“We’re going, we’re going.” Zachary waved an arm at the door and let Tyler lead the way out. He waited until they were in his car before speaking again. “Did she say anything suspicious?”

“Like what?” Tyler kept his voice even, trying not to show how much he wanted to know what was going on.

“Did it sound like he threatened her?”

“What’s going on?” Zachary paid more attention to the stop light at the end of the street than was absolutely necessary, and Tyler’s interest in the whole matter ratcheted up further. “All she said was ‘I’m working’, and then she hung up the phone.” He watched Zachary’s shoulders drop in relief and pushed for information. “Who’s the guy?”

“Her ex.” Zachary shook his head. “His name’s Chad. She dumped him a couple of months ago for reasons she hasn’t told me, but he hasn’t left her alone. He calls her every couple of days, and it puts her into a mood I can’t even begin to explain.”

“Why isn’t it harassment? She obviously doesn’t want to talk to the guy, and he keeps getting into contact with her.”

“It’s a loophole in the harassment laws. While he’s calling and talking to her, he’s not an asshole about it. He’s not threatening her. He’s not camping outside her apartment. He’s just calling every couple of days, and if she doesn’t want to talk, he hangs up the phone.” Zachary made a disgusted sound in his throat. “He gets off on head games. It’s why she broke up with him.”

Tyler squinted against the sunlight coming in the windshield as he considered everything he’d just been told. “How do you know all of this? This isn’t information you should have as her employer.”

“She’s a good-“ Zachary cut himself off. “I want to say ‘kid’, but she’s not.”

“Having fatherly inclinations?”

“More like big brother protectiveness, I guess.” Zachary pulled into the parking lot of a small restaurant and shut off the car. “She can handle herself, and I know that, but I feel like I have to remind her to do it sometimes. Especially where he’s concerned.”

Tyler stepped out of the car as Zachary did. “How long was she with him?”

“Ten months, but the head games only started a few months before it was over. Precocious wasn’t even sure it was happening at first. He came into the office one day to see her, and she walked into my office with the pretense of handing over some files and asked me to eavesdrop.” Zachary’s mouth flattened to an almost-invisible line, and his eyes got hard. “He was smooth, but I heard what he wasn’t saying.”

“And she dumped him?” Tyler opened the door to the restaurant and held up two fingers to the waitress. “Non-smoking, please.”

“She did, but he hasn’t quite gone away. He’s like a cockroach. When they’re coming out of the walls, you’re in deeper shit than you think.” Zachary saw the waitress wince a little as they sat down. “Pardon my metaphor.”

“I’ll be right back with some water.” The waitress hurried for the kitchen.

Tyler couldn’t help but laugh at her departure. “Maybe you shouldn’t make cockroach analogies as you walk into a restaurant.”

Zachary opened his menu. “I wasn’t even thinking about it. The kid’s an ass. I know it. Precocious knows it. I know Linda knows it, too.”

“How do you know she knows it?”

“She threw him out of the office once. Bodily threw him out.”

“How big is this guy?” Tyler was picturing some sort of variation on a munchkin if Linda could throw him around.”

“He’s a good-sized guy. Five ten, maybe. I’d say one hundred seventy pounds, if I had to guess.” Zachary saw the disbelief on Tyler’s face. “Linda’s taken Judo.”

“Ah.” Tyler looked up as the waitress walked over with their water. “And you couldn’t have mentioned that *before* you told me she threw the guy?”

“I wasn’t thinking of it like that.” Zachary gave the waitress a smile. “Could I get a cup of coffee?”

“Sure.” She scribbled it onto her order pad and looked at Tyler. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Water’s fine, thank you.”

“Are you ready to order, or would you like a few minutes to look over the menu?”

“We’d like to look, thank you.” Zachary tried another smile and wasn’t surprised when it was shot down. “Maybe you’re right on the cockroach thing.” He waited for Tyler to say something, and looked up from his menu when he got no response. Tyler was looking at the menu, but he wasn’t really seeing it. “Tyler, you okay?”

“Hmmm?” Tyler looked up from his menu. “Fine. Fine.”

“No, you’re not.”

Tyler put the menu on the table and rubbed a hand over his face. “Just thinking over what you said about this Chad guy.” He shook his head like he was getting water out of his hair. “Precocious doesn’t seem the type to fall for that.”

Zachary’s eyebrows met over his nose as he watched Tyler think. “Excuse me?”

“Hmm?”

“Did you just insinuate that you’re thinking about the type of person my assistant is?” Tyler suddenly got very interested in his menu again. Zachary’s eyebrows split up and went straight up his forehead. “Why, exactly, are you thinking about the type of person Precocious is?”

“She’s an interesting person.” Tyler tried to sound blasé, but he didn’t quite pull it off. “I’m just trying to figure out how someone who seems to have it all together ends up in a relationship that ends so badly.”

“I’ve wondered the same thing about you, you know.”

Tyler shrugged. “So have I.”

“So, are you wondering to find an answer about her or about you?”

“About me. Why would I want to know an answer for her?”

Zachary put his menu down and pointed a finger at Tyler. “We’ve known each other since the beginning of time. I can tell when you have a thing for someone, and I think you have a thing for my assistant.”

Tyler laughed. “You are out of your mind.”

“Really?”

“She’s half my age.”

“She’s twenty-four.”

“I’m forty-three; it’s close enough.”

“So, you won’t date her because she’s younger than you?”

Tyler shook his head. “I never said I’d date her.”

“I think you want to.” Zachary flagged down the waitress. “I’ll have the ten ounce sirloin with shrimp, a chef’s salad, and French dressing. I’d like my steak medium rare and no tomatoes on my salad.” He looked over at Tyler, who looked ready to continue the argument they had been having. “What are you having?”

“Same, but I’d like my steak rare and extra tomatoes on my salad.” Tyler handed his menu over to the waitress and waited for her to leave. “What makes you think I’d want to date your assistant?”

“Why not? She’s interesting. She’s smart. You seem to like her well enough.”

“She bought me a burger. I like anyone who purchases food on my behalf.”

“I’ll make a donation to the local soup kitchen for your birthday.” Zachary held up a hand to forestall Tyler’s next argument. “All I’m saying is that you seem to like her. Now, I can see how it could just be friendly, but you’ve got that look in your eyes like you want to send her flowers or candy. Word to the wise, she prefers plants and Nerds.”

Tyler tried very hard to come up with a reasonable excuse not to have the conversation end with Zachary basically giving him tips to date a woman half his age. “She has a *ferret*.”

“So? Lucy doesn’t bite.”