“Good.” Duke smiled. His gaze dipped briefly to Wanda and returned to Nat. “Is everything okay with—Wanda? Did I remember her name right?”
Nat stared at Duke in disbelief.He remembered her name.
Wanda stuck her fist into her mouth and drooled.
“Um, yeah. She’s—She’s very curious. She’s never been in an office before. And—crap. I shouldn’t let her distract me.”
He went to grab her collapsible playpen, except it was still folded and unusable like that. Nat flipped the thing around, then fumbled more because it was difficult to hold something big with so few fingers.
“Mind if I help?” Duke reached out.
“Thanks.” Nat breathed a sigh of relief, and again when Duke set up the playpen next to his desk. He unbuckled Wanda from her chest carrier and set her in the playpen with a few of her toys, then turned back to Duke. “Actually, I have a couple of questions.”
“Shoot.”
“You have a lot of appointments away from your office, like at the fire station and the shelter. Do I have to be there with you?”
Duke thought for a bit. “Not at the moment. But I may ask you to come along to the shelter.”
“Okay. It says here that you’re fostering two children. Have you been doing that for a while?”
“A few years.” Duke’s expression softened. “Mallie’s ten, Teddy’s eight. They’ve had a rough life. They’re doing better now, I think.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Nat thought there might’ve been two children in Duke’s desk photo, but he would have to see it again to be sure.
He unstrapped the baby carrier from his body. Then he looked down at his shapeless clothes, and remembered Kylie’s words back at HR.
His short-sleeved shirt fitted him terribly, he knew. His pants flapped around his legs. But he didn’t have time to go to a different thrift store, so his choices had been severely limited.
Nat squirmed and looked up, only to find Duke watching him.
“Problem?” Duke asked.
“I—I feel like I should dress better,” Nat said. “But it wasn’t specified in the welcome packet what exactly I should wear. I... don’t have the money to buy something new until I get my paycheck.”
Duke raised his eyebrows. He let his gaze coast down Nat’s body, sending a tingle of remembered pleasure down Nat’s spine. “I could take you out for some clothes. My 11AM is available.”
Nat checked the schedule and spluttered. “But that’s your lunch hour!”
Except Duke shrugged like it was no big deal. “We’ll get something on the way. It’ll be fine.”
“How are you going to eat if we’re busy with the clothes?”
Duke laughed. “Leave that to me, Nat.”
“But I’m your personal assistant!”
Duke’s gaze darkened. “And it’s your first day. Take things easy for a bit.”
Nat frowned and nodded. He glanced at Wanda; she was flinging little stuffed giraffes at the playpen walls. “Wanda can come along too, right?”
“Of course.” Duke smiled when Wanda stuffed a giraffe’s head into her mouth. “What species is she?”
Nat hesitated. The fact that Wanda was a cross between two species meant that kidnappers would target her again if they knew.
And Duke should’ve known that about Wanda, because he was part of the team that had rescued them.
Except there wasn’t any recognition in his eyes.
