arm shake with the restrained aggression. Julie also found it difficult to stay in her seat for the remainder of the meeting. She knew people were giving her pitying looks, but that didn’t sting as much as Eric’s firm and swift rejection.
She hunched her shoulders, trying to appear smaller and invisible as the tears pricked the back of her eyes. Julie heard Eric’s voice as he outlined the strategy, but she wasn’t listening.
What exactly did Eric think she couldn’t do? Did he think she couldn’t seduce a man? Or was he unsure if she could be helpful in an investigation? Maybe it was both? Julie pressed her lips together as the pain ricocheted in her body.
Okay, so she wasn’t hot like Asia. This was not breaking news. She wasn’t mysterious or exotic, but she didn’t look like a zombie, either. All she needed was to take on a sexy alias and she could be the best decoy Eric had ever seen.
But maybe he thought it was impossible. The guy had seen and done it all while hunting down artifacts. He’d probably bedded gorgeous women across the globe and met his match with the best seductresses who hid important treasures. Julie couldn’t compare to that kind of competition.
Julie gave a start when her coworkers got up from their seats. She hadn’t noticed the meeting had ended and she watched the others leave the room, buzzing with enthusiasm about their assignments. She was envious, knowing she was probably going to be stuck with a desk job. There was nothing exciting about that, even if she got to work on the case. Why should she be thrilled at being a Bosley when she wanted to be a Charlie’s Angel?
She cautiously glanced in Eric’s direction and found him watching her. He held her gaze for a moment and she couldn’t look away. His blue eyes were stormy and intense. Eric seemed as if he was about to say something. She braced herself. She had no doubt it would be blunt and brutal.
Eric decided against it and set his mouth in a grim line. He walked out of the conference room without saying a word.
Julie sagged against her chair and took a deep breath.
“That could have gone better,” Asia muttered.
“Thanks for coming to my defense,” Julie said as she patted Asia’s arm. “But if you want the decoy assignment, you should go for it.”
Asia rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. That is why I quit the police force. They always wanted me to work for Vice and dress up as a hooker when I wanted to solve cases.”
It sounded as if they both couldn’t get the assignment they wanted because of the way they looked. Julie never thought of it that way. She always assumed her friend eventually got what she wanted, but maybe Asia’s appearance was a disadvantage as well as a benefit.
Asia gathered her pen and notebook. “So, what are you going to do now?”
Julie shrugged. “Before or after I crawl into a hole and lick my wounds?”
“Come on, Julie,” Asia said with a hint of exasperation in her voice. “There is no need to roll over and play dead at the first sign of opposition.”
Julie pointed at the open door. “He thinks I can’t be a seductive woman.” She hated how her voice hitched in her throat.
“He didn’t say that.”
“Then he thinks I can’t do detective work.” That hurt almost just as much.
“He didn’t say that, either.” Asia leaned her elbow on the back of her chair and gave her a hard, direct look. “In fact, he didn’t make any comment whatsoever. It’s up to you to face him and find out why he won’t let you be a decoy.”
“You’re right.” She obviously wasn’t going to be handed a plum assignment just because she asked for it. Life never worked that way. She needed to find out why Eric was against her and show how wrong he was about her abilities.
Asia rose from her seat and gestured to Julie. “So march into his office right now and find out.”
Julie nodded as she reluctantly got up from her seat. As much as she wanted the job, she wasn’t ready to find out exactly what Eric thought she lacked. The answer was going to be personal. Whatever it was, she didn’t think she could put on a brave face and take the criticism on the chin.
Asia crossed her arms and rested her hip on the conference table. “Yeah, go in like that and he’ll snowball you.”
“Sorry,” she said with a wry smile, “my confidence is a little shaken.”
But it was more than that. All of her wild and sexy fantasies about Eric died a quick death during the meeting. How many times had she fantasized that he was so overwhelmed with desire that he couldn’t control himself? Her daydreams of being a sexy siren to Eric were never going to come true. The reality was a bitter pill to swallow.
“Of course your confidence is shaken. It got knocked around a bit,” Asia said. “But you have to appear stronger and more daring than you feel.”
“I don’t think I can.” She was never a fake-it-until-you-make-it kind of person. She was more of a what-you-see-is-what-you-get girl.
“Fine,” Asia said. “Then accept Eric’s decision with no questions asked and stick to keeping track of uniforms.”
Julie shuddered. “Forget that. I want this assignment.”
“Good.” Asia pointed at the door. “Now go into Eric’s office with guns blazing and don’t take no for an answer.”
Guns blazing. Right. Because that was so how she approached life. “This is going to be a complete waste of time,” Julie muttered as she pushed her seat in.
“Show him that you can be just as fierce and tenacious as he is,” Asia said with a pump of her fist.
“So he can bodily lift me and toss me out of his office?”
Asia’s jaw tightened with annoyance. “If you want to be a decoy, you need to show that you can face any situation and not get rattled when everything goes wrong.”
She was absolutely correct. “The police force really lost out when you quit,” Julie said as she took a step toward the door.
“Damn right. Now stop stalling and move,” Asia ordered as she gave Julie a little push out of the conference room.
ERIC HEARD THE TREAD of her footsteps. They were soft but the stride was determined. He tilted his head back and groaned. He should have remembered that Julie Kent was as stubborn as she was sweet.
At least they could have it out privately. He didn’t like shutting her down in front of an audience, but Julie needed to realize that she wasn’t ready to be a decoy. Eric rose from behind his desk just as she knocked on his door.
“Come in, Julie.”
The door swung open and Julie peeked in. “How’d you know it was me?”
“Lucky guess.” He crossed his arms and braced his legs. He was prepared to battle it out with Julie. She needed to know that he was the boss and the expert. She needed to accept his final answer, but he’d show some mercy. The last thing he wanted to do was crush her
