Page 78 of My One and Only

Cam stared at him for a long moment, then shrugged. Was Don really fishing for information about his relationship with Jo? “Same old, same old,” he said, managing to keep his voice light. Casual. “Doing the work. What’s new with you?”

“Not much,” Don said. “Combing through applications. Talking to people. I’ve lined up a couple of guys, but we need more than that.”

“Hopefully, more of Jo’s friends’ll come through.”

“Yeah.” Don glanced at Jo and his mouth thinned. “Fingers crossed.”

Instead of leaving, Don sat on the edge of Cam’s desk, studying him. Finally Cam said, “Was there something else you needed, Don?”

“Nah, just haven’t seen you in a while.”

“I go home to Fiona every night,” he said, an edge in his voice. “She takes up my evenings.”

Don’s gaze flicked to Jo, as if asking if Jo was taking up his evenings, too. When Cam didn’t say anything.Don stood up. “Let me know if you need help with anything, Partner.”

“Will do, Don. Same goes,” Cam added.

With one last look at Jo, Don walked out of the office. The door clicked closed behind him.

Neither he nor Jo spoke for a long time. In the distance, he heard the click of an office door. Probably Don returning to his own office.

He returned to his stack of applications, but heard Jo wheeling her chair over to his desk. She stopped close to him. “Did that visit from Don seem odd to you?”she whispered.

Cam tilted his head. Finally nodded slowly. “Yeah, it did. He never stops by to talk. Have no idea why he did today.”

“I think it’s because I’m always here,” Jo said in a low voice. “He can’t figure out what the deal is. I don’t know why he’d care, but I suspect that’s what it is.”

“You could be right,” Cam said slowly. “He spent a lot of time watching you.”

“Maybe he’s jealous. I’m taking all your time and attention.”

“I never thought Don was the jealous type.”

Jo shrugged. “I didn’t know him that well. But all of a sudden, it’s not just you and Don. Now it’s a triangle, with me included. He probably doesn’t like that.”

“I don’t give a damn what he likes.” Cam scowled. “I want you here. I need you here. Don can pout all he wants, but that’s not going to change.”

“Maybe we’re both reading too much into it,” she said. She smoothed her hand down his face. “And I don’t care what Don thinks. I need to be here.”

“And I need you here.” He pulled her down and kissed her, then let her go. “Let’s keep going through these applications.”

“Yeah,” she said, running a hand through his hair.

He was half-way through his stack when he spotted the name. Phil Gwynn, right there at the top of the page. Pulling out the application, he stared at it for a long moment. Carried it over to Jo’s desk. “This has to be the guy. Can’t be two Phil Gwynns involved in this mess. He applied here within the last two weeks.”

Jo scooped up the application and studied it. “Same name as on the driver’s license,” she said. “You have any pictures of him?”

“No. We don’t ask for a picture with our applications.”

“I’ll tackle that,” she said, taking the application and moving to the desk beside the window. “Everyone’s online now. I should be able to find a picture somewhere. And I’ll definitely recognize him if I see him.”

“Okay. What’s my next step?”he asked.

“Where did he work before he applied here?”Jo asked.

“I noticed that, too,” he said. “It was the company that I called about several job applications. The one that was having similar problems with substandard products used in their houses.”

Jo’s eyes gleamed with triumph. “Okay. Let me see what I can find.”

---