He shrugs. “Yeah, me too. But enough about me. I’m happy for you. I’ll call Stormy later today and make sure the transition is smooth.”
Transition?
“I haven’t interviewed with him yet,” I say.
Hawthorne grins. “You don’t need to. When you first mentioned what you were thinking, I spoke to him about it—I wanted to let him know what a valuable team member you are. Apparently, one of his men, Rover, already talked his ear off about you. Stormy is just waiting for your call at this point.”
I’m flabbergasted. “Hawthorne, thank you. I can’t even tell you how much this means to me.”
He nods. “Don’t worry about it. But that means this might be one of the last times we see you around here.”
I sigh. “It does.”
I’ve been so focused on getting back to Lucy, I haven’t processed leaving New York for good. This has been my home for the past three years. I’ve made some good friends. Friends I will miss. I can only hope that if Thunder works with the MTS guys again, I’ll get to be a part of that assignment.
I go around the office, saying a quick goodbye to the guys that are there. As much as I’ll miss them, I really hope my future is in Washington. If I have even the slightest chance with Lucy, I’m going to grab it. The guys want to take me out for a drink, but I have a flight to catch. Instead, I promise them a place to stay if they want to visit Seattle.
“Hey, you’re really leaving?” Lightning asks as I walk by his office door.
I stop and turn to him. “Yeah, I really am.”
“Who the hell am I going to mess with now? These guys don’t have a sense of humor, you know.”
I lean against the door. “I don’t know. Ozzie might tolerate you. But whatever you do, leave Durango alone. I swapped the sugar and salt right before he put some in his coffee one time. He threatened to kill whoever did it.”
Lightning laughs. “He had to have known it was you, though.”
I shrug. “I may have led him to believe it was you.”
Lightning stands up. “What?”
“You were out on assignment, so I knew you were safe.”
“Well, well, well. The truth comes out,” Durango says from behind me.
Lightning falls into his chair laughing. “Yes! It was him!”
I slowly turn to find Durango glaring at me with his arms crossed. The guy is bigger than the rest of us and intimidating as hell. I can’t say I’ve ever seen him smile.
“Sorry.” I offer. “But in my defense, I didn’t know you that well at the time and—”
His hand goes up. “Don’t worry about it. It’s in the past. I heard you are leaving, so I wanted to say goodbye.”
“What?” Lightning asks. “That’s not Durango!” he says, pointing at the man.
Durango rolls his eyes. “Maybe Lightning should be the one to transfer.”
Lightning stands and walks to Durango and gives him a hug. Durango doesn’t move but stands there awkwardly. “You love me, and you know it,” Lightning says.
Then he turns to me and holds out his hand. I shake it.
“Good luck with your woman. And make sure you come back and visit.”
“Thanks. I will.” I turn to Durango who is still standing there with his arms crossed. “It’s been great working with you. Hopefully, I’ll see you guys again soon.”
He nods and I walk down the hall toward Reed’s office. Sadly, he’s not in. It hits me right then. I really will miss these guys.
“Hey, you got a minute?”
