Chapter Twelve
Jaxson
Early the next morning, I headed into Eagle Tactical after I dropped Izzie off at daycare. I had avoided my work emails, which meant I needed to open up the correspondence from Blue Sky Resort.
Lucy sat at the front desk, a cup of coffee in hand.
“Good morning,” I said as I passed her desk and headed for my office.
“Friday’s are wonderful,” Lucy said, sipping her coffee.
Sitting down, I jiggled the mouse and waited for the screen to light up. It was time to find out if Ariella got the job. I shouldn’t have cared one way or the other, but I did. I wanted her to be happy, and while I wasn’t strapped for cash, I would eventually need my generator back, which meant she needed to purchase one.
I opened my emails and walked away from my desk, long enough to grab myself a coffee while I let all the emails file into my inbox.
“Morning,” Mason said. “How did things go with the spitfire?”
I grunted under my breath. That was certainly one way to describe Ariella. I didn’t think she was trouble other than the possibility that she very well might break my heart. Spending the rest of the day apart yesterday had been a wise decision. I didn’t want to get emotionally involved with someone who couldn’t meet my needs. I’d learned that about Emma. She had only been interested in one thing, sex, and while that had been fun, she wasn’t interested in being a mother to our little girl.
“That good?” Mason asked. He stood by the coffeepot and poured himself a drink. I waited until he was done to do the same.
I didn’t want to kiss and tell or speak ill of her. I had no reason to, and she had done nothing wrong. “Everything’s fine. I dropped her off yesterday after loaning her my generator.” I didn’t go into detail with Mason about purchasing her a fridge or teaching her to chop firewood. He’d give me crap, and I’d never hear the end.
His eyes narrowed as he studied me.
“You have the hots for the new girl,” Mason crooned.
“Oh, shut it.” I would not listen to his insistent teasing. Nothing happened as far as he knew. I poured myself a cup of coffee and took it to my desk. I sat down and sipped my hot beverage, the blackness of the coffee fitting my mood.
Mason put down his coffee on the corner of my desk. He folded his arms across his chest and watched me.
“What is it?” I asked. Mason lingered until he got what he wanted, but there was nothing to tell. At least nothing I planned on sharing.
“Bridget Sanders called this morning and left two messages. She’s anxious about the two new hires and getting backgrounds run ASAP.”
I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. Background checks and research weren’t the most exciting aspects of our job. It was simple work, easy pay, and I should have been grateful for the extra income it brought into Eagle Tactical, but I preferred being out in the field. “She called me yesterday on my day off. I told her to email me the paperwork, and I’d get to it as soon as I could.” Bridget could wait a day or two for the background checks to come back.
Mason shifted to sit at the edge of my desk. “I think Bridget has a crush on you. Why else would she call your cell phone when she could have submitted the requests through regular channels?”
“You’re crazy,” I said. The woman was in her mid-sixties. She was nice, but she wasn’t my type. I was pushing forty and preferred women closer to my age. “She’s always been impatient, wanting results before she even sends over the employees’ names.”
“True.” Mason pushed himself off my desk and retrieved his cup of coffee. “She copied me on the two hires. Did you see the names yet?”
Had that been why Mason was hanging around my desk and pestering me? “Let me guess, one of them is Ariella.” I already knew she’d applied for the position at Blue Sky Resort. That would mean she should get the job which was good news.
“Yes, and the other one is your least favorite person.”
I had no clue who that could be. “My mother?” I joked.
“Wow. I’ll remember to tell her that at the next holiday dinner I’m invited to,” Mason said, his lips curved upwards. He nudged my shoulder. “Have a look.”
I rolled my eyes before I found the email and opened up the application to read the individuals’ names. The first application had Ariella Cole that hadn’t been a surprise. At least she’d get the job. I opened the second application and coughed, practically choking on air.
Mason smacked my back. “Don’t have a heart attack.”
“Emma Foster.” I read the name aloud. “What’s she doing in Breckenridge?” I asked Mason, not that I should have expected him to know the answer. My daughter’s birth mother had returned.
“Beats me,” Mason said. “I thought she lived in Los Angeles.”