I'd really be cracking myself up if I wasn't scared witless and now mad on top of that. I'd gotten all dressed up, hauled my ass down here and there was no one—

"Can I help you?"

I jumped and spun, my hand already reaching for the pepper spray I had hanging on the strap of my bag. Although a man who was going to attack me probably wouldn't be so polite. Or so freaking cute.

Wow.

In a town full of cookie cutter men in drab business suits, it was a nice change to see a guy in khakis and a black knit shirt.

A breeze ruffled the light brown hair above his green eyes, which I realized were trained on me. No doubt he was waiting for an answer to his question and wondering if I were deaf or mute.

Was this guy an escort service employee or a client? I could get on board with escorting him anywhere he wanted to lead me.

I cleared the lusty frog from my throat and said, "Um, I'm not sure. Maybe. I was looking for Angel—um—Services." I couldn't bring myself to say the word escort and felt like a wimp for it. I rushed to cover by adding, "I heard they're hiring."

"You found us. And you can call it GAPS for short." He tapped the logo embroidered in gold on his shirt just over his heart. "I know the company name's a little long. I'm one of the owners. Zane Alexander." He flashed white teeth and extended his hand. Surprised, I shook it as he continued, "And you're right, we are hiring. Though I'm surprised you heard about it already. My partner must have put out the word."

Another gust of wind had me pulling my hand back from his as I wrapped my arms around myself. I hadn't grabbed a jacket and now I was sorry.

Mr. Zane Alexander, my future pimp since he owned the place, pulled a set of keys out of his pocket. He tipped his head toward the door. "Let's get inside. It's not much yet but at least it's out of the cold."

I nodded and followed him in.

He wasn't exaggerating. It wasn't much. There was a single filing cabinet and a couple of cardboard boxes stacked along one wall. And against the other wall was the biggest flat screen television I'd ever seen, if the picture on the front of the box was accurate.

I turned my attention back to the man who would decide if I had a job in the near future. He had one butt cheek propped on the filing cabinet and his arms crossed as he watched me looking around the empty office.

His silence made me want to say something. Anything. "Nice space."

That was a lie. The empty office made this company feel a little too fly by night for my taste. Like they relocated often and didn't put down deep roots because it was easier to flee the law if they kept moving. And easier to hide the bodies of starry eyed girls with dreams of thousand dollar nights.

The corner of his mouth tipped up in an amused smile. "No it's not. It looks like a front for a shell company in here."

I lifted my brows that he'd read my thoughts so easily. Not to mention accurately.

"Um, well." I tipped my head to the side, searching for words until I finally gave up. Fuck it. I wasn't sure I wanted this job anymore anyway so I figured I might as well tell the truth. "Yeah, it really does."

He nodded. "Honesty. Quality number one I look for in a potential employee."

So I was still in contention to be hired in this most surreal of interviews.

I returned his nod. "As do I for potential employers."

"Do you have a resume, Miss . . ."

Shit. A resume? For an escort service? No, I didn't. I should have thought to bring a head shot. I had plenty of those printed for all the auditions I went on for the jobs I never got.

"Chelsea Bridges. And I didn't bring a resume. I'm sorry."

"That's fine. I'd rather read people than paper anyway. So tell me about yourself, Chelsea."

"Well, I graduated from George Washington University with a degree in acting—and the student loan to go with it."

He laughed. "I can imagine."

He'd said he wanted the truth, so I decided to give it to him. All of it.

"I've done some modeling and some acting but none of that provides a steady paycheck."

"A steady paycheck is a plus. I agree." Zane smiled. “I didn’t realize there were modeling and acting opportunities in this area.”

“They film a lot of TV shows here.” The reality was I’d come to attend George Washington and never moved on.

Landing a speaking role, though short lived, on a cable crime drama right after graduation was enough of a lure to keep me here when I probably should have taken the plunge and moved to California. And the fact the parents were less than a five-hour drive away was a safety net that was hard to give up.

"So let me tell you a little about us and what the job would entail. I signed the lease on this place weeks ago but for a number of reasons I haven't managed much else, as you can see. That would be one thing I'd want you to do. Find and purchase the furnishings. Schedule and wait for the deliveries. We need high speed internet and a landline as well, so you'd need to arrange for that installation. My partner's the organized one and he handles the main office in Virginia Beach. This will be a satellite office since I spend most of my time here in D.C. and we're picking up a lot of business in the area. Government contracts. Private jobs for politicians."

Government contracts. Jesus. Was this what my tax dollars went to? Hiring escorts?

I stood in shocked silence and listened as he outlined a job that sounded more like a personal assistant or secretary than it did an escort servicing the horny diplomats and government employees of D.C..

"Question?" he asked. Again, he had picked up on my thoughts.

"Uh, a few."

"Understandable." He nodded. "Shoot."

How to put this delicately? "What exactly would be my job title?"

His brows rose. "I'm not really sure. I've thought more about how I need a damn chair to sit in rather than what I'd call the person who ordered it. Office manager, maybe." He lifted a shoulder. "After the initial set up, you'd handle everything at this location."

I pressed my lips together. There was no way an office manager of an escort service made what the escorts did. But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing because it seemed as if this would be a real job with a steady paycheck and, unless this Zane guy was some kind of scumbag, no sex required.

"What's it pay?" I asked.

"Fifty-two thousand a year to start."

A thousand dollars a week. I wouldn't be rich but I'd be able to pay my bills and stash a few dollars away into savings. At this point, that was the goal.

"Benefits?" I asked.

"Yes." He nodded.

I put another check in the pro column. I was getting into the idea of this job. So far none of his answers had changed my mind about taking it.

If I could still squeeze in a few auditions and acting or modeling jobs, this gig might work for me.

"Hours?" I asked.

"Flexible, however I'd need to be able to call on you off hours if I needed."

That caught me off guard. "Oh."

Okay, that sounded less good. My mind spun through what he might need me for off hours.

"I travel a lot. Often out of the country. I'll try to be respectful but some things can't wait. I can't be worrying about time zones and interrupting your beauty sleep. Would that be a problem?"

Relieved, I said, "No problem at all."

My beauty sleep had suffered plenty while I'd been working nights at the club and trying to sleep days while normal people were up and about. For a decent job, I could handle a middle of the night phone call from overseas occasionally. No problem.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Nope. That about covers it. Anything else for me?" I asked.

"Nope." He pushed off the cabinet he'd been leaning against and took a step toward me. "We'll have to clear through all the formalities but I think you've got yourself a job, if you want it."

I smiled. "I want it."

"Good. Your first assignment is to get us a couple of desks and a few chairs. And a coffee maker." He pulled his wallet out of his pants and slid out two things. A credit card and a business card. He handed both to me.

"What do you want me to spend?" I asked.

If it were up to me, I'd be dumpster diving. It's sinful some of the things people throw away. I was getting quite adept at rejuvenating old stuff I found on the curb. A little paint went a long way. But somehow I didn't think that was this guy's style.

"A few thousand, I guess. Whatever it takes. Don't be cheap. This office is going to be the public face of GAPS in D.C.. We charge clients a lot for our services because we're worth it, but we also have to look like we're worth it."

"Gotcha."

"I'll get the paperwork we'll need you to fill out. We'll need to run some checks and clear you before you start interacting with clients and handling business. There's a non-disclosure agreement too. It might seem like a lot but given the kind of jobs we do and who our clients are, it's all necessary."

"I understand."

The guys hiring these escorts were probably some of the big names in politics, not only in D.C. but around the world. They couldn't risk me selling their secrets.

"Good." His smile turned to a frown. "I almost forgot. I need you to arrange for new locks for the front door. And find a contractor who can install a steel door with a secure lock on that closet."

I followed the direction he pointed. "For the coat closet?" I asked.

He grinned. "Not for long. It's going to be the weapons room when we're done."

Weapons room? My eyes widened.

I glanced down at the business card and at the logo embossed above the letters GAPS. The same insignia was on Zane's shirt. I studied it closer on the card in my hand. It featured angel wings and a ship's anchor . . . and a really, really big gun.

I drew in a breath and raised my eyes. "One more question."

"Of course." He nodded.

"What does GAPS stand for again?"

"Guardian Angel Protection Services." He sniffed out a short laugh. "That's what you get when you give a team of Navy SEALs some beer and ask them to come up with a name for your new PMC."

"PMC?" I asked, a bit afraid of the answer.

"Private military contractor."

My eyes widened further.

"Don't worry. We'll try to keep you out of the gunfire. Promise." He laughed like it was a joke, which I guess to him it was.

To me, not so much. I forced a laugh as my mind whizzed through a review of the events of the day, trying to figure out how the hell I’d ended up here.

My new boss pulled out his cell. "Let me call Jon and see if he can email all the paperwork you'll need."

"Okay. Sure."

He turned and I noticed the bulge under his shirt at the back of his pants. A gun, I guessed.

As he was busy on the phone getting the papers I'd need to be cleared by the NSA or FBI or whatever, I whipped out my own cell.

I closed the map and got back to the search results page and there it was. I saw exactly where I’d gone wrong. Listed right below Angel Escort Services was Guardian Angel Protection Services.

I'd hit the wrong name and gotten the wrong directions. I’d gone to the wrong office.

Holy shit, I'd gotten the wrong job.

A job working for a Navy SEAL. A job that required a security check. A job in an office that had a weapons room.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?