The Second Chance Hero by Jeannie Moon Page A

where their assistants had desks. Casey made friends, traveling from desk to desk and office to office. She was pretty well behaved considering it was her first day, too.
    His assistant, Marla, had gone to a local pet store and bought bowls, dog food, dog treats, toys, and a big bed for the pup, while Owen took in his new space.
    Carol was right to warn him.
    The room was huge, with a private bathroom, a bar, a sitting area with large leather club chairs, and a desk that should have its own zip code. Meg had decorated it tastefully, as always, with muted tones and perfectly coordinated everything. Nothing too ornate or girly. What touched him was that she’d had a half-dozen photos of him, Jason, and Nate framed and scattered around on shelves and tables. She never failed to recognize the importance of their friendship.
    “Did you really get a dog?”
    He looked up from the departmental quarterly reports he was reviewing to see Harper standing in his doorway. She made him think of Kim, who he’d been able to get his mind off of a little, as he helped Casey settle in. Of course now that he had thought about her, he remembered her scent and the softness of her skin, and his body responded like the traitorous bastard it was.
    “Yes, I did. She’s awesome. I believe she’s learning to use the copy machine right about now.”
    “You are too funny. What are you going to do with her if you have to go away again?”
    “My parents and my sister said they’d help out. And that’s if I even have to go. I’m out, completely, at the end of December.” He’d only told Jason and Nate that his separation had been approved.
    “Seriously?” Harper sat in the chair facing his desk.
    “Yeah. I’m done.”
    Harper made a face. He wasn’t sure what the face meant, but she’d never been able to hide her emotions.
    “What?” he asked.
    “Nothing. Well . . . I heard you asked Kim to dinner.”
    “Not really. She told me not to bother. I didn’t pursue it.”
    Harper stared at him, hard, and then leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. “You like her.”
    He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “I wouldn’t have wanted to ask her out if I didn’t.”
    “Yeah, but it’s more than that. You really like her.”
    Owen looked around, lifted the papers on his desk, opened a couple of drawers and closed them.
    “What are you doing?” Her grin ticked the corner of her mouth.
    “I’m looking for my homework. We’ve obviously gone back to middle school and I don’t want to get in trouble.”
    “Smart-ass. Look, I’m just watching out for her.”
    “Have I done anything to indicate she needs protecting?” Owen was thinking about all kinds of things Harper could protect her from, but that was just his dirty mind working overtime.
    “No. For what it’s worth, I think she likes you, too, but she’s gone through a lot.”
    “I’m aware. She told me some of it.” He didn’t let on that he knew the story firsthand. If anyone was going to know his role, and what he knew, he’d tell Kim first.
    “What do you know?”
    This was really rubbing him the wrong way. He didn’t like talking about Kim with Harper. He knew why his friend was being protective—Owen came from a world that caused Kim a lot of pain—but that didn’t mean Owen was going to give up Kim’s secrets. Harper shouldn’t, either.
    “You know what? That’s between me and Kim. What she went through is personal and I’m sure you know way more than I do, but it’s not for me to talk about.”
    Yeah, that was Major Kent talking. Every once in a while, his officer training took over and he didn’t care about Harper’s value to the company. He was her boss, he didn’t think the conversation was okay, and he had no problem letting her know. “I think we’re done here,” he added for good measure.
    The pure shock on Harper’s face told him she had no comeback. That was a rare occurrence, and he wished he could have enjoyed it