Now that was interesting. “You work for him?”
“Yes. I’m second-in-command at Owari Enterprises.”
She’d learned more information in two minutes from this guy than she had the entire time she’d been asking Wren questions. Wasn’t that interesting? “What’s that?”
“The name of his business.” Garrett looked at Wren. “What did you two talk about on all those coffee dates?”
Something clunked in her head. The idea of Mr. Top Secret spilling date information . . . well, she couldn’t even imagine that. “He told you about those?”
“No.” Wren finally talked but that’s all he had to offer.
Garrett chuckled. “I didn’t give him a choice.”
Maybe Garrett was a little too much like Wren after all. “I don’t understand.”
“He’s overseeing the bodyguards and has conducted surveillance on you,” Wren said.
Garrett winced. “That sounds worse than it is.”
“I’m assuming he ordered it.” There was something freeing and quite enjoyable about talking around Wren while he sat right there. She wanted to rapid-fire questions at Garrett and get all those answers she craved.
“Smart woman,” Garrett said.
“I used to think so.” But her attraction and ready forgiveness for Wren had her wondering. “My biggest concern right now is that the whole unconscious-and-on-a-private-plane thing isn’t more upsetting to me.”
The initial wariness and being ticked off gave way to something else. Wren did this for her. To protect her. On one level she loved the attempt. It was the execution that turned out to be an abject failure. But she sensed she could fix his aim if his instincts were good.
But maybe that was wishful female thinking. It was possible she’d seen one too many happy-ending movies where the love of a good woman could change a man. Thanks to her life experience the idea never held any appeal to her. Now, the idea held more promise for her.
Wren glared at her. “You knew I wouldn’t hurt you.”
Only he would think scowling was a good way to get out of this mess. “Is that the point?”
“Yes.”
Garrett shook his head. “If you would have met him a few years ago you’d realize that this is such a better version of him than before.”
“What was he like?” God, she wanted to know. She’d sit on the plane for hours if it meant getting a peek into the real man behind the black suit. Start with his actual name and the rest of his personal story and she could spin the rest from there.
Wren offered the answer. “Fine.”
A tsk-tsking sound filled the plane as Garrett continued to shake his head. “Hard to resist that charm, isn’t it?”
It actually was. The play of light and dark. The stack of flaws that combined to make Wren so compelling. And yes, the charm. He buried it deep, but it snuck through sometimes.
“How long have you known each other?” she asked Garrett since asking Wren questions about what he considered private information hadn’t helped her all that much.
Wren’s frown deepened. “Why are you asking him?”
“Because you never tell me anything.”
He shrugged. “You know more than most.”
Two steps forward, ninety-two steps back. “Honestly, that’s your response?”
Garrett exhaled as he stood up. “I’m just going to go ahead and issue a blanket apology for his behavior and general cluelessness.”
“Is that necessary?” Wren grumbled the question under his breath. Added in some impressive swearing while he was at it.
Garrett kept talking directly to her. “This is usually the point where he pretends to fire me.”
“Does that happen a lot?” For some reason that made her laugh.
“Daily. Whenever I disagree or tell him he can’t do something.”
She could totally see that happening. “Does he get angry?”
Wren waved a hand in front of her face. “I’m right here.”
“Not in a yelling and screaming kind of way,” Garrett said, talking over Wren.
This time Wren stood up. “Are you two almost done?”
Garrett didn’t back down. He put a hand on the back of Wren’s seat and stood there. “Just about.”
“I have more questions.” She raised her hand. Since she was the only one still sitting, she didn’t know if they even saw it, so she just talked louder. “And I would love to hear the conversation that goes along with the firing.”
Wren ducked his head and glanced out the plane window. “Too late. He’s getting out.”
That got her to her feet. She guessed Garrett didn’t need a shield or someone stepping in to fight his battles. Still, she felt pushed and wanted to push back. “You can’t just kick him out. I don’t even know if we’re in Virginia, Maryland or DC.”
“Thank you for being offended on my behalf, but that’s my car.” Garrett pointed at one of the two cars sitting near the plane. “Do you need a ride?”
“She’s coming with me,” Wren said.
She didn’t have time to figure out where they were or how the cars got there. No, Wren dove right in and had her head spinning. “Since you asked so nicely?”