“As soon as possible. We’re in a bit of a time crunch, but if it’s a problem for you—”

“No, I’ll have something for you by tomorrow. Do I bring it here?”

“No, the workmen will be all over the place. Bring it up to the sixth floor. You’ll see colored doors with Just for Kids written on them. I’ll be in there.” There was a beeping sound, then Amy took a pager out of the pocket of her overalls. She glanced down at it to read the printout on the small LED screen. “Taylor’s awake.” She looked at Brittany. “My daughter. I need to get upstairs or she’ll pitch a fit.”

“Amy?” Matt said to get Amy’s attention before she took off. “I know how much this center means to Lindsey and Zane, but we’re still doing business here.”

“Of course. And we’re within budget, aren’t we?”

“That’s not it. It’s about that kid who was in here. You can’t let them run around without supervision. That little hoodlum that attacked me was probably the one who opened the door, and he was looking for trouble. He needs to be kept under lock and key.”

Amy shook her head. “He can’t be one of our kids. First of all, they’re always supervised, and secondly, the after-school kids are long gone. But I’ll check and if he’s one of ours, it won’t happen again.”

Matt nodded, then Amy turned to Brittany. “I can’t wait for tomorrow.” That smile came again. “And I still don’t know who you are.”

Brittany stared at Amy, and was startled when Matt spoke up. “You do have a name, don’t you?”

Brittany looked at Matt. “Of course I have a name,” she said and remembered something her father had told her many times over the years. “If you want something, you use whatever you need to make it happen.” She wanted this to happen, and she would do whatever it took to prove she wasn’t a spoiled brat. She’d do it and he wouldn’t have to know who she was for now.

“B. J. Smythe,” she said, putting together an old nickname with her mother’s maiden name. “And it’s Smythe, S-M-Y-T-H-E. Not Smith,” she added for good measure.

“B. J. Smythe not Smith,” Matt said, and she blushed slightly, high color touching her delicate cheekbones. “I’ll remember that,” he murmured, and knew that he wouldn’t have any trouble remembering this woman on any level.

“Great to meet you, B.J.,” Amy said, then hurried toward the doors. She called, “Tomorrow,” over her shoulder, and was gone to get to her daughter.

“Shoot, that’s just great,” Matt heard B.J. mutter as she watched Amy leave.

“Excuse me?”

She shook her head and turned back to him. “Sorry. I just needed to talk to her some more, to get details.”

“Well, she’s long gone. When the children are involved, she’s single-minded, and when it’s her daughter, well…” It was his turn to shrug. “She’s got tunnel vision.”

“She sounds dedicated.”

“She really is. Actually, I hope that kid is one of hers so she can reign him in.”

“You don’t like kids?”

He shrugged at a question that came out of nowhere as far as he was concerned. “I don’t even think about them, until something like this happens.”

“I can’t say I’ve thought much about them, either, but I think you’re hardly being fair to that boy.”

That really came out of nowhere. “What?”

The suggestion of a frown tugged a fine line between her eyes. “You’re calling him a hoodlum, but you don’t know why that door was open or why he was here. You also know that he thought you were the hoodlum, and he thought he was protecting me from…” Those green eyes skimmed over him. “…a huge man dressed all in black sneaking around in the dark.”

“The light switch didn’t work, and I wasn’t sneaking anywhere.” He stopped, wondering why he was the one justifying his actions in this situation. “The boy’s the problem, a problem waiting to happen and we probably won’t have to wait much longer.”

“There you go again. You don’t even know him.”

He had to admit that she was good at keeping him on the defensive. “Well, he didn’t come back, no matter how much you trusted he would. And I’ve seen that type before, the way I’ve seen too many Brittany Lewis types.”

Those green eyes narrowed. “Oh, so you know Brittany Lewis that well, do you?”

“No, and I don’t want to,” he admitted with a grimace. “But I know the type.”

She shook her head as if she was exasperated with him. “That’s a really bad habit you have there, Mr. Terrel.”

“It’s Matt, and what are you talking about?”

“Okay, Matt. You’re forming opinions, no, making judgments, without knowing all the facts.”

They’d started as adversaries when she’d attacked him, and it just kept going. “That’s what you’re doing, isn’t it?” he asked, moving a bit closer to her.