Four days later Charlie burst into the conference room like a man possessed. Colby and Megan looked up in surprise.
"Hey Charlie, what's your hurry?" Megan asked.
Charlie inhaled deeply, catching his breath. "You. You were right."
Colby cocked his head in question.
"About Ian." Charlie explained. "I've been watching."
Megan smirked. "Told you. So what have you concluded, Dr. Eppes?"
"I want in on your bet." Charlie said, flashing a twenty. "I had an idea last night when Don came over with some laundry."
"Laundry?" Colby questioned skeptically.
Charlie nodded. "Megan and Amita gave me the idea. They told me to watch Ian around my brother. And well… I noticed two things. When Don talks, Ian isn't making eye contact; he's focused on Don's mouth. And… He tends to spend an inordinate amount of time staring at…" Charlie blushed, eyes darting towards Megan.
Megan bit her lip, knowing where this was headed.
"Well?" Colby questioned.
Charlie remained silent.
"You shrunk all of his jeans, didn't you?" Megan finally asked.
"It took some trial and error, but I found that if you increase the water temperature 15 degrees Fahrenheit and add an extra eight minutes to the dryer time, you can shrink a pair of jeans to be exactly one half size smaller. Any more than that and I think Don would have noticed." Charlie explained in a rush.
"What do Don's jeans have to do with…" Colby began. "Oh! Ah, jeez! That is not something I needed to know."
Charlie made a face. "Trust me, I understand how you feel. The last thing I needed to know was that the list of people who think my brother has a great ass includes, not only my girlfriend, but also one of the scariest federal agents I've ever met."
Megan couldn't help the giggle she let loose at that. "Is he wearing them today?"
Charlie rounded on Megan, a betrayed look on his face. "Not you too!"
Megan shrugged playfully, refusing to comment further on the subject. "Well is he?"
"See for yourself," Charlie said, nodding towards Don's desk.
Megan craned her head to catch a glimpse of her boss and immediately made a mental note to tell Don he needed to go shopping as soon as this was all over. Don normally worn his jeans tight, but what he had on now was bordering on obscene. He was leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. Still, the man certainly knew how to fill a pair of jeans…
"Megan! Earth to Megan!" Colby shouted.
Megan tore her eyes away, blushing as she caught sight of Colby. "What?" she asked defensively.
Colby rolled his eyes. "Okay Charlie. So you've turned our boss into Captain Tightpants. What now? Is Edgerton even around?"
"Oh, I took care of that," Charlie replied confidently.
As if on cue, the elevator doors opened, and Ian strode into the office. Charlie waved him over before he could catch sight of Don.
"Hey Professor. You said you wanted my opinion on this bank case?" Ian questioned.
"Yeah. I noticed that the robbers were using a particular gun during the robberies. I figure you are the closest person on hand to a weapons expert, so I thought maybe you could offer some insight as to the proficiency of the criminals responsible." Charlie lied fluidly.
If Ian thought it sounded suspicious, he didn't let on. "Okay."
"I left my notes with Don. I don't think he's busy right now. You could have him bring you up to speed." Charlie told him, pointing towards Don.
Ian nodded and headed over in that direction.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Colby commented, "You realize the guns used in these heists are your bargain basic Bryco semi-automatics, right?"
Charlie snorted, watching Ian make his way over to Don. "Like either of them will notice."
It seemed he was right. The three watched from the break room as Ian stopped short, catching sight of Don at his desk. He was standing, bending slightly over the partition separating his and David's desks, chatting away. They watched as Ian swallowed reflexively, eyes trailing up and down Don's body, completely oblivious to anything and anyone else.
"This has to be it." Charlie muttered. "He's got to make a move."
"I think you're right. He looks like he's just going to jump him." Colby replied disbelief coloring his words, watching as Ian took his first steps forward.
Megan was almost about to verbalize her agreement when she caught sight of a blonde haired attorney making a beeline for Don, eyes just as hungry as Edgerton's. "Uh oh."
They watched as Nadine Hodges determinedly approached Don, pulling out all the stops. She had her hand on his chest, was flipping her hair, and smiling at him as though she might break if she stopped. Ian stepped back, before Don even noticed his presence. Within minutes, Don was smiling back at Nadine and following the pretty attorney back towards the elevator.
The pained look on Ian's face wasn't one any of his unnoticed observers had ever seen before.
Megan summed up all their thoughts. "Damn."
"Don really is an idiot." Charlie added for good measure.