Page 5 of Forged in Peril

“You asked her to start her leave early!”

Cameron didn’t bother to deny it.

“Still. We were going to need to look for someone soon, anyway. You should be thankful that such a good candidate fell into our laps.”

Gabe gave an exaggerated sigh. “Like I said before, I don’t care if she’s the best paralegal in Texas if she plans on breaking my little brother’s heart again and damaging morale at FBS in the process.”

“That’s not going to happen. This is a favor to an old friend–yours as well as mine, in case you’ve forgotten–who also happens to be just what we need. That’s all this is.”

Gabe tapped his fingers against the black metal of the desk. He didn’t look particularly convinced. Nor was Cameron entirely convinced himself, but it didn’t matter.

Whatever feelings came to the surface when he saw her again, he wasn’t going to let his judgment be clouded.

God had made it pretty clear that what he thought he wanted wasn’t in the plan, at least for now, and Bristol Chaplin showing up in his life again didn’t change that.

CHAPTER

THREE

BRISTOL

Bristol took a final deep breath as she reached the first floor, pushing against the heavy stairwell doors with both hands. She forced herself to step through them and out into the hall, her plain black flats making an obnoxious slapping sound against the marble as she walked.

She rounded the corner, finding herself face to face with a massive reception desk, manned by a woman who she was certain would never be caught dead in anything but the most glamorous designer shoes.

“Welcome to Forge Brothers Security, how can I help you?” the woman said, giving Bristol a gleaming white smile. Gently smudged black eyeliner complemented her bright blue eyes, and her curly blonde hair bounced against perfectly-tanned shoulders.

If this was what all of the women at FBS were supposed to look like, she was in trouble.

Bristol plastered a smile on her own face, forcing herself to meet the beautiful woman’s eyes instead of looking down at her own basic black skirt and white blouse. She hadn’t even attempted any makeup more ambitious than a swipe of copper eyeshadow and some mascara.

She had always fit in well enough at Dorling & Porter–despite the wealth that the firm generated, most of the lawyers were more practical than fashionable–but this morning she felt completely out of place.

“Hello,” she said. “I’m Bristol Chaplin. I was just hired in the legal department.”

“Oh, wonderful,” the woman said, still beaming. Bristol wondered if her cheeks ever started to hurt from smiling so much. “Well, I’m Grace Hinton. I’m kind of the office manager, kind of the spare receptionist. It’s nice to have you with us.”

The woman extended a perfectly manicured hand for her to shake, and a few awkward seconds passed as Bristol hitched up her tote bag higher on her shoulder and shifted her still-hot green tea into her other hand.

Grace’s handshake was warm, and despite how intimidated she felt, Bristol couldn’t help but to sense a genuine friendliness radiating from the woman.

“Now, if you’ll just give me a moment to get you set up on our clock-in system, I’ll have you on your way,” she continued, sitting back down and tapping away at her keyboard with rapid-fire speed.

Bristol took a couple of steps back, trying to get a good view of the large reception space without looking too eager.

Huge glass doors led out onto the busy street in front of the building, with the words ‘Serve. Protect. Redeem.’ emblazoned above them.

The floor was smooth marble, and every detail from the light fixtures to the leather chairs in the waiting area made it clear that no expense had been spared. She’d been expecting as much, but still, she couldn’t help but to be surprised at just how extravagant the customer-facing area of the private security firm was.

Thanks to her mother’s gossip, she’d followed the development of Forge Brothers Security more closely than she’d ever admit over the last seven years, but seeing it in person was something else.

She could see no one else in the lobby at the moment–she doubted the place would be open to clients before nine–but down the hall opposite the elevators she could hear several women chatting and laughing together and the sound of heels clacking against the stone floor.

As usual, she couldn’t deny the feeling of relief that swept through her whenever she realized that she was surrounded by other women.

It made her feel safe, and as Grace continued to type away, she felt some of the tightness in her chest beginning to dissipate.

There had been a time not so long ago that the sex of her coworkers wouldn’t have crossed her mind, but things were different now, and all she could do was try her best not to let anyone else notice how uneasy she felt whenever she was alone with a man.

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