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“It doesn’t exactly paint us in the best light.”
She thought the clothes he wore turned her on, but it was nothing compared to what the hint of color on his cheeks did to her girly parts. Whatever that story was brought out a blush on the apple of his cheeks.
“Now you have to tell me.”
She got comfortable leaning back against the large table. She spent all day in an office chair, so she had no desire to sit again so soon.
“It all started because of one drunken night at a bar.”
Monica dropped her head back and barked out a laugh so loud she was sure everyone in the room stopped what they were doing. She couldn’t rein it in. That one sentence was just too funny.
“Isn’t that always how it goes?”
Tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes, and with the back of her hand, she did her best to wipe them away without destroying her makeup. She had every intention of touching it up before she left the office, but a last-minute phone call threatened to make her late, and she hated to be late.
“Yes, well, I guess you can say we are a cliché, then. We were meeting for our semi-annual get-together. At this point, we had already decided that we were all ready to leave our previous employment and start a security company. We had been jotting down ideas on a bar napkin and Caden mentioned we needed a name. We couldn’t agree on anything, so figured the only way to make it fair was to let everyone put their suggestion in a hat and let the bartender pick. Whatever name was pulled would be the one we used no matter what.”
“So, who put Kringle into the mix?”
“Who do you think?”
Oh God. She hardly knew anything about any of Luke’s friends, but that one question was all the information she needed.
“Ryker,” she laughed.
“The one and the same. He figured it would be funny, and since the chances were one in seven, he figured the odds weren’t in his favor. Unfortunately, they were.”
“And now you fuckers get a kick out of it because people are intrigued, so you’re welcome.”
She looked around the room, but no one seemed to argue with that fact. She had to admit his explanation had some merit, it was a great conversation starter. Not a company name she would’ve ever picked, but a conversation starter for sure.
“So why Kringle?” she asked Ryker.
“Because Christmas is the greatest holiday of all time and it was the first Christmas word my drunken brain came up with.”
Couldn’t fault that logic. She was also a huge Christmas fan, but she could think of a few other words that would’ve been better, but she was also sober. An advantage Ryker didn’t have at the time.
“You mentioned semi-annual get-together. How long have you all known each other?”
“Nearly twenty years.” It was Caden who answered. “We were all in the same unit in the Army. Got out at different times but stayed in touch over the years.”
Impressive. Not many people could say they knew the same people for twenty years let alone stayed in touch enough to go into business together. That spoke volumes about the level of friendship they had and the trust they all shared.
“What did everyone do when they left the Army?”
She was supposed to be meeting the team and then going for dinner, but she was fascinated by the dynamic of these guys. They reminded her so much of the teams Bentley and Falcon were part of. Dinner could wait a few more minutes.
“FBI,” Luke answered first and then the rest just seemed to follow in line.
“CIA.” Somehow, she found that strange for Caden. “I stuck to collecting intel,” he elaborated. Now that made more sense.
“Secret Service.” She wasn’t sure who he was, but based on the stern look, she could see how that would fit.
“Stayed in the Army.” Dominic’s answer was barely audible. Which seemed on course for the man she met earlier in the day. Even his introduction at lunch hadn’t been more than just his name. Like he wasn’t keen on telling her who he was.
“NYPD.” Ryker winked. The man clearly didn’t have much thought in self-preservation.
“DEA.” Another man she had yet to meet spoke up.
