“Want another cappuccino?” I ask my mom before slipping out.
“No way,” she exclaims from the couch where she’s cuddled with Thea. “While it was good, I’m not used to more than my one cup of morning coffee, and I’m already feeling jittery.”
I grin and back out of the apartment, for an instant feeling like I need to lock the door with the key Joslyn gave me, but then I remember we’re perfectly safe within this building. Dozer told me the entire perimeter has outdoor cameras that are monitored, as well as sensitive alarms, and a well-stocked armory that any of the security agents here could access to protect us with. There is no safer place.
The communal area is empty, but I imagine it will see some traffic soon. Joslyn told me most of the folks working inside the building will eat lunch up here at one of the many tables scattered around, or they might chill on the plush furniture and watch TV in the large living room.
But for now, it’s just me, and I need to figure out this extravagant coffee machine.
I locate a cup, having remembered the exact cupboard Joslyn pulled them from. She explained the machine as she made the first one, and I walk through the various settings and press the button that I hope will give me frothy goodness.
Nothing comes out but a faint hiss of steam.
“Hmm,” I mutter to myself, perplexed.
“You forgot to choose the cup size first,” a deep voice says behind me.
I whirl around, eyes bugging slightly as I take in the man standing there… shirtless with muscles popping everywhere and a towel around his neck. He’s slick with sweat, and I’m assuming he’s just finished working out in the company gym. His face is extraordinarily handsome with blue eyes and dark hair cropped close to his scalp.
He points at the machine. “Cup size first, then choose the function.”
“Oh, okay,” I mumble and turn back to follow his instructions. What do you know—frothy java dribbles into the cup. I glance over my shoulder at him and smile. “Thanks.”
“Sure thing,” he says, moving to the opposite side of the large island. “You must be Jess.”
Turning to face him, I nod. “Did they send a company-wide email or something?”
The man laughs easily. “Actually, they did, which is helpful since I’m new here and don’t know many of the people. Today’s my second day.”
“Oh, well… welcome, then.” I motion to the machine, a silent request if he wants me to make him a cup, and he shakes his head. I sip the cappuccino and clarify, “Not that I have any official company status to make the welcome, but since we’re staying here and all.”
“I’m Kellen McCord,” he says and holds out his hands to the side. “I’d offer to shake, but my hands are sweaty.”
“Nice to meet you, Kellen. You obviously know I’m Jess. Have you met Dozer yet?”
He shakes his head. “We’re going to do a group dinner tonight, so I imagine I’ll get lots of introductions. But one of the first things I learned upon arriving was how to work that coffee machine, so I’m not without talents here.”
Moving around the island to the hall that leads to the apartments—where I assume he’s staying—he gives a short wave. “Nice to meet you. See you at dinner tonight.”
“Yeah,” I reply as I watch him walk away. “See you tonight.”
“Mind making another cup of java?”
I spin toward the voice behind me and see a woman standing at the top of the floating staircase that leads up from the lower floors—petite with raven-black hair pulled into a ponytail.
“You must be Bebe,” I say before she can offer the introduction. Dozer has spoken about her so much over the past year, I feel like I know her personally.
“And you’re Jess,” she says with a broad smile, moving into the kitchen. To my surprise, she gives me a hug, which I manage one-armed with my coffee in the other hand. When she pulls back, she nods toward the hallway and whispers. “I see you met Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.”
Chuckling, I whisper back, “I’ll admit he’s fine as hell. Are they all built that way?”
“Yes, they are,” she replies firmly, turning to the espresso machine and ordering up a brew. “Even my Griff is, although he’s technically FBI, but he hangs out a lot here.”
I nod and sip at my cappuccino. “Even your resident tech genius is built like a tank.”
“Dozer will tell you he works hard for that body,” she quips. “Has to get his workout in every day, or he’s crabby as hell.”
My mind drifts off because while Kellen McCord was high on the hot scale, he’s got nothing on Dozer, in my opinion. I don’t share that with Bebe, though.
“How are things going downstairs?” I ask instead, dying for information.