He didn’t speak until we were both in his office. “Sit.”
I’m not a damn dog.
That’s what went through my head as I again obeyed without meaning to.
He was turned away from me when I sat, and his face was buried in his phone.
Summoned, ordered around, then ignored?
Maybe I was wrong, and he does get rejected a lot. His people skills need work.
I rolled my eyes as I waited for him to tell me why I was there.
“I saw that,” he rumbled in that gravelly voice.
“Do you have eyes in the back of your head?”
“Got eyes all over now.” He turned and showed me his phone screen. The footage was halting and jumpy, but it was a close-up of me. Like, so close and clear—minus the buffering—it seemed like the camera should’ve been right in front of my face.
It took me a lot longer than it should’ve to spot the small device mounted in the ceiling. If not for the ladder still under itandthe flecks of particles around it, I might’ve missed it.
The equipment must’ve been high-quality. The resolution was crystal clear even at that distance. But the streaming aspect was garbage. Beyond garbage. Like trying to watch something on my phone with one signal bar.
It didn’t improve when he touched the screen to change to a view of the main room. If anything, the lag increased as we watched the MayCo guys finish their snack time.
From what I’d seen during my limited time there, the men had moved with adeptness and ease. They clearly worked well together and seemed skilled. Their equipment was high-grade.
Maybe it was the installation that was the issue. Texas had clearly just installed the office one, and the rush job might’ve been botched.
I wasn’t about to say anything, though. Not while they were still working. If they wrapped, and it still sucked, I would try to find a way to get our own techs in to fix the issue.
“What did you need?” I asked, anxious to get to my plans.
“You sitting there.”
My brows lowered. “Why?”
“So I could check the angle of the camera.”
Oh.
Yeah.
That made sense.
I started to stand as he rounded the desk to sit. We froze in a weird halfway limbo, our gazes locked.
His voice was soft yet demanding as he rumbled, “Sit.”
I did.
Again.
What is wrong with me?
“Why?” I asked again, a little late that time.
“Because they’re pulling shit apart out there, and this process will take a fuckuva lot longer with you getting in the way.”