Page 120 of Badd Love
He flipped through my file again. “So you've flown in combat?"
"Yes, sir.” I gestured at the file on the desk. "Not everything is in there, sir. I was attached to some heavily classified ops."
"Juicy."
I frowned. "Pardon?"
"I said that's juicy."
"Juicy." I tried to process what this could mean in this context and didn't quite make it.
He grinned. "So you've got some great stories to tell, but you're not allowed to tell them."
"Correct, sir."
He nodded, standing up and turning away from me. "I have two children, Commander Tiernan. A son who is, in a word, a wastrel. Charming, fascinating, and immensely cool, but a wastrel, currently. He can charm the pants off a nun, Commander. The other is a daughter who's getting married soon. She has, for reasons I cannot fathom, chosen to have a destination wedding and honeymoon in Ketchikan fucking Alaska, of all places. Now, I like Alaska. I've got a research station up in Nome. But I wouldn't get married there. Helena, however, is…unique, and she's my baby, so I spoil her."
"I see." The man liked his non sequiturs.
“Gunnar, however, my son…I worry about him. More to the point, I worry about his influence on my employees. He has slept his way through my secretary pool, twice, and several of my PAs. That's why I hired Albert, there." He pointed at the skinny kid who'd brought me in. "He's…what are you, again? I'll remember, eventually."
"Abrosexual, Mr. Thorvaldsen."
I frowned. "I don't know what that is."
"Fluid, essentially," Albert answered. "Who I'm interested in is…changeable, depending on a variety of factors, but I tend to be more interested in men than women.”
Thorvaldsen grinned. "See? It's foolproof! My son is very firmly heterosexual, and likes his conquests with a lot of silicone and not a lot of brains."
"Well, sir, he won't be interested in me, then." If he saw me in a bikini, that might change, but that wasn't happening. "You can consider my pants firmly up and me immune to his charms."
This got me a nod. “You're single?"
"Yes sir."
"Do you drink?"
“Seldom, and never within twelve hours of flying."
"I take my privacy more seriously than even my business."
"I have Top secret security clearance. Or, had. I’m very good at keeping secrets.”
Silence.
"You're hired.”
I blinked. "Excellent, sir. When do I start?"
He turned to me, grinning. "No nonsense, I like that. But I wouldn't hate it if you loosened up a bit. Tell a joke. Banter a bit. In time, I suppose.” He turned to Albert. "Get her processed, paperwork, all that mess." To me, then. "Can you fly me to Ketchikan tomorrow?"
"Ketchikan?"
"It's in Alaska."
"I know where Ketchikan is."
"Does it matter why I'm going there?"
