Kate James - When I Found You

Logan held up his hands. “I’m sorry. Really. If it makes you feel better, you were right on with your assessment. You read Rick exactly the way a person is supposed to.”

There was no harm done. If Ariana had been in Logan’s shoes, she probably would have done the same thing. She smiled.

Rick appeared contrite, as well. “I was an accidental participant, but I apologize, too. As much as I’d love to stay, have a beer with you and find out what this was all about, I get the sense that I’m a third wheel.” He pushed out of his chair and grinned at Logan. “I’m going to leave you to each other.” Turning his smile on Ariana, he held out a hand to her again. “It’s nice to meet you. I hope our paths cross again, under more...conventional circumstances.” He rested a hand on Logan’s shoulder. “We’ll catch up tomorrow, Jagger.”

After Rick left, Logan gave Ariana a conciliatory smile. “I shouldn’t have tricked you like that. When I saw you zero in on Rick, it was just too tempting. Besides, you were right on the money. Rick has to be good enough to fool the cartel bosses—his life depends on it. If he can fool the cartel, he should be able to convince most people, including those in law enforcement.”

Logan had a point. If Rick didn’t have good cover dealing with the cartels, it could cost him his life. She glanced down at the glass in her hand, and felt the fatigue she’d been trying to stave off all day intensify. She sensed Logan’s eyes on her and looked up.

“You all right? I really didn’t mean to offend you.”

“It’s not that. I’m just tired. It’s been a long couple of days.”

“Yeah, it has. We both could use an early night.” Logan pulled a twenty-dollar bill from his wallet, much more than what two beers would’ve cost, and placed it on the table. He waved to Carly as they walked through the crowded room.

Nearing the door, Ariana suddenly turned, causing him to bump into her. This close up, his eyes were even bluer than she’d thought.

“Did you forget something?”

“Uh...we never discussed your new operating procedures.”

Logan chuckled and held the door open for her. “Good point. Rather than having you think it was a ploy to get you to go out with me, how do you feel about having dinner with me sometime soon to discuss them, so I can prove we really do have new procedures?” he asked when they’d stopped beside her car.

Ariana had enjoyed herself. Logan wasn’t at all what she’d expected. She was on the verge of saying yes when she remembered Becca.

She sensed Logan’s interest in her was more than professional and she was drawn to him—something that didn’t happen often. But if he had a girlfriend, she didn’t want to encourage him. A dinner with Logan would be more than strictly business.

She couldn’t say yes, but she couldn’t say no either, lost in those eyes of his again. “I’ll let you know,” she said, noncommittally.

As he said good-night and was about to leave, a thought occurred to her. “Was it?” she asked.

Logan paused. “Was what?”

“Was the idea of discussing your procedures a ploy? To get me to have a drink with you?”

He held her gaze for a long moment, and she could readily see his charm.

“That would’ve been conniving of me, wouldn’t it? And very unprofessional.” With a quick show of white teeth and a jaunty salute, he strode away toward his own vehicle.

CHAPTER FOUR

ARIANA WASN’T ONE of those people who could function with little sleep over an extended period of time. She wasn’t a morning person either, regardless of the hours she kept at work. Refreshed and buoyant weren’t generally words she would apply to herself early in the morning, especially after only five hours of sleep. Yet this morning she was unarguably both!

And she was thinking of Logan O’Connor.

Maybe Logan’s relationship with Becca, whoever she was, wasn’t serious. He wouldn’t have asked her out, would he, if it was? Logan seemed decent and ethical. Or maybe she’d misinterpreted, and his suggestion to have dinner was entirely business-related. Had it been wishful thinking on her part? She was interested in him, although she had her reasons for why she shouldn’t be. Somehow, she couldn’t seem to recall exactly why some of those reasons had seemed so important.

She tried to remember the last time she’d had a serious relationship. It was before she started working at the airport.

She tried to put Logan out of her mind as she showered and dressed. Suddenly feeling lonely, she reminded herself to call her parents.

The day was uneventful and passed quickly, as did the following two. Ariana took the opportunity to catch up on routine reports and paperwork, and to get her team started on the tender for the enhanced video management system. Their technicians hadn’t been able to determine why the door that Dave Langdon had left open hadn’t set off an alarm, so she asked Max to get quotes to inspect all held-open and intrusion alarms at the airport. She hadn’t budgeted for it, but she’d have to find the money somehow.

That morning, Ariana received a call from her predecessor, George Dennison. They’d stayed in contact since his retirement. She still thought of him as a mentor, and she appreciated that he was always available if she wanted to bounce ideas off him or simply catch up. She regretted not having told George about the problems she had been experiencing with Dave, as George was stunned and dismayed when she informed him she’d terminated him.

She knew George had always prided himself on his team. Even so, it surprised her when he said he’d never had the slightest issue with Dave. That led Ariana to wonder if it was something lacking in her leadership style. George had been the one who encouraged her to apply for the position when he’d decided to retire. She hoped he wasn’t questioning his wisdom about that, but she was too busy to dwell on it for long.

Periodically throughout the day her thoughts returned to Logan. Would he call her to follow up on his invitation to dinner? Or was he expecting her to contact him? A couple of times she nearly picked up the phone, but she either talked herself out of it or was distracted.

By Friday afternoon, she was nearly up to date with work. If she put in a half day on Saturday, she’d be completely caught up.

At the light tap on her door frame, Ariana glanced up from the incident reports she was scrolling through on her computer. Cynthia, her executive assistant, stood in the doorway.

“It’s after six,” Cyn told her. “Why don’t you pack it in for the evening?”

Ariana smiled. “I will, but I want to go through the rest of today’s reports first.”

“The reports will be waiting for you Monday. Knowing you, you’ll get back to them tomorrow morning anyway. There’s nothing noteworthy. I already checked. Max and I, and some of the supervisors, are going to grab a drink at The Runway,” she said, referring to the popular bar in one of the hotels close to the airport. “We’d really like it if you joined us. It’s been a while since you’ve come out for an after-work drink.”

Ariana pushed back her hair and tucked it behind her ears. “Thanks for the invite, but I should finish the reports.” She pointed to a stack of file folders on her desk. “The work is piling up.”

Cyn came into the office and stopped in front of Ariana’s desk. “It would mean a lot if you came along. Everyone’s worried about you.”

That’s exactly what Ariana didn’t want. The department was under enough pressure right now with all the cost-cutting that had been going on. Not wanting to burden her team, she’d been carrying the brunt of it. She knew they looked to her to set the tone. If she avoided them, it would only make matters worse. Cyn was right.