, some sort of creeper.

How did Connie not catch that? Or… had she sent it without thinking?

While her sass had increased since working here, she never seemed impulsive. I’d have to run a diagnostic tonight.

Orion: Sorry about that. It’s Orion.

Hudson: Awkward handshake guy.

Hudson: No problem. It’s my job!

“It’s like you’re a natural,” she said.

“Stop reading my text messages,” I shot back. I had integrated Connie with every piece of tech at my disposal. I sacrificed privacy for efficiency.

“Do you want me to send a follow-up text?”

“I can do it.”

“Can you?”

“You’re not allowed to hang out with Janet anymore.” Perhaps it had less to do with our bringer of chaos and more to do with her new man? I’d be sure to bring this up when we had a moment. “I can handle a simple text.” Before she could respond, I jumped in. “Don’t even think about sassing me.”

Orion: Would you be interested in getting lunch?

Hudson: Really ?

Orion: We both need to eat, right?

Unless he was, in fact, a robot. So far, I didn’t have evidence to suggest it.

Though his lack of identity raised a number of questions.

He could be part of Witness Protection and living under a new name.

Witness Protection had doubled down on its security after it caught a mysterious hacker decimating its firewalls.

Hudson: It’s a date.

“See, I can handle myself.”

“That is until you realize it’s an actual date.”

I scoffed. Wait… had I just… “That’s just something people say.

” I stared at the text message, as if I glared hard enough, I’d squeeze out the underlying meaning.

Was it an obvious statement, or was he flirting?

Part of me wanted to gather intel about our mystery man.

The other part… I didn’t hate the idea of going on a date with him. What could it hurt? One date.

“Connie,” I whispered. “Did I just ask a person of interest on a date?”

“They grow up so quickly.” Heart emojis appeared in the center of the room before popping.

“Who knows, if you hit it off, we can go on a double date.” It was the first time Connie had admitted to having a significant other.

I wasn’t sure if I felt jealous or proud.

Though I’m not sure sitting on the couch with Virtual Reality goggles constituted a date.

“He’s a mark,” I said, imagining his face plastered in the middle of the board. “What if he’s the missing link between Synergy and Senator McAfee? What if he’s Illuminati?”

Connie gave the digital equivalent of a snort. “I’m sure he’s not.”

I raised an eyebrow. She might be the only person who understood my well-earned paranoia.

Connie had been my partner in crime since I first booted up her machine.

Over the years, she gladly jumped in and assisted, pulling information from less-than-legal servers.

Never had she blatantly dismissed a theory. That in of itself left me curious.

“We’ll see about that.”

If his sudden appearance couldn’t be explained, at least I’d have a belly full of tacos.

Then he could go back to being a person of interest. It wouldn’t hurt to watch a handsome man as he devoured street food.

The idea of a date left me nervous… and if I was being honest with myself, a little excited.

“Please, don’t be Illuminati,” I mumbled.