Free The Officer's Girl by Leigh Duncan Page B

well-deserved swig of bottled water, she jiggled one foot until the charms dangling from her ankle strap clinked together. The sound made her grin.
    Though they were only designer knockoffs, no one could tell her shoes from the real thing. And the other executives had taken her suggestions as seriously as if she were the real thing, too. Instead of a director so new to the job she didn’t even have keys to her own office. So new to the area, she had to be told when to evacuate.
    From evacuation, it was a simple jump to thoughts of Brett Lincoln and her mind played leapfrog. The way the hunky police officer had looked at her earlier brought steamy to a whole new level. But he hadn’t kissed her. She would have bet money on that and lost.
    Gladly, she insisted. Space Tech needed her. Her commitment to the welfare of its eight hundred local employees would leave no time for a relationship. If nothing else, today’s events had proven that.
    It had also added to her list of things to do before she headed home. After another sip of water, her feet hit the floor. A few keyboard clicks filled her computer screen with information. She picked up the phone and dialed.
    “This is Stephanie Bryant in HR,” she explained to the security supervisor when he answered. “I’d appreciate it if you called someone in to cover Paul’s shift tomorrow.”She listened to the expected response. “Yes, I realize he doesn’t have any vacation left. Give him the day off, with pay. I’ve already squared it with senior management. Charge it against this account.” She rattled off a series of numbers tied to a pool of money the home office had grudgingly set aside.
    The notifications would soon spread throughout the company. In a day, two at the most, Space Tech would reopen its doors and everyone with e-mail would know about the special leave plan. Those with significant, verifiable hurricane damage would be granted up to five days of paid personal time. Not only that, a special exemption would allow those who needed it to borrow from their retirement funds for repairs. The message was clear: the Space Tech family cared for its own.
    She had seen to it. The ladder to success might have wobbled a bit, but she was still hanging on.
    She eyed her office again. Without Brett’s sleeping bag to curl up in, the floor would be harder than hard, so staying there wasn’t an option. It was time to go home and pry off another storm shutter. She hadn’t been able to accomplish the task earlier, so how she’d manage without daylight was perplexing, but manage she would. Hadn’t she battled Corporate and won? Surely, she could take down a storm shutter or two. She powered down her laptop, shut off the lights and closed her office door.
     
    S TEPHANIE COULD not believe her luck. Dick and Sam had returned. They’d taken down her storm shutters and left them neatly propped against the wall next to the garage. Unfortunately, her luck did not extend to cell coverage she discovered when she tried to tell Brett he’d been wrong about the duo. She tapped her phone, but service was onthe fritz again and the bars refused to appear. She flipped the phone closed. The chance to tease the cop could wait until morning. In the meantime, she would spend a delightfully cool evening in her new house, where sea breezes blew in through every window.
    At work the next day, she delayed making the call until Paul’s replacement escorted her through the halls. But by the time they reached her office, it was too late. Shrill phones rang on the other side of the door.
    “Will the offices have electricity?” a caller asked.
    “Yes,” she said. “Power has been restored to all Space Tech buildings.”
    Not every business was so lucky, but the electric company had called for additional help, and contractors from all over the country were working around the clock to restore power. Top priority went to area hospitals and police stations, followed by a slowly expanding grid of