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"Please do"

We chatted a bitdetails of her training and specific examples of how she’d handled various situations Dawna chipped in a little, but for the most part she let me take the lead As rapped up, I told Talia I would call her in a few days, after I’d had the opportunity to check references

She rose, shook hands with both Dawna andthe door behind her

"Well?" I asked my partner

"I … I don’t know Like she said, it’s been fifteen years She’s changed"

I started ticking off positive points "Well, I like to support theshe kno to follow orders, and she was s a char for a six, but with enough training, a four can do prettywe’re likely to need, and she definitely has the intiuarding work"

"We do need another fe to be tied up in adood part of the tiht Damn it

"So what’s the probleressive and rown it…" Her voice trailed off

"But it ressive for e need"

Dawna nodded

"Okay Why don’t you do the calls? You’re better at subtle than I aot it under control or if there’s still a problem Check around with the fa a problem We’ll hold off on a decision until we know more Does that work?"

"It works fine"

We had a few minutes until the next scheduled interview I cracked open the bottle of water in front ofto talk about Dawna’s one of my best friends It shouldn’t have been difficult But I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I was saved by a light knock on the conference room door I called, "Come in," and the person outside opened the door

"Kevin?" I was startled to see hiham was Emma’s brother and he’d worked at the university--until the day he gave the college president a shove Happily, he hadn’t killed President Lackley, and Lackley had decided not to press charges, since he knew about Kevin’s PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder is a real bitch to deal with People can have bouts of rage that are difficult to control

Thankfully, Kevin hadn’t totally lost it that day If he had, Lackley would be , with or without the full moon President Lackley didn’t know Kevin was a shifter--most people didn’t--so he didn’t realize just how lucky he’d been In the end, Kevin still got fired Since then, he’s put in a lot of tiotten hi better But he still has a haunted look in his eyes

Standing in the doorway, Kevin looked uncertain but gorgeous in a navy suit that was just a hair too big for hi, but despite working on Emma’s house, he wasn’t quite as ripped as he had been once upon a ti a briefcase, and Paulie, his assistance dog, stood at his side, groomed to within an inch of her life, her work jacket strapped into place

"What’s up?" I asked

"E I wanted to submit an application"