going to happen.”
She blinked at his immediate answer. “Why?”
“Nothing against you, Julie, but you’re not the type.”
Julie arched one eyebrow. “Care to explain that?”
Eric knew he would have to choose his words very carefully. “You don’t have the experience or the edge.”
“I’ve been on the dating scene for a while,” she said tightly as she started to tap one foot. “I think I can handle myself quite well.”
“That’s not what I mean.” His gut clenched as he thought about the men Julie dated. They were probably all gentlemen who knew how to treat her like a princess. He wouldn’t be able to compete with that. Eric viciously pushed the thought aside. “I’m sure the guys you dated were no match for you, but we’re going after a different type.”
“No match for me? What are you trying to say? That I date a bunch of spineless computer geeks?”
He was making this worse. Eric decided to sidestep that question. “The decoy candidate needs to think fast when she’s trying to entrap a man.”
“And she can only do that when she has the proper training and experience?”
“That’s right.”
Julie tossed her hands in the air with frustration. “But how can I get experience if no one will let me on an assignment?”
“That’s not my problem.”
“What if you give me on-the-job training?” she asked, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. “You can teach me everything I need to know.”
Teach her how to seduce a man? Aw, hell, no. That idea had all the markings of a disaster. But it didn’t stop him from imagining just how he would tutor her in the art of seduction. He blinked away the image of him caressing her soft, bare skin. “Still not going to happen,” he said gruffly.
“I’ll do it for free,” she offered recklessly.
If he was any kind of businessman, he would consider that offer. Gunthrie S&I had serious money problems, and they could use all the discounts and freebies that came their way. But this was Julie. He wasn’t going to risk her neck to save a few bucks.
“If you want to be a part of the investigation, then you can help with coordinating tasks.”
“A desk job?” She groaned and made a face. “Come on, Eric. I’m at a desk all day. I want to get out in the field. I want some action.”
“The coordinator assignment is all I can offer you.” It was the only job where she wouldn’t be at risk. It was the only job where he wouldn’t have to worry about her. “You’re a rookie and you could compromise our cases.”
“That’s a bunch of bull.” Julie glared at him. “You’re talking about hiring independent contractors. It’s not like you can call a temp agency and ask them to send over decoys. What would their qualifications be?”
He should have seen this coming. He could lie and say they needed to know hand-to-hand combat, but he knew the truth would eventually come out. He might as well get it over with. “They have to be intelligent, seductive and, above all, cautious.”
Julie’s bottom jaw shifted to one side as if she was struggling to control her temper. “So, they have to be smart and sexy.”
There was an awkward beat. “And cautious,” Eric added.
“You don’t think I fit those requirements?” she asked in a soft, dangerous tone.
“Julie, a lot can go wrong,” he said as he rounded his desk and approached her. “Sometimes a guy can sense he’s being set up. A paranoid guy is unpredictable.”
“Answer the question, Eric.”
“You are far too innocent for that kind of work,” he said. “I’m not letting you in the field at all.”
“Innocent?” Julie said the word in a squawk. As if she were offended by the description.
“You see the good in everyone, which is a great trait,” he quickly assured her, “but it’s no good when you’re investigating.”
“I can read people pretty well,” she told him.
“What if he goes on the attack?” Eric asked.
“That’s unlikely. And, even if it did happen, I took self-defense training.”
He remembered her claim. “A one-day lesson?”
Julie’s eyes gleamed with anger. “No.”
“A weekend course?”
Her mouth tightened. “Maybe.”
Eric shook his head. “That’s not good enough.”
“Wanna bet?”
He had a feeling she was going to say that, and he acted swiftly. He grabbed her arm and twisted her around. With an economy of motions, he wrapped his arm around her neck and pinned her against him before she could squeak out a complaint.
“Hey, this isn’t fair.” Julie tugged at his arm, but he wasn’t going to let go. He knew he wasn’t hurting her, only making her uncomfortable. And maybe a little humble.
“How much are we betting?” he asked.
She wiggled against him as she tried to shove an elbow in his stomach and ribs. Her blows were feeble, but his good intentions were weakening by the way her ass rubbed against his groin.
Julie reached blindly for his face, possibly to claw at him, but it wasn’t going to work. “Are you attacking me or trying to get DNA samples for when the coroner inspects your dead, lifeless body?”
She grunted and went for his instep. She tried to stomp on his foot, but he moved the moment he felt her leg muscles bunch. Even if she had managed to get lucky, her ballet slippers wouldn’t have caused much damage.
“This isn’t proving anything,” she muttered as she made a wild swing for who only knew which part of his body. “You are trained to take a man down in a sleeper hold. Not many guys are around here.”
“You don’t know that.” He let her go abruptly.
Julie smoothed her hair and tugged at her dress before turning around. “The chances of a guy getting rough are slim.”
“What universe are you living in?” And what kind of guys did she hang around with? Probably computer geeks who only got rough in first-person-shooter video games.
“And even if my target did get rough,” Julie continued, “I wouldn’t be in some dark, deserted alley with him. You would also have audio and visuals on me.”
“That’s not enough security. There would be too much of a time lapse
