10
Rowan
Land Drone
“I don’t think I like Belinda,” said Mark when the doors closed.
Rowan made a grunt of agreement. He hadn’t liked her tone or how she’d pushed Vivian aside.
But Rowan had appreciated Vivian’s low key insistence on not pushing a Veteran’s event on him.
He sometimes felt they were on everyone’s ask-list because of his service record.
And how sweet was it that she volunteered for a military charity?
“She kind of had mega asshole vibes,” agreed Teddy. “Not that I wouldn’t bang her. But what was that crack at Vivian?”
“They seem like they have a lot of workplace drama up in there. Glad I just work with you bitches,” said Mark.
“Well,” said Teddy, “now that our cycles are synched up, it’s a lot better.”
Rowan snorted. “Idiots.”
Rowan didn’t want to admit it, but he also had trouble with how friendly Vivian had been to Tyrique and Teddy. High-fives, teasing—everything had been so sociable. She was the same age as they were. It made sense. But damn it, he was selfish enough to want her to himself.
With his current bank account, finding a girl to fuck was relatively easy.
He had enough cash to get whatever size and shape he wanted.
As long as what he wanted was to spend money on a girl who was only mildly interested in talking to him, then everything was fine.
But what he wanted was a curvy, auburn-haired girl who cared enough to argue with him.
One who wasn’t afraid to call him on his bullshit.
One that could conquer the poker table as long as you fed her enough chocolate.
But those kinds of girls wanted someone who didn’t need to have championship mode explained to them.
Vivian was not going to be interested in him, and that was all there was to it.
His phone beeped, and Rowan checked it as he got off the floor.
New prototype TODAY!
“I haven’t been paying attention to Doc,” said Rowan. “What is he excited about?”
Mark chuckled. “It’s his new land drone for interior surveillance.”
“Land drone...” Rowan tried to make that into something that made sense. “Isn’t that just a remote-control car?”
“Yes, but it sounds like we play with toys if you put it like that,” said Mark.
“We do play with toys. Expensive toys that do really cool shit. But, I mean, come on,” said Rowan.
“I don’t think our egos are prepared for that kind of honesty,” said Mark.
“I know mine’s not,” agreed Teddy.
“OK, well, apparently, there’s a new prototype of our land drone, which is good because I think we’ll want it if we’re vetting the Al Shamsi property.”
“We do? I thought that was a sweet ‘fly to the Caribbean to make sure the house was secure’ gig?” asked Teddy.
“We cannot confirm that the house is secure without checking the utilities and crawl spaces for threats,” said Rowan.
Teddy groaned.
“They have rats the size of your head down there,” said Mark. “Have fun in the crawl space.”
“Right. So where’s my remote control car again?” demanded Teddy.
“Land drone,” said Rowan and Mark simultaneously and then they all laughed.
Rowan managed to work through most of the morning without thinking about Vivian.
Most of his to-do list was paperwork and there weren’t even any pending problems to worry him.
It occurred to him that there hadn’t been any work-related emergencies for over year—the company really was stable and that was a huge relief.
It was nearly lunch when Doc popped into his office.
“Is this a good time for the Land Drone prototype?” he asked. He was carrying a small vehicle under one arm.
“Yeah, Doc, come on in.”
Goodwin Brown, AKA Doc, was a nerd. To be specific, he was Valkyrie Security’s top nerd.
He was their R&D department and Mr. Fix-It all rolled into one.
Rowan had lured him away from MIT with a fat paycheck and the promise that they would let him shoot things occasionally.
Two years in, Rowan thought Doc was even weirder than when he’d hired the kid, but also thought it was quite possibly one of the better business decisions he’d made.
But then, Rowan believed that all of his success really boiled down to picking the right personnel.
Without Mark, Teddy, and the rest, Valkyrie Security was just another mercenary group.
“OK,” said Doc excitedly, setting the vehicle down and flipping switches on top of it.
There was a whir as a tiny arm with a camera extended a few inches.
“I widened the lens aperture, so it’s got more visual range.
I reinforced the housing so it’s got greater resilience against impacts and built a wider base so it’s harder to flip.
And it uses Bluetooth, so you can connect it to a designated screen or phone. ”
“Sounds good,” said Rowan. “Will it be ready by the end of the month?”
“Yeah, absolutely.” He pulled up a screen on his tablet and handed it to Rowan. “OK, here you can see the resolution.”
Doc flipped a switch on his remote control, and the knobby wheels slowly turned and then began to trundle across the carpet.
“See, you can turn the camera 360 degrees.”
“Cool.”
Doc pivoted the camera, and Rowan was amused to see his office from the floor. He and Doc looked like giants.
“And with this button…” Doc fiddled with the controls, and the tank drove about four feet and then stopped. Rowan saw that the light on the controller also died, but Doc fiddled with the disks frantically. “I don’t understand.”
“Probably needs new batteries in the remote,” said Rowan.
Doc looked up and blushed. “I did play with it a lot yesterday.”
“Just go grab batteries,” said Rowan, trying not to laugh at Doc’s embarrassment.
“Right. Be right back.”
Doc zoomed out, and Rowan shook his head as he went to check his email.
Doc could probably design a Mars rover if he put his mind to it, but couldn’t remember to pack lunch.
That was fine. Rowan had guys who could work the logistics of what to pack down to the smallest item.
Doc would get lunch and batteries, and they got a tiny camera tank in return. It was a symbiotic relationship.
In the lobby, he heard the faint ding of the elevator and echo of voices through the thin partition wall to the foyer.
“Hey, Teddy! Can I see Rowan?”
“Sure, let me buzz you in.”
“Vivian’s here to see you, Sir,” Teddy said over the intercom.
The sound of Vivian’s voice in their lobby brought Rowan to his feet. He looked around and tried to figure out what he was supposed to be doing. Probably not standing at his desk like an idiot.
“Thanks,” he said into the intercom. He heard the buzz of the door lock as Teddy unlocked the door to the private portion of the office and tried to decide if he should sit down again.
That seemed like a big dick CEO move, and he felt more in control when he moved, so he went around the desk, preparing to meet her halfway.
“Hi.” Vivian carried a handful of papers and sorted through them as she walked. Now that her jacket was off, he could see that the fluttery blue skirt was attached to a figure-hugging top that was giving serious retro Marilyn Monroe vibes. “I have info on the gala. Do you have a minute?”
“Yeah,” he said, adding a smile, but she was already looking at her papers.
“OK, I can help with registration if you get stuck. Howard and I usually badger everyone and their brother this time of year, so I’ve practically got the form memorized. He was in the Army, so we’re the charity he actually cares about.”
“I didn’t know that,” said Rowan, feeling surprised. He’d liked Howard. Although he would have liked him more if he could finish a sentence in under a minute. But he respected Howard for still finding a way to serve the veteran community so many years later.
There was a sharp click and whir from somewhere on the floor.
“Yeah,” she said, looking up with a smile, “he put himself through undergrad on the GI Bill. I kind of think that’s why he hired—”
Too late, Rowan saw the land drone streak across the floor and directly under Vivian’s foot.
He took a giant step and leaned in to catch her as she pitched forward with a shriek.
Rowan received her entire weight in one flailing mass, grabbed for what he could, and tried to keep her from hitting the floor.
Moments later, he found himself staring down into her gray eyes as she clung to his shoulders, panting.
It was only then that he realized while one arm was wrapped around her waist, his other hand was firmly clamped on her ass…
under her dress. And what a fucking ass.
Thick, soft, overflowing his hand, just like he’d pictured.
“Are you all right?”
“I think so?”
Vivian planted her feet and took some of the weight off his arms. But that moved her face closer to his and a little wave of apricot scent floated up to him. Along with the weight shift came the realization that there seemed to be some strappy bits in surprising locations.
“Should I let go?” he asked.
“Ummm…”
The pause lingered, and her lips puckered ever so slightly. He liked the pause. It gave him time to assess what was going on. She had definitely not said to let go.
“Vivian,” he murmured, adjusting his hold and running his finger along the strap of what he could now tell was a garter belt holding up some thigh-high stockings. She shivered, and her eyes widened with a little gasp. “You appear to be wearing some very not suitable for work undergarments.”
“No one is supposed to know,” she whispered.
“I think maybe it could be our secret?” he suggested.
“Yes, please,” she whispered again in the softest baby voice.
The please hit him like a sucker punch to the libido. Without thinking twice, he lowered his mouth to hers.
Soft lips, apricot smell, luscious body up against his…
Vivian was perfection. He ran a more gentle and exploratory hand over her ass.
Lace, silk, and even silkier skin had him longing to go further.
She pressed into him, tongue tangling with his.
Dear fucking God in heaven, he was going to taste every inch of her and then fuck her on the damn desk.
“Batteries, achieved!” bellowed Doc from somewhere out in the hall.
Vivian leaped away from him with a squeak, her cheeks going bright pink, fingers flying to smooth down her skirt.
“Uh… Papers,” she mumbled, staring at him like he could speak English right now.
He looked down at the floor. There were indeed papers there. Right. She had come in with papers.
He bent down to pick them up at the same time she did, and they clunked heads just as Doc walked in.
“Ow!”
“Fuck!”
“Uh… Are you guys OK?” Doc looked like he thought they were insane, which Rowan thought he might possibly be.
Vivian scrambled to pick up the papers while Rowan rubbed his head and tried to make words.
“I found the batteries for the controller,” said Doc. “Uh, do either of you want an ice pack?”
“These things.” Vivian shoved the pile into his hands. “Everything you need to know.”
“OK. Thanks. Uh, I will see you at the gala?”
Her eyes flew to his. “Yes? I mean, yes. Definitely be there. OK. Bye.”