He would’ve been torn over the idea of cultivating the administrator’s friendship under false pretenses no matter what, but he was especially so with Sasha Willis. He hadn’t seen her again since that first day and so avoided making a decision one way or the other. He suspected his time had about run out unless he took the coward’s way out and hid. But the others were depending on him, so given the opportunity, he’d have to act.
Damn it, why did she have to show up while he was still there? More importantly, why hadn’t he left while he had the chance? The answer was simple: he wanted to see her again, to see if his memory of her held up to the reality.
That she’d want to meet with the head Paladin wasn’t a surprise, but it was clear that Devlin hadn’t been expecting her. Glancing around the office, Larem realized he wasn’t the only one staring down the hallway. Several of the Paladins, even those whose desks weren’t in this particular area, were hanging around and pretending to be busy.
As soon as the woman came into sight, all pretense of getting any work done ended. Larem had to give her credit. Once again, having all those male eyes focused solely on her didn’t faze her in the least. She calmly headed straight for Devlin’s office door and knocked. While she waited for him to answer, she did a little staring of her own.
Her gaze swept across the room. Her mouth briefly softened into a smile when she spotted Cullen, one of the few who’d actually spoken to the woman. When the Paladin jerked his head in a sharp nod of acknowledgment, she smiled more broadly before her eyes continued scanning the men.
When she spotted Larem, there was a brief flare of recognition, and he could’ve sworn he felt a brief surge of warmth from all the way across the room. Once again, he was struck by her beauty. The deep green of her blouse set off not only the red in her hair but also her creamy complexion. Was her skin as soft as it looked?
After a second, her expression settled into a puzzled frown. Had he stared too long, or had she suddenly figured out who—or rather what—he was?
Either way, it wasn’t his problem. He deliberately broke off the silent exchange and forced his focus back to the book he was reading. Far better that he spend his time satisfying his curiosity about his gift of healing than worrying about the opinions of one human female, even if she was a beautiful one.
And if he tried hard enough, he might just convince himself that was true.
“Don’t just stand out there pounding on the door. Come in.”
At Devlin’s bellow, Sasha tore her attention away from the men scattered about the office and back to the one she’d come to see. Even so, she found herself reluctant to look away from that guy seated in the back corner. He was one of the two men who’d helped her find her way out of the building on that first day.
Now that she was working her way through the Paladin files, she readily recognized Cullen. From what she’d read, his nickname of “The Professor” certainly fit with the first impression she’d had of him. He’d been quietly helpful when he’d shown her the exit, making sure to introduce her to the guard stationed out in the alley.
But it was the other man who aroused her curiosity. There was just something different about him. Even from a distance, he stood out from the crowd. She didn’t know why, but he did. Eventually she’d run across his file and perhaps find some answers.
Rather than get caught staring, she opened Devlin’s door and poked her head in. He glanced up from the pile of papers spread out on his desk and tried to look surprised to see her. Cute.
She hadn’t missed seeing the guard hitting a number on speed dial as soon as he let her into the building, although she didn’t fault him for making the call. It was his job to monitor who came and went. Her only concern was what Devlin had been up to when the guard called to warn him of her approach.
Now wasn’t the time for inquisitions, so she’d let it pass—this once.
“Ms. Willis, come in and have a seat.” He rose to his feet. “Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? Or maybe a bottle of water?”
“Water sounds good. I’ve already had way too much caffeine today.”
While he got two bottles out of the small fridge in the corner, she sat down, choosing the chair that offered a clear view of the door. Odd that it seemed important, but it did. Safer somehow, although she didn’t sense any kind of threat coming from Devlin himself.
He handed her the water and then returned to his own side of the desk. After popping the top on his own bottle, he asked, “So what brings you to our neck of the woods?”
“I wanted to discuss something with you, but not over the phone.” She took a long drink of water, giving him time to consider the unspoken message behind her comment.
His dark eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You think someone has bugged your line?”
“Not exactly,” she said, frowning. “But I don’t know that they haven’t either. What I need to talk to you about is a bit sensitive, so I didn’t want to take any risks. Besides, it was a good excuse to get out of the office and away from the stacks of financial reports on my desk for a while.”
Devlin grinned. “God knows, I understand that. Despite all the hours I spend on the computer, I’m drowning in paperwork. So what’s up?”
She’d pondered various approaches on the way over without really coming up with anything that felt right. Judging from what she knew about Devlin, she decided to be blunt.
“I’ve been meeting with department heads for the past few days. It won’t come as a shock that I keep hearing different verses of the same song over and over again. The bottom line is that things have been badly mismanaged for some time. I plan to fix that, but I can’t do it alone.”