“I like the name of your company,” Ivy blurted out, pushing a strand of her long blonde hair away from her face.

“Do you?” Darther Landon looked up from his papers. He looked as if he was finally seeing her as a person and not just another applicant he had to suffer interviewing. He was probably used to having women fawning over him and blurting out stupid sentences just to get his attention.

When she’d learnt that she had an appointment with the CEO, she’d imagined a grey-haired older gentleman. Not someone like the brown-haired devil with his sleek panther-like figure currently sitting in front of her. Maybe they were messing with her and had sent one of their bodyguards to interview her instead.

But when he’d opened his mouth and started talking, his words sounded like any other businessman. Except for the fact that the deep baritone was making funny things happen inside her chest and mind. It was probably why she spoke when she should have kept her mouth shut. Besides, it suited the role was she supposed to play, so she gave it all she had.

“Yes, who wouldn’t?” Ivy said quickly. “‘Monsters Unlimited’ sounds both cute and dangerous at the same time.”

He looked at her as if he wondered if he should feel insulted or laugh at her words. But instead, he cleared his throat and looked calmer than before.

“Do you know what we do?” he asked in a neutral voice.

“No. But from what I’ve been told, I’m only here to answer your phone and manage the visitors. I’m sure I can figure it out.”

He chuckled, revealing a handsome smile behind his stern features. “I certainly hope you will.”

She gave him a broad smile, hiding her true feelings while she tried to behave like the most eager and adaptable temp he’d ever come across. Hopefully, she would get past their radar. As a security company, it was by far the biggest challenge she’d come across. But choosing between breaking in or dressing up for an interview, the latter was definitely the easier option. Provided she could pull it off without being distracted by her prospective boss.

She needed this job. Really needed it. It was the only way of finding out what had happened to Marcus. This was definitely not the right time to be dazzled by a hunky employer, no matter how appealing he was.

* * * * *

A week later, Ivy wondered if it was her silly statement that had landed her the job. There had certainly been plenty of other temps that were interviewed that day. But for some reason, they had called her a few hours later and offered her the job. She’d felt so relieved she would probably have kissed the caller if they’d been face to face. This would make it easier to do what she needed to do.

Besides, how difficult could it be to go undercover as a receptionist? She’d done plenty of secretary work for both her brother and father over the years. Plenty of legwork too, when they happened to find something that wasn’t too dangerous.

She had often wondered why they bothered to train her when they were so reluctant to let her take on any more dangerous tasks for the family business. The experience would have been valuable now when she faced the biggest challenge. To find her brother. Or worst-case scenario, to find what was left of him. She didn’t want to contemplate the second option, but she had long since learned that it made sense to be prepared for the worst.

Still, if Marcus hadn’t been the usual secretive and over-protective jerk, the job would have been a lot easier. When their father died, her brother had taken over the family business. After that, he’d shared even less information about what he was working on.

So when he suddenly vanished without a trace, Ivy had to start from scratch and go over everything he’d done for the last few weeks and months. It had been a steep learning curve. But the more she dug, the more clues she found pointing to a security company called ‘Monsters Unlimited’, led by the Landon family.

Marcus hadn’t written why he took an interest in them or if one of his clients had hired him to do it. But the sheer amount of information he’d gathered made her suspicious. Marcus never did anything unless there was a good reason for it. So why was he investigating them so thoroughly? And had they anything to do with his disappearance?

There was no help to be gained from the police. When Ivy had reported him missing, they had only made a few phone calls. Shortly after, they concluded that he’d disappeared voluntarily and that he would show up when he was done with his latest lady love. Yeah right. She knew her brother better than they did. Marcus would never leave without giving telling her something. Not if he was able. That meant something must have happened to him. Something sinister.

It didn’t make the mystery any less when she received a text message from an unknown number, stating:

 ‘Your brother is injured but alive. Stay calm. He will return as soon as he is well.’

Again, the police were convinced there was nothing to do but wait. Ivy hated waiting. Hated not knowing. She’d done plenty of waiting for both her father and her brother over the years. But all those times she’d been informed before they vanished. Not after, and never by an anonymous text.

Something wasn’t right about Marcus’s disappearance, and she was going to find out what. No matter how many toes she had to trample or how many people she needed to shoot along the way. It would be a pity to maim Darther Landon, though, she giggled. But, if he had killed her brother, she wouldn’t show any mercy. No matter how handsome he was.

Marcus had even underlined Darther Landon’s name, making her new boss the primary suspect. If it wasn’t for her training, she might have sought him out and asked him directly about her brother. But if he had something to hide, that would be the biggest and last mistake of her life. It was better to infiltrate the enemy and see if she could find the answers she needed.

Which was why she had dressed up in bright yellow colours, pretending to be a young woman that was more interested in her fingernails than in their operations. Trying to act professionally as a ditz where she was way outside her comfort zone. But when you had no choice, it was amazing what you could achieve. At least, she’d landed the temporary job as their receptionist. Now all she needed to do was to snoop around for a while. 

She ran her hand down her skirt, smoothing out any non-existent wrinkles while she wondered if it was too short when she was sitting down. If it was, it would only do what it was supposed to. To draw attention to her legs and clothes and away from the fact that she was feeling terribly nervous.

She checked her watch. She was punctual. Taking a deep breath, she entered the enemy’s den.

“Welcome, Ivy,” Darther Landon greeted her as she stepped into their reception area. “Let me show you around.”

She greeted her new boss while putting on the role she was supposed to play. It was almost like she expected someone to jump forward and shout ‘Action’ or ‘Cut’, but it didn’t happen. She could do this, she instructed herself. Because she had to. There was no room for errors when a life was at stake.

* * * * *

Darther watched the young woman stare wide-eyed as he showed her the stored equipment and the different costumes his agents used when they were on stakeouts. It was apparent she’d never worked for a security company before.

He hoped she was made of sterner material than she appeared. Her lithe figure was both appealing and a potential problem when dealing with demanding clients. Hopefully, the fact that she was young and attractive would outweigh the other drawbacks. He’d done what he always did and followed his gut instinct when he’d hired her.

“Gosh. This is so cool. But where are the monsters?” Ivy asked and ran her fingers over the nearest costume.

‘Right beside you,’ Darther wanted to say, but he knew he could never admit it out loud. Not unless he wanted to watch her run away screaming, forcing him to search for another receptionist. For some reason, it felt essential to keep this one around.

“What monsters?” he asked politely.

“You did that Disney movie, didn’t you? I totally loved it.”

“Ah no. That wasn’t us.”

“So what do you do? Are you event planners for Halloween parties?”

“Not exactly. We’re security consultants.”

“So you’re more like ‘James Bond?” Her voices sounded eager while she looked around the place as if she expected ‘Daniel Craig’ to walk past them at any moment.

He forced a laugh. “Sorry to disappoint you, but our work is a lot more boring in real life. Most of our time is spent providing businesses advice on how to avoid cybercrime.”

“Oh.” Ivy did sound a bit disappointed. But then she smiled broadly. “That’s still cool. Where do I start?”

‘With me,’ he wanted to say. He forced himself to stay on topic, not giving in to any temptation floating his way. The woman had a strange effect on his usual calm demeanour. He took a deep breath before he answered.

“We need you to handle our front desk and direct whatever and whoever comes in. If you have time to spare, there are plenty of other tasks you can help us with.”

“No problem. I’m always ready for more tasks.”

“I’ll consider it. Since you’re new here, we’ll cut you some slack.”

She giggled. “Not too much slack, I hope. I like to keep busy.”

“That won’t be a problem here.” Darther paused before asking the question at the tip of his tongue. “Do you always dress in yellow?”

“It’s my favourite colour.”

He’d noticed. The bright yellow colour mixed with the black belt made Ivy look like a bee. A chatty bee, now that he knew her a bit better. But still a bee.

He briefly wondered if the bee could sting if her boss forgot his manners and groped her ass. She probably would. Or she would raise charges against him that would ruin the company reputation. Nope. It wasn’t worth it. No matter how tasty she looked and smelled.