“Brian, I know you’re only teasing when you start ragging on Olivia, but I’m not certain she knows. I don’t want the office upset—”
“She knows,” he said, stuffing his fingers into his jeans pockets and grinning at her, that wide, white aw-shucks-I’m-just-a-country-boy grin that he used to keep people off guard. “We’re having fun.”
“If you say so,” Joann said doubtfully. “From the way things looked a minute ago, you were about to get clocked.”
“Nah. She’s a pacifist; she doesn’t believe in hitting.”
“Unless you push her to her limit,” Milla said. “And I think you’re getting close.”
“Trust me.” He winked at her. “What did you say to Mrs. Hatcher? She looked like a woman marching off to war when she left here.”
“I convinced her to change her bank account and see a lawyer.”
“Thank God,” Joann said. “She should have done that as soon as she realized he’d taken half their money.”
“She wasn’t ready to hear it. The shock had to wear off before she could listen.”
“I hope he comes crawling back in a few months and finds out she’s divorced his ass,” Brian said. “The shithead.”
“Amen.” Milla looked at the pile of paperwork on her desk and sighed. “I’m having lunch with Susanna, unless something comes up. Is everything quiet?”
“Under control. First thing this morning I got a group in Vermont out looking for an elderly lady with Alzheimer’s who wandered away from home, but they found her within the hour. And some college kids hiking in the Sierra Nevada didn’t come home on schedule, so things are getting organized there.”
“How late are they?”
“One day. They were supposed to be home last night, but the families haven’t heard from them.”
“Let’s just hope they have sense enough to stick together.” And that none of them were injured. And that at least one of them had given their itinerary to a parent or a friend. Milla was always amazed at how many people set off into the wilderness without telling someone where they were going.
She told the staff the news about their new sponsor from Dallas, and the promise of a new computer system, then she settled down to wade through the growing stack of paper.
An hour later, Olivia stuck her head in the door to ask a question, and Milla took advantage of the opportunity. “If Brian’s teasing gets to be too much, just let me know.”
“I can handle him,” Olivia said, smiling. “It’s okay, really. He thinks he’s getting a rise out of me and I enjoy busting his chops. When he stops dancing around and works up the nerve to ask me out, I’ll make him forget about big hair and small brains.”
Ask her out? Milla’s eyes opened wide. Was that what was going on? “He’s ex-military,” Milla blurted. “He’s conservative. He’s macho to the max—”
“He’s also ten years younger,” said Olivia, the smile widening to a grin. “Sounds good, doesn’t it? I doubt we’ll get around to discussing social issues, but if we do, I can hold my own with him. Who knows? I might convert him to my way of thinking.”
Bewildered, Milla stared after Olivia as she walked away with a real bounce in her step. Sexual chemistry was an amazing thing. She had to adjust her thinking to see Olivia and Brian together, but in an odd way they meshed, because they were both strong-minded enough that neither could be dominated by the other.
Well. This had been an interesting morning.
Lunch with Susanna was as pleasant as usual. Susanna always asked about Finders; from the beginning she had shown real interest and occasionally turned up at fund-raisers. She never pried, never rehashed that awful day when Justin was taken, but she always asked how things were going. If Milla had any new leads, she’d tell her about them, but for the most part she had nothing to tell. Today, she did, but when Susanna asked, Milla just shook her head. Because Susanna sometimes attended fund-raisers, she was in the same general social circle with True Gallagher, and Milla didn’t want to take the chance her friend might say something to him. Even if she asked Susanna to keep the news private, Milla knew it wouldn’t be. Susanna would tell Rip, Rip would tell someone, and before Milla knew it, True would be on the phone raising hell and Diaz would disappear. She couldn’t risk that, so she kept quiet.
The meal was almost finished when Susanna dipped her spoon into her papaya sorbet and casually asked, “Are you seeing anyone lately?”
Milla burst out laughing. The rumor mill had certainly been efficient! “If you mean True Gallagher, the answer is no.”
“That’s not what I hear.” A tiny smile was playing around Susanna’s well-shaped mouth, and her blue eyes were laughing.
“He asked, I refused. That’s all there is.”
“I hear he walked you to your car Saturday night.”
“But that’s all he did.”
“For goodness’ sake, why won’t you go out with him? He’s a . . .” Susanna paused, and gave a delicate little shiver. “He’s a man, with a capital M.”
“I know. He’s also one of Finders’ sponsors.”
“Which means?”
“That I won’t do anything to jeopardize our funding, whether it’s from True or someone who wouldn’t like the way it looked if I dated one of the sponsors.”
“You didn’t take a vow of chastity,” Susanna said, annoyed.