Take Me Down. Sylvia Lett

You will send her running for cover. She’s ready to bolt right now. She can’t handle it. Make something up. You have this job in the bag. Don’t blow it now. You have this job in the bag.

      “I think I need to know if you want to be considered for this position. I’ll be honest with you. Your résumé is very impressive, but I get the feeling you are not being straight with me. I can’t hire a man I don’t trust. Were you in prison or something?” His reluctance to tell bothered her. She had a feeling that whatever he was hiding would be a bombshell. Maybe some things were better left unsaid.

      “No, I wasn’t incarcerated. After I left the navy, some friends and I went down to South America to work as soldiers of fortune. It was dangerous and exciting at the same time. The pay wasn’t bad either.” He saw her freeze up right before his eyes. He knew it would shock her. The truth would shock anyone. This was why he chose not to reveal his former line of business to many people. Men were envious of his daring escapades, but women were sometimes turned off by his past. He didn’t need to be told which one Stephanie would be. He could see it in her eyes and her body gestures that she had become uncomfortable.

      Stephanie was speechless at first. Her brain could not form one coherent thought. “You were a mercenary?” she asked tightly, folding her hands in front of her. Stephanie was aghast as she stared at him. This man was a gun-for-hire. She had read somewhere that mercenaries were loyal only to the highest bidder. She couldn’t believe there was one sitting in front of her applying for a job at her hotel. Yet there he sat.

      “Yes,” he answered, meeting her startled eyes. He watched her eyes twitch. “You wanted the truth. I gave you the truth. Ms. Mason, I’m the best man for this job. My past is my past. I’m no longer in that line of work. My résumé speaks for itself. You won’t find anyone as qualified as I am.”

      That might be true, but Stephanie couldn’t hire him. She would not subject the rest of the employees to him. She would continue her search. The interview was over. “Mr. Kaufman, thank you for coming in. I’ll be in touch when I make my final decision.” She came quickly to her feet and bumped the desk in her nervousness. The glass of water teetered and he caught it before a drop spilled. His hand moved so quickly, Stephanie thought she had imagined it. She watched as he set the glass upright.

      Jack followed her lead by coming to his feet. He took two steps toward her, and Stephanie backed away cautiously, then eyed the door. Jack stopped when he noticed the alarm in her eyes. He smiled warmly. “I was only going to shake your hand and say thank you for your time. Thank you for the interview and your open-mindedness,” he said as his eyes raked over her. “I hope you find what you’re looking for. Have a good day, Ms. Mason. Good luck.”

      Stephanie felt foolish as she watched Jack back out of the office with his hands raised in front of him. He was sending a message. But Stephanie knew she wouldn’t change her mind. She couldn’t hire someone who’d preyed on the weak—even if it was a lifetime ago. And her attraction to him didn’t help matters. No, she definitely couldn’t hire Jack Kaufman.

      Confident that she’d made the right decision, Stephanie took a deep cleansing breath and stared at the résumé one more time, and dropped it in the wastebasket.

      Jack sat in his car staring at Stephanie’s monthly planner. He had swiped it from her desk without her noticing. She was so flustered by his confession that she wouldn’t have noticed much of anything. Jack didn’t realize how intimidating he must have been until he saw Stephanie’s reaction, but he was still surprised at how fearful she seemed.

      Jack drove over to a quick copy place and photocopied Stephanie’s entire planner. Now he had to get it back to her office before she realized it was missing.

      He waited until he saw her walk out of the building for lunch and get into her SUV. That sign was an invitation to every would-be criminal in the city.

      When she drove away, he went over to her parking space and removed the sign with her name on it. He took off his tie tack and put it in his pocket as a precautionary measure. If anyone stopped him, he could say he dropped it in Stephanie Mason’s office and came back to retrieve it.

      Jack frowned when he was able to walk all the way back to Stephanie’s office without anyone stopping him. All the back office doors were unlocked. Her assistant was away from her desk and no one was around.

      He walked into Stephanie’s office and laid the sign on her desk. When he saw her computer was on and unprotected, he smiled wickedly. Sitting down in her chair, he pulled out the keyboard and began to type. He changed her password, and then logged off her computer. Picking up the notepad, he jotted down a quick note.

      This place is an easy target. You should be more careful. A few tips:

       Remove this sign. It makes you a target for every lunatic or kidnapper around.

       Get better security guards. I was able to walk back to your office and leave this for you. No one was around to stop me.

       Always lock your computer and your door when you leave for an extended amount of time. You never know when someone like me will walk in and change your password just to teach you a lesson.

       Buy a new car. Because of that stupid sign, everyone who has ever been here knows what kind of vehicle you drive.

      I look forward to our next meeting,

      JK

      Giving the room one last glance, Jack closed the door behind him. Satisfied, he whistled a tune as he walked out into the sunlight, slipping the dark sunglasses on his face. He got into his black Porsche and waited.

      Stephanie was puzzled when she returned from lunch and her parking sign was gone. There was a car in her parking space, so she picked a spot on the side of the building.

      “Clarence,” said Stephanie, setting her purse on the counter in front of him, “my sign is missing. Do you know anything about it?”

      “Nope.” He shook his head, but didn’t bother to look up at her. “Probably some kids. Just order a new one.” He didn’t even have the courtesy to lay his magazine down and look at her.

      “Can you go outside and look around?” she asked, losing patience with him. Stephanie was infuriated by his attitude. He’s worthless. I’m paying him to sit there and read a magazine. Come to think of it, he was sitting there reading when I left for lunch. He sits there all day. This has to end. I have to find a security consultant soon.

      “It wouldn’t do any good,” he replied, looking up briefly. “They are probably long gone by now.” He got up and stretched. “Guess I do need to stretch my legs a bit.”

      A lap or three around the hotel wouldn’t hurt you either. Disgusted, Stephanie grabbed her bag from the counter and stomped back to her office.

      Georgette was still on one of her extended lunches. A reprimand was long overdue, but Stephanie didn’t know how to get her cousin to take the job seriously. And she didn’t have the heart to fire her.

      Stephanie turned the handle on the door and found her office locked. She frowned and fished in her purse for the key. This is odd. I know I didn’t lock the door. Opening the door, she stopped when she saw her parking sign lying on top of her desk. She cautiously moved farther into the room. She saw a piece of paper taped to the sign. She ripped the note off and read it.

      “You arrogant ass!” she hissed to the empty room. She balled the note up and threw it across the room. “You have some nerve.” Stephanie turned on her computer and tried to log in. She was furious when, true to Jack’s words in the note, she was locked out of her own computer.

      Stephanie fished his résumé out of the wastebasket and pressed out the wrinkles. She hit the speaker button on her telephone and dialed his mobile phone.

      “Jack Kaufman.” He thumbed through the copy of her planner. He’d made notes on each page. There’s a couple of parties coming up. It should be interesting.

      Stephanie leaned both hands on