Sunday had been nice. Maybe she didn’t need a man to make her happy, but her family, she definitely needed. Being close to them again felt right. She was glad when her mother told her that now that all her children were living close by she’d be having early Sunday dinner for the entire family at her place every week. That was even more to look forward to because seeing her siblings and their families had been wonderful.
Albeit her parents weren’t that close, the just-over-an-hour drive each way to their home had also served a purpose. It’d given her time to think. Her job wasn’t that bad, really. She just had to give herself time to adjust, and she’d already decided she wouldn’t give the sergeant another thought. The only energy she’d put into anything where he was concerned was to avoid him completely. She had enough things to deal with and an entire new lifestyle to adjust to. She didn’t need to be thinking about a man who, from what she’d seen Friday, was likely married or in a relationship anyway. Being around her family reminded her why she’d made this move in the first place. Knowing she was close enough that she could be with them often now made it all worth it. She wouldn’t let a less glamorous job than her job in New York or some jerk working in the same building make her forget that.
For the past few days, she’d effectively managed to be upbeat about her job and hadn’t once run into him. That is until yesterday, but fortunately it’d been brief, and both times he’d been just as cold and indifferent as ever. Screw him. She was done trying to figure out what his problem was. She’d seen the way he glared at the other sergeant she’d been speaking to. Unlike Sergeant Billings, Sergeant Rodriguez had been friendly and engaging. Yet Sergeant Billings had seen fit to look at him in that same rigid way she thought he’d reserved just for her. The simple answer could very well be he was just an asshole.
Done thinking about it, she brought her mind back to the more pleasant things about that week. Regina had finally come up with what her boss had been counting on when she pitched her the idea of taking this job—a way to get this lagging project moving along.
Standing from her chair, she smiled, feeling very pleased with herself. Today had gone better than she’d imagined. The impromptu meeting she had with the staff to run her idea by them had gone well also. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her things and headed out.
All week she’d been taking the stairs instead of the elevator, except for yesterday when she’d seen him rush up the stairs. It’d been the only time she’d seen him do that. Usually, he took the elevator, so she’d stick to the stairs under normal circumstances. Taking the stairs added steps to her step count for the day, and she didn’t have to worry about any uncomfortable elevator rides. Win—win. Tonight, however, because she got caught up putting her new idea into effect and had to make a few calls to some key people who could get it moving along, she’d been here much later than usual.
Since the building was just about empty, she figured her chances of getting caught up in the elevator with him were slim to none, so she made her way to the elevator. Unbelievably, halfway there, she heard slow ominous footsteps coming from behind her—the direction of his office—but she dare not look. It could be someone else. What were the odds that of all the other people on this floor it would be him?
Charlie Brown.
Panicking as the footsteps got closer, she thought of the stairs just around the elevator. She could keep walking and take them instead. She still had a chance. As she reached the elevator, she hesitated for a moment but then kept going. She’d rather walk down than risk ruining her otherwise pleasant day by engaging in another irritating encounter with that man. She stopped just on top of the stairs but out of view now of whoever had been behind her. Deciding she should wait and not go down just yet to avoid running into him downstairs, she did. But the footsteps hadn’t stopped. What if like yesterday, he’d decided to take the stairs as well and came around the corner only to find her standing there like an idiot?
Going back and forth because the footsteps were still coming, she shook her fist, frustrated by her inability to make such a simple decision. Head down or not? Geez!
Maybe he just hadn’t reached the elevator yet. Even if he did take the elevator, she still had a chance to make a mad dash down the stairs and beat him because he still had to wait for the elevator.
Regina took off in a hurry but immediately realized she’d be much faster if she took her shoes off. A few steps down, she took one shoe off then went for the other and lost her footing. Her heart jumped to her throat when she tried to recover and couldn’t. Before she knew what was happening, she heard herself yelp from the pain of her ankle bending under her. Everything after that happened so fast there was nothing she could do to stop it. Her arms flayed out wildly, unable to grasp onto anything as her entire body went down. The things in her purse flew everywhere as it fell out in front of her, and she hit every step, unable to slow the fall until she finally hit the wall where the stairwell turned with a loud and painful thud.
Dazed for a few seconds, it took her a moment to grasp what had just happened. She shook her head and immediately regretted it because it made her head throb. She was so dazed she didn’t even realize the loud clanking was someone running down the stairs toward her.
Looking up, she was face to face with Sergeant Billings, who immediately crouched down, the usual hardened expression now very concerned.
“Don’t move,” he said as she tried to sit up. “Lie down instead,” he instructed her, and she did as he told her. “You might have a neck or spinal injury. You’ll make it worse if you move.”
Very slowly and gently, Regina moved her neck from side to side to assess whether her neck was really injured or not. She tried in vain to ignore the screaming voice in her head.
Of course, instead of avoiding him, you rolled down the stairs, bringing the most mortifying kind of attention to yourself. You didn’t just trip or fall—you rolled!
“My neck feels fine,” she said, wanting nothing more than to gather her things and get as far away from there as possible.
Over the initial shock and ignoring the pain now, Regina felt so incredibly embarrassed she couldn’t even look at him as she tried sitting again.
“Look in my eyes,” he said, and unwillingly she did. Was it possible they’d gotten even bluer?
As he held her from moving by her arm, she stopped. For the first time since he’d arrived, she got an up close less dazed look at him. Unlike all the other times when she’d seen him in his utility uniform, he now wore a service uniform with lots of medals, which only gave him an even more commanding appearance. Whatever cologne he wore smelled so good she had to fight the urge to close her eyes and just inhale deeply. She gazed into those very serious blue eyes.
“Can you tell me what your name is?” he asked.
Instantly, she was yanked out of the wistful state she hadn’t even noticed she’d gone into. Her insides warmed with mortification or anger; she couldn’t decide. But she was consumed by both emotions. Was he really going to act as if he didn’t remember her?
She jerked her arm away from him. “You know who I am!”
Surprised by the tiny gleam in his eyes, she was caught in them once again, but she still glared.
“Yes,” he nodded, and to her utter shock, he smiled softly. “I know who you are, Ms. Brady. I was just trying to assess how hard you hit your head.”
“Oh,” she said, and as if she couldn’t feel anymore embarrassed than she already did, she now felt like a complete jackass. “Yes, I know my name. It’s Regina.” Even through her embarrassment, she was surprised by what a smile from him did to her. “I really don’t think I broke anything,” she explained as she once again tried to sit up, and he allowed it this time. “Nothing hurts that bad.”