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“May I help you, Mr. Idiot… or do you go by ‘Groveling’?” she asked and hesitated. “Eyes up,” she snapped bluntly.
His eyes met hers, and he swallowed. He was going to ruin this before he had a chance to even plead his case.
“May we speak privately?”
“Considering Trista was nominating herself for a backup – yes,” Elana said in disbelief and disgust before turning to address the receptionist. “Please do not solicit the clients – ever.”
And looked at him.
“The only reason I’m agreeing to this is because you said ‘No’ before you knew I was here. Got it?” Elana said – and turned to walk down the hallway toward an office, her nude pumps clicking on the marble floor of the building, and he was there for it!
Fascinated, he followed her back, admiring the sway of her hips and the curve of her shapely calves, realizing that he no longer wanted to see black, sharp, stiletto high heels. Nope. Nude, serviceable, business-like pair of pumps was his favorite fantasy now.
Stepping inside the office, he looked around, utterly impressed and a little intimidated, as Reese’s words replayed in his head.
She’ll cut you to ribbons…
It won’t change her mind…
She’s the sharpest around…
Elana took a seat at the desk covered in books and papers, looking up at him bluntly, and crossed her arms over her chest.
“What do you want?”
“Well,” Max began, looking anywhere but at her so he could focus and keep from gawking at Elana as he stared at a massive frame on the wall housing her bachelor’s degree and her law degree from Texas A & M. “I’d like to plead my case and ask for mercy.”
“Denied,” she replied.
“I was afraid of that,” he began – and pulled out his paper, hating that his hands shook as he unfolded it and not backing down. “You see, I am quite dense but also quite patriotic, and the sixth amendment of the U.S. Constitution that I fight every day to protect, gives me the right to a quick and speedy trial by an impartial tribunal… unless you are not impartial?”
He tossed a brief glance over his shoulder and saw a glimmer of something in her hard gaze as well as her lips twitched.
“You see, in paragraph one, article five…”
“Of… what?” she retorted.
“The unwritten Bro-code.”
“That’s not a thing, and you are mocking me.”
“Thou shalt take every opportunity to address a gorgeous woman when the moment arises because they are few and far between – especially in cases of deployment or war,” he continued quickly and saw her arch an eyebrow at him skeptically. “So, this airman wants to apologize profusely for losing his cool when he saw a breathtaking goddess in the grocery store, having only arrived at the airport less than an hour prior to the incident.”
“Really…” she said flatly, still watching him.
“I brought evidence,” he replied, setting his plane ticket stub on her desk and backing away. “I flew in from Afghanistan yesterday, where I have been stationed in Ghazni, south of Kabul, for a few years now. This is the first vacation I have taken since my brother got married last year.”
Max looked at Elana again and saw her curt nod.
“I will admit this evidence… continue.”
“Article two of the Bro-Code is to make the best of your downtime in order to keep morale up. So, back in Ghazni, we talk a lot of smack, spend time in the gym on base, read, do crosswords, sometimes…”
“What does this have to do with anything?”
“Sometimes we talk a lot of smack, come up with slang and different lingo trying to look cool or macho, just so we aren’t picked on or harassed. I am one of the worst braggarts on base and talk a lot of trash…” he admitted and heard her choked laugh, causing him to look up.
She was sitting there, her hand over her mouth, trying to look serious as she watched him silently.
