Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Instantly, her heart started pounding. Aspen tried to keep her voice steady. “Sir, you need to leave now.”
“I just wanted to meet you, beautiful. Tell me your name.”
“You are making me uncomfortable, sir. If you’ll step back, I’ll leave if you won’t.” Aspen tried to make her voice confident, but she could hear the waver of nervousness.
“You don’t have to be…”
“Alberts! This woman has asked you to leave. Go now. I will talk to your superior officer.”
Aspen dared to peer out of the stall as her would-be Lothario scrambled away from the door. Zale. Thank goodness!
Zale followed the man out of the restroom. When she followed her rescuer, Aspen saw him setting the block under the door to prop it back open. “Thank you, Zale.”
“If someone comes in when you’re cleaning, what are you supposed to do?” he asked, before righting the closed sign. The jerk had obviously kicked it out of the way.
“Leave. But I couldn’t get around him without seeing…” she explained.
“If some wanker has his junk out when he knows the bathroom is closed, he’s lost the right to privacy. Get yourself to safety,” Zale said sternly.
Aspen nodded. “You’re right. I should have fled.”
“If you happen to snicker at the right time, that would be perfectly acceptable. If you’re safe.”
Did he mean what she thought? Meeting his gaze, Aspen couldn’t help but laugh at his expression. He did.
“Go talk to your boss and report the incident. I’ll go talk to that jerk’s commander.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Aspen said quickly, not wanting to cause any problems. “I don’t want them to think I’m a problem.”
“I will talk to them about this. I will also talk to Jerico about it, so I’d suggest you tell him first.”
“I’ll talk to him after work,” Aspen promised quickly.
“Go report to your boss.”
Zale waited until she’d gathered all of her supplies and started down the hallway. She looked back over her shoulder, hoping that he’d go on so she could sneak back in there and get the trash and mop the floor to finish the job before she left, but he stood watching her until she turned the corner.
Twenty minutes later, when all the paperwork was done, her supervisor walked with her down the hall to stand guard while she finished. She’d refused to hand over the job to someone else.
Aspen set up her closed sign once again. It was impossible to ignore the three men who stood in the hallway a few doors down from the restroom—the Lothario, a very official-looking military officer, and Zale. Her boss joined the men.
“Do you know how hard it is to find reliable staff members who show up every day?” her boss interjected himself into the conversation.
Aspen quickly darted into the bathroom to finish her work. Each time she returned to the corridor, she could hear the jerk getting reprimanded. She didn’t want to be glad, but that guy had really scared her.
“Let me know if you have any more problems, Aspen,” her boss told her when she emerged for the last time into a hallway that now contained only the two of them.
“Thank you for your support.”
How was she ever going to tell Jerico about the guy at the front gate and the bathroom debacle?
Shaking her head, Aspen pushed that thought out of her mind and headed for her next assignment. Thank goodness it was a simple job.
CHAPTER 14
Jerico lit the coals on the grill in the backyard. He was starving. Their workout today had only allowed for short pauses to refuel with PowerBars. They held enough nutrition to replenish the men’s energy and were light to carry. He was ready to enjoy a thick steak.
Rexy cavorted in the backyard. Jerico had stopped to refuel his truck and found a tennis ball on sale in the discount bin next to the cash register. As he expected, the dog loved it and now played by himself on the grass, tossing it up in the air and chasing it. Rexy seemed to need some glasses. He frequently bonked into the trees that got in his way. He was the perfect comic relief after a tough day.
“Daddy?”
Jerico turned to see Aspen framed in the doorway. A welcoming smile automatically spread his lips. He couldn’t believe how much he’d missed her when they were apart. Trained to spot details, he noted the tension lines around her mouth and eyes.
“Hi, baby. Come give me a kiss,” he requested, holding out his arms to hug her.
To his delight, she didn’t hesitate, but rushed forward into his embrace. He rewarded her with a kiss that revitalized his energy. She’s better than a PowerBar. And definitely tastier!
He held her close when the kiss ended. “Did you have a good day, Aspen?”
She shrugged and seemed to hesitate for a fraction of a second more than necessary before answering, “It was okay. Some good and bad.”