Seduced by His Target (23 page)

Or at least he could have if he weren't an operative skilled in investigation and well trained to read people and their body language. Although he could just be looking for signals to give himself a reason to continue to press her.

“Got it.” He kept his tone light. “We all do what we gotta do.” He paused. “Would you like me to let you know if I hear of any better-paying job opportunities?”

She stopped scrubbing and stood looking at him. “You know, Daniel, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to flirt with me.”

He laughed aloud. “I didn't think I was that obvious.” No, he was being even
more
obvious. Although not for the reasons she thought. At least not entirely. He didn't want to find this woman, who was dressed in the least sexy outfit he could imagine, at all seductive...and yet she somehow was. “So...how about if we go out for lunch one of these days and you can tell me how a beautiful woman like you wound up cleaning shelves instead of...say, modeling?”

That way, he'd be able to pick her brain even more. He wanted to believe she was what she appeared to be, but his gut told him there was a lot beneath the pretty dark hair of hers that she was hiding.

Would talking to her more help him to gain any of the knowledge he sought at this company?

Unlikely, but someone who could push a cleaning cart around and show up in practically any corner of the large pharmaceuticals company might have observed things that could be useful to him. He'd have to figure out a subtle way to get her to reveal anything she knew.

That seemed as good an excuse to himself as any for getting to know all he could about sexy Beth.

“Oh, but I chose to join the housecleaning staff.” She sounded chilly now, as if he had insulted her. Maybe he had. “Now, if you'll excuse me.” Her glare told him she was leaving right now, even if he
didn't
choose to excuse her.

* * *

Beth followed all the protocols she had been taught in the few days she had worked here to reorganize and sanitize the items she had used on the special cleaning cart, then strip off her sanitary gear and place it in the correct receptacles in the clean room.

She felt she could only start breathing again once she was outside the door with her original cart. It was almost a relief to duck into the ladies' room to fill a pail with water, then pour in the normal kind of cleaning fluid and go back out to start mopping the floor.

Never in her life had she believed she would ever take a job cleaning a building, let alone enjoy it. Sort of. But at least at this moment it was a relief to be out of the presence of that man, Daniel.

Under other circumstances, she might have found him cute, she realized as she pushed the mop back and forth across the floor. More than cute. In fact, he was one good-looking man, which she'd realized as soon as he pulled his face mask down. He had come across as a bit of a geek at first—a techie, scientific sort. And yet his flirtation wasn't geeky at all.

Plus, he had gotten in her way. She'd pondered whether she could flirt back and use his apparent interest in her to extract knowledge.

Instead, she knew it was better that she stay cautious. Avoid that guy from now on—although she couldn't really know in advance if she'd run into him on the job.

Unless... She paused with the mop handle in her hand and stared at the floor she had dampened.

Maybe it could be a good thing to befriend a lower-echelon member of the lab staff. Without giving herself away, could she use him to help find what she was looking for?

Interesting idea. She needed to ponder whether it could work and how she could use it before attempting to implement it. But for now, she started moving again, even faster than before. She would finish scrubbing this hall as quickly as she could, before Daniel McManus exited the lab.

If she decided to try to exploit him, she was sure she would see him here again.

Copyright © 2013 by Linda O. Johnston

ISBN-13: 9781460323076

SEDUCED BY HIS TARGET

Copyright © 2013 by Gail Ellen Barrett

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