Page 239 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
"No." My eye roll served as punctuation.
"Right. Because that person doesn't exist." He rubbed his stomach, an offended look in his face. "That hurt, Em."
"Yeah right." My brother was six foot five and a wall of pure muscle. "I was lucky I didn't break my arm against your abs."
Matt smiled his crooked smile. "Jealous? You could hit the gym every once in a while, Sis."
I frowned, then changed the subject. "Back to the conference room and who's in it."
"Jack's here, then?"
His deadpan did not impress me. "Yes. Jack Walsh. Your best friend. And our new hire."
Matt nodded, then shoved his head into the fridge. His stomach was an endless pit, and he spent most of the day trying to fill it. When he wasn't working out, that was.
"So what's he doing here? He left Delta Force with you?"
"Couldn't live without me," he replied from inside the fridge.
My brother, the comedian. Jack didn't look like the type of bro who needed to hold hands with his best friend. "Why didn't Dad tell me he was hiring Jack?"
Matt straightened, his hands full of what would become his breakfast. He shrugged, then set about assembling his mountain of food.
I groaned, realizing that I was getting nowhere. Coming out of the break room, I headed towards Dad's office. Then I heard his voice from across the office. He was walking into the conference room, two cups of coffee from the shop down the block steaming in his hands.
Shit. I'd missed my chance to ask him about Jack. As I watched, he handed a cup to Jack, then patted him on the back, a warm smile on Dad's face.
I shook my head and walked back to my desk. I had all day to yell at my father for his momentary lapse in memory. There was no reason I could think of for him to keep the information from me, so he must have just forgotten to tell me.
Well, there was one reason, but it was extremely unlikely.
My dad and brother watched over me like a hawk where guys were concerned. No one was good enough for me, according to them at least. As two hulking military types, they didn't hesitate to strike fear into the hearts of those brave enough to ask me out. It didn't take long for any of the guys I liked to find easier targets.
Could Dad be worried that something might happen between me and Jack? Besides being patently ridiculous--I mean, a guy like that could have any girl he wanted--any relationship between us would violate bro code and skirt the boundary of taboo. Jack was my brother's best friend, after all, and now he was an employee of Shadow Security.
Meaning that I was the boss's daughter.
That meant I was doubly off-limits.
I tried to focus on the stack of invoices in front of me but the numbers didn't make sense as I turned over the issue in my brain. Me and Jack. It would never happen.
But if it did... I exhaled heavily, sneaking a glance over my shoulder at the glass walls of the conference room. He's so fucking hot.
I shook my head. It wasn't going to happen, no matter how hot he was. Better to get over such thoughts now.
The phone rang and I grabbed it, glad for the distraction from my distraction. "Shadow Security. How may I assist you?"
"Gimme Smith."
I frowned, recognizing the voice. I should recognize it, since I'd heard it often enough. Dexter Jansen called at least three times a day, sometimes as many as a dozen. He was our newest client and current pain in my ass.
"I'm sorry. Mr. Smith is in a meeting. May I take a message?"
"You know who this is?" His voice was gruff.
"Yes. Mr. Jansen."
"Get your boss on the phone, sweetheart."
