Free Blizzard of Heat by Viola Grace Page B

she wanted him to go.
    She dived into her work and stayed there until she was able to surface again. Her stomach was a remarkable alarm clock, but it had a tendency to let her focus until after the building was quiet.
    Cwen got to her feet and stretched, snorting and grunting as she loosened the muscles that hours at the computer had tightened up.
    She froze in mid-stretch when she heard the scrape of a shoe in her doorway. Tyr was watching her.
    “I thought I was the last one here.” He looked like he had been working hard. His hair was ruffled, and his tie and shirt had been loosened at the neck.
    She shook her head. “No, I was doing payroll. It is always engrossing. You don’t want to leave it half done. Folks get irritated.”
    He chuckled. “You are correct. I have a personal question to ask you.”
    “Ask away.”
    “Where can I get some good takeout? I have a few more hours of catching up to do.”
    Cwen reached into her desk and flicked through a handful of menus. “What do you prefer? Italian, Chinese, sandwiches or barbeque?”
    “Tonight, I think I need Chinese.”
    She brandished a menu and handed it to him. “I was going to place an order myself if you want to split the delivery charge.”
    He looked at the menu and grinned. “I am guessing these marks are your favourites?”
    “They are. I order from them twice a week.”
    Tyr chuckled. “I will call in an order. Can I try a few of your selections?”
    “Of course.”
    “Wonderful. If you aren’t occupied, I wouldn’t mind some company.”
    She nodded. “I will be there after I get the handoff for the takeout. You do the ordering; I will bring it to you.”
    Tyr nodded and headed for his office, leaving the door open.
    Cwen walked around the waiting room and all the meeting rooms, gathering cups, plates, napkins and the tissues left behind by those in shock or grief.
    It wasn’t strictly part of her duties, but the cleaners didn’t come in until after ten, so she tried to give them a leg up when she could.
    She loaded the dishwasher and heard the afterhours bell as it chimed the arrival of dinner. She nearly skipped to the door and buzzed in the delivery guy after verifying his identity.
    She grabbed the first bag and then was handed a second. “Let me get my wallet.”
    Rob shook his head. “Nope, it is all paid for. Have a nice night, Ms. Piderson.”
    She peeped above the bags. “You too, Rob.”
    He left, and she waited until the security door swung shut. Once it was secure, she headed through the building and to Tyr’s office.
    She wandered in and found the edge of the desk with her hip. “You must be hungry.”
    He chuckled and helped her put the bags down on the desk. “I always shotgun new places. I try everything and narrow down what I want to eat.”
    “Well, you can’t go wrong with Heaven’s Garden.”
    She identified her cartons by scent, and she settled them. “Hang on, I will get some chopsticks.”
    She sprinted to her office, and when she returned with chopsticks and napkins, he was opening her soda for her and gesturing for her to sit in the client chair on the other side of his desk.
    She scooted the extra chair over, angled her chair and she settled down with the chopsticks and one of the cartons. Kung Pao chicken was always a favourite.
    Cwen looked at him and cocked her head as he dug into the first box he grabbed. “Why are you here?”
    Tyr paused with a wad of noodles firmly in his sticks. “I am eating.”
    “I mean at Legal Aid. You are a little fancy for this place.”
    He grinned and took a bite. When he had cleared enough of it to speak, he said, “I am on loan. I am a trouble-shooter for when the workload gets too high. My organization lends me out when necessary.”
    “What is your speciality?”
    “Criminal law. I will be working with cases that are marked as requiring criminal defense.”
    She blinked. “Like what?”
    “Shoplifting, vandalism, drunken assaults. That kind of thing.”
    Cwen