Free Texan Undercover (Romantic Suspense) by Anne Marie Novark Page B

Nat?"
    "Natalie has gone to get sandwiches and
drinks for our lunch. She's letting me work on her computer. The
cafe is noisy today and I'm at a particularly perplexing
configuration in my program. The noise was disturbing and Natalie
offered her office. I naturally accepted."
    "Naturally. How's the dissertation coming
along?" She walked toward the desk. Frank closed one document and
opened another.
    "It's laborious, to say the least." He looked
at his notes and checked the data on the screen.
    Natalie waltzed into the office, bearing a
tray of food. "Sorry, I took so long--" She stopped when she
noticed Claire.
    "Huh-oh. Busted." She set the tray on her
desk. "Why don't you join us, Claire? I brought enough to feed an
army."
    "Nat, you know customers aren't allowed back
here."
    "Frank isn't just a customer . He's
more than that." Nat smiled. "Come on, Claire. It's Frank. What can
it hurt?"
    Frank stood. "I'll leave if my presence is
causing a problem."
    Natalie rushed to his side. "No, you don't.
Sit. Work. I brought food." She handed him a plate, cup and napkin.
"Claire, how about you?"
    Sighing, Claire sat down. "Just don't make a
habit of this, okay? We can't have customers or friends in
the office area. Especially right now."
    A frisson of tension curled the hairs on the
back of Claire's neck. She turned toward the door. Dillon stood
there glaring at Frank. "What the hell is he doing in here?" he
demanded.
    Before she could answer, Natalie marched over
and stabbed at Dillon's chest with one of her perfectly manicured
nails. "That's none of your business, now is it? Why don't you go
tinker with the computers? That's all you need to worry about, big
guy."
    Dillon stared at Natalie. He shot a look at
Claire that told her he wasn't happy with the situation, then left
the office.
    "Well, I swear," Natalie said. "He acts like
he owns the place, doesn't he?"
    "Never mind him," Claire said, refusing to
let Dillon's presence ruffle her. She grabbed a sandwich from the
tray and glanced at Frank. He seemed oblivious to them. The man was
totally focused on his work. "I need to run something by you and
this is as good a time as any."
    Natalie plopped down in the other chair.
"Okay, shoot."
    "You know I've been wracking my brain trying
to come up with an idea to make our anniversary celebration
special?"
    "Besides the big party?" Natalie asked.
    "Yeah, besides that."
    "And?"
    Claire set her sandwich down. "What do you
think about offering free coffee and food, plus free Internet time
besides the cake and punch?
    "Great idea," Natalie said. "If we advertise,
it should bring in more customers. Good exposure."
    "My thoughts exactly. And it would be good
for business in the long run."
    Natalie picked up a sandwich from the tray.
"Still thinking about upgrading the computers?"
    "Upgrade the computers?" Frank asked, looking
up from his work. "What's wrong with what you have now?"
    Claire brushed crumbs from her fingers. "I
want e*Claire's to be up to date with the newest technology."
    Natalie handed her a napkin. "How long will
it take to do the upgrades?"
    "Two days, three max," Claire said. "I'll do
it myself. I'll order the software and chips early next week. I
want everything ready in time for the party."
    Frank stood abruptly and stuffed his papers
in his brief case.
    "Hey, what's wrong?" Natalie asked. "Where
are you going?" "I have class in twenty minutes. I'll see you
tonight." He kissed her awkwardly on the cheek and left.
    Natalie rubbed her cheek. "Isn't he the
sweetest thing?"
    "You like him a lot, don't you?" Claire
asked.
    "Yes, I do. More than a lot."
    "I'm glad, Nat." Claire smiled, took a bite
of sandwich, then frowned. "He left in a hurry though, didn't
he?"
    "You know how absent-minded Frank is. It's a
miracle he remembers anything other than that dissertation of his.
That's all he thinks about."
    "Really?" A horrible thought crossed Claire's
mind. "Have you ever read anything he's working on?"
    Natalie shrugged. "Not