Read Online Damsel Under Stress by Shanna Swendson - Free Book Online

last assignment, but since my hands were full, I was glad for the touch of magical chivalry.
    Owen’s eyes widened when I entered his lab with all my worldly office goods. “You’re planning to stay awhile?” he asked.
    I set the laptop down on one of the lab tables, let my tote bag fall at my feet, and threw my coat over the back of the nearest chair. “Apparently Kim’s been assigned to handle my administrative and clerical tasks, and she’s already taken over my office. I figure since we’re supposed to be working together, I might as well work down here. Otherwise, it could get ugly.”
    “Did you talk to Mr. Mervyn about it?”
    I hadn’t even thought of that. I was the youngest child in my family, so I should have honed the tattletale instinct to perfection. “No,” I admitted. “But it does make sense, even if I’m not crazy about her appropriating my desk so quickly. She’s even got a plant and pictures.”
    He gestured around the lab. “Well, if you can handle the mess, you’re welcome to claim a spot as yours for the duration. Just don’t rearrange anything.” Owen’s one of those people who looks disorganized but who has everything sorted into piles only he can understand.
    “Don’t worry about that. I can’t read half of what you’ve got in here, and I’m not sure I want to know everything you’re working on.”
    He looked around the room, as if seeing his own clutter for the first time and suddenly realizing that there was no spot I could take at any of the tables without disturbing his piles, then he waved his hand. A desk appeared in one corner of the lab. “I think there’s a network connection near there. And let’s see, you’ll need walls.” He pushed a wheeled freestanding whiteboard over to shield the desk from the rest of the room. “Anything else?”
    It wasn’t as nice as my real office, the one Kim had usurped, but I reminded myself that my office mate more than made up for the difference. The only amenity missing was a phone, and I didn’t mind that so much. It meant I was less likely to be disturbed. “It looks great. Thanks.”
    I set up my computer, arranged my few office belongings on the desk, and hung my coat on the top corner of the whiteboard. I’d just settled in when Owen stuck his head around the whiteboard. “Telephone call for you.”
    Surprised, I went to his office and took the phone from him. “This is Katie,” I said.
    “I thought I’d find you there,” Trix’s voice said in my ear. “I’ve got a call for you. I’ll put it right through.”
    A second later, Marcia’s voice said, “Katie?”
    “Yeah. What’s up?”
    “Do you have any plans for Christmas?”
    “Nothing set in stone yet. I was planning to tag along with whatever y’all came up with.”
    “Well, I just found this insane bargain airfare to Dallas, in case you want to go home. The catch is you have to leave tomorrow and come back Christmas day, but it’s less than half the usual cost. Gemma and I decided to surprise our parents, so we thought we’d let you know in case you wanted to get in on it, too.”
    “I’m not sure I could do it,” I said.
    “If money’s the problem, I could loan you the cost of the ticket, and you could pay me back.”
    “It’s more time than money that’s the issue. I’m not sure I could leave as early as tomorrow. I’m working on a project I just got assigned today, and getting to the airport on Christmas would eat up most of the day.”
    “Uh-huh, I know exactly what you need time for: that gorgeous guy you’ve landed. Go back to Texas for a few days and you run the risk of him getting away.”
    “That’s not it at all,” I insisted, looking through the office doorway to the lab, where Owen stood in front of the whiteboard, thoughtfully chewing on the end of a dry-erase marker. I lowered my voice and added, “He’s going to his parents’ house for the holiday, anyway.” It occurred to me that if Gemma and Marcia went home