Chapter 52: We Can't

I stand, ready to call security if she throws a bucket of water or something, but as I round my desk, Valiant stands from behind his with a big smile on his face greeting her as if they're long-term best friends. Our eyes connect, but his are empty and dead as he walks past his desk and closes the blinds tighter, not that I could see anything in their earlier position.

"How are you doing today," he says and closes the door, cutting off the rest of his sentence.

Who is this woman and why is he so happy to see her this time? It's obvious the two of them know one another, but how closely? He hasn't said and I have no plans to ask.

Or do I?

...

THE CLOCK CLICKS down another hour and I win my solitaire game, the sixth one in a row. I'm getting way too good, but the only other game preloaded on my office computer is minesweeper and no one knows how to play that one—even the people who created the game.

The cars in the state employee parking lots have emptied, and the downtown ar