Chase lingered outside Chief Martinez’s office, one hand raised in a fist as he worked up the nerve to knock on the door. He knew he was just having first day jitters, but boy, were they hard to fight off. It was the first time he was going to be meeting the head of the agency, and he really wanted to make a good impression. This man was about to be his boss, the head honcho in charge of promotions, raises, and pink slips. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the greatest luck when it came to encounters like these.

When he’d first met the police chief down at the station, he had accidentally spilled the man’s coffee when reaching across the table to shake his hand. Though he had recovered from the blunder after a while, it had taken some time before his old boss stopped looking at him like he was a hazard to the force. The thought of starting off in a similar hole at his new job made him cringe.

[i]It’ll be fine. Just don’t touch the coffee,[/i] he thought reassuringly as he rapped his fist against the door. What were the odds that he would ruin his first impression with two separate chiefs, really? He was probably just overthinking it. [i]Damn jitters.[/i]

Upon hearing a muffled “come in” from the other side of the door, Chase took a steeling breath and stepped inside.

Having expected a one-on-one with his new boss, he was surprised to find that they weren’t alone. A curly-haired blonde girl around his own age was seated on the edge of the chief’s desk. He paused near the doorway as he looked her over, wondering if he had interrupted something. She didn’t look like a member of the agency to him. Sporting casual street clothes and carrying herself in such a relaxed manner, his natural inclination was to believe she was a relative of Martinez.

His eyes flicked to the Hispanic man.

An adoptive relative, he decided.

“Sorry,” he apologized quickly, fumbling for the door handle. “I thought I was supposed to be here at nine o’ clock.”

“You were,” Martinez stopped him. When Chase’s gaze wandered back to the girl, the chief smiled amusedly. “This is Detective Andrews,” he explained. “I thought it would be good for you two to meet, since you’re going to be working together.”

Chase couldn’t help the look of astonishment that crossed his face. [i]This[/i] was Alix Andrews? She looked like a grad school student who went to raves on weekends. He glanced down at the suit he’d chosen to wear for his first day, suddenly wondering if he was overdressed. Though it was a bit shocking, her easygoing appearance also came as a relief to him. After all, anyone who dressed like that to work had to be friendly, right? Maybe he’d gotten lucky and had been paired up with someone like Jake again.

Suddenly, he found himself more eager to get to know her.

“Right, Detective Andrews,” he said knowingly, offering his new partner a smile. “My name’s Chase. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Walking over to the desk, he held out his hand to her in greeting.