Tawny Weber - Call To Redemption

“Did you tell him I was away?” Darby resisted the urge to look over her shoulder. She wouldn’t put it past Paul to follow her on vacation.

“Please,” Grace sniffed. “You know perfectly well that I wouldn’t tell him anything. But I never got a chance to show off my discretion because he never actually stopped by your office. Word is he did stop by Carson’s office, though.”

Why was Paul chatting up the Deputy Director of the US Attorney’s office?

Her unseeing gaze locked on the waves, Darby’s mind raced. He was up to something. But what? He couldn’t get her fired for dumping him, and besides, that wasn’t his style. She could easily imagine him romancing another woman in the office to make her jealous. But she couldn’t see him risking his own reputation by involving her boss in some scheme to get her attention.

She adjusted her sunglasses and blew out a long breath.

Odds were, he was simply playing it up to get her to call. He was playing her. It was totally his style.

She squirmed a little in her chair, shifting her weight from the right to the left and back again. Curiosity was so damn hard to ignore.

“Is he actually spending time with Carson? It could be completely legit. Maybe he’s there to talk about a case for the Judge Advocate General’s office.”

Her fingers tapping a rhythm on her bare knee, Darby considered that possibility. She wouldn’t put it past Paul to make it look as if he had some big case to try to get her attention. She wouldn’t put anything past him, actually. The man had followed her across the country, for God’s sake.

On the other hand, working with the JAG office would not only be the perfect feather in her cap, but it was also quite likely the type of case that would snag her that spot in the National Security Division.

She wanted that spot. But how tangled were the strings going to be if she paired up with Paul to get it?

“I’ve only caught a couple of his visits, and they were short. Like, ten-minutes-or-less short. But I heard he’s been in other times.” Before worry could dig its teeth too deep in Darby’s gut, Grace continued, “I’m going to lunch with Carson’s secretary tomorrow, though. She won’t gossip, but Susan likes me. I’ll find out as much as I can.”

And that, Darby realized, was just one more reason why Grace was the perfect secretary. The woman had her back whether she was in the office or not.

“You’ll keep me in the loop?”

“Guaranteed. Oops, there’s the other line. Gotta go.” With that, and a quick goodbye, Grace hung up.

And Darby was left trying to shake off the feeling that she needed to get her ass back to San Diego. But she was under orders to take her vacation time. Going back—going into the office—would ruin the whole facade that she cared about work-life balance, and likely jeopardize her shot at a promotion. She was better off toeing the line, sticking with the vacation plan and letting Grace do her stealthy thing.

She knew that was smart thinking. She knew it was the right choice. But she still wondered how much was justification. Because an equal truth was that she was having a great time enjoying this little fantasy she and Dominic had going.

For the first time in as far back as she could remember, she’d found something more intriguing, more inspiring, more demanding than her career.

Call it passion.

Call it lust.

Call it fascination.

Hell, call it work-life balance.

Darby pressed a hand against her belly to try to quiet the dancing butterflies.

Whatever she called it, she knew it wasn’t for her career that she was staying in Hawaii for the rest of the week.

No.

It was for Dominic, pure and simple.

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