“Sounds like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed,” Gia said. “I would’ve thought you’d be happy to hear from me.”
“I am.”
“Oh, this is your happy voice? I guess I don’t want to hear you pissed off. Anyway, that’s not why I called.”
“Why did you call?” he asked.
“I have been doing some research about the photo and found—”
“Where are you?” he snapped. Roger needed to make sure she wasn’t with Lena or anywhere any Henderson might hear.
“Home, not that it’s any of your business.”
“I’m coming over.”
“Wait! What? Why?” she blurted out.
“This project can only be discussed in person. I’ll be there in ten.”
He ended the call and threw the car in gear. Roger had no idea what the fuck was going on with him. The information wasn’t so critical that it required him to rush over to retrieve it. No lives were at stake. Hell, he wasn’t even sure why Brice wanted the information in the first place.
So this bullshit he was spilling was for one reason only. He wanted to see her. Damn!
It wasn’t long before he was parked in front of her apartment building and climbing the stairs. When he got to her floor she opened the door, her hair a wild mass of curls, wearing glasses and a T-shirt so long he couldn’t tell if she had shorts on or not.
“Don’t look at me like that. This is how I dress when I work from home. You’re lucky I’m not in my pajamas,” Gia said as she let him inside.
No. You’re lucky you’re not.The desire to help her was still there, but shit, she was beautiful, and his physical attraction to her was becoming more difficult to hide. He could feel the tightness in his jeans. The only thing that sucked: it was due to a woman who had become off limits. She was going to get that job with the Hendersons and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. He didn’t need to ask, he could already tell she wasn’t a woman who could have meaningless fun.
But I’m not interested in anything serious.
When he stepped inside, he found her kitchen table filled with books. “I take it you like reading.”
“These are research. Or did you forget you hired me to do some?” When Roger shook his head, she added, “You can obtain a lot of information on the internet, but sometimes you need to resort to print. It’s easier. Would you like to sit down and hear what I learned?”
There was no sitting at the table; even the chairs were piled high. So he opted for the couch. She brought over the laptop and the photo he’d given her.
“So as I suspected, this picture wasn’t taken any time recently. Not that you couldn’t have figured that out. The time period is the easiest piece.”
“Why is that?”
Gia handed him her laptop and said, “Wait, I forgot something.” When she returned she held a magnifying glass. “Look closely at the paper. Do you see it?”
Even with the magnifier, he strained his eyes. “I can’t make out what it says.”
“November 11, 1918.”
“The end of World War I.”
“Yes, but that paper was printed in New York City. You now have a date and origin.”
He couldn’t stop staring at the picture. How was it both he and Brice had missed such a detail? Most likely because they were focused on the kids. “That’s . . . impressive.”
“I just impressed myself out of a job.” She laughed. “But you really went out of your way to get my résumé in front of the Hendersons, so I had to show you I wouldn’t let you, or them, down.”
I’m sure you wouldn’t.“This is a good start. Did Lena actually give you a start date?”
“No. Their HR manager will be contacting me later this week to set something up. So we can talk. I don’t have a job offer yet, but I’m hopeful.”