At that moment, the doors swished open and Alen Novak stepped into the meeting room. The bottom dropped out of Tori's stomach. She hadn't expected him here - which was stupid, actually, given the fact he was a senior officer and the Head of Security. In all probability, she was going to see a lot more of him during work.

He was wearing a tight, black T-shirt that fit snugly around his athletic upper body, showing off his lightly tanned, strong arms. His pants were also black. Not a very casual dresser, then. He still looked rather official.

When he came up to the coffee counter, she grabbed Anna's arm and tried to scuttle away, but Alen had already locked eyes with her. Tori swallowed and decided to stay put - she didn't want to flee the scene again after last night's awkward exchange. If anything, she wouldn't let him 'win' a second time.

"Good morning," he said pleasantly. God, his voice was sexy. It sounded like he'd just gotten out of bed after a rough night - it was low, gravelly and at the same time, somehow smooth like honey.

"Hi," she mumbled back.

"Nice shirt," he commented, pointing at her clothes.

"Thanks. Liking this better than my fancy-shmancy business outfit?" she couldn't help sniding.

Alen was silent for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "Right. It's cute that you're trying to give off this I-don't-want-to-be-rich vibe, really."

Tori took a deep breath. "I'm not trying to do anything. Except demonstrating my taste in music."

"Oh, come on," he scoffed, the same condescending tone he'd used before creeping into his voice. "Do you even know who the guy is?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I can't imagine Ambassador Weiss supporting that kind of rebellious, gender-bending music being played in his Martian mansion," Alen threw back.

So he knew who she was. Maybe he'd already known when she met him in the cargo hold yesterday. Did this guy have some bone to pick with her father? Was that why he seemed to be on her case all the time?

"Well, that's why they invented headphones," Tori shrugged. "I know we're supposed to play the Ziggy Stardust album at maximum volume, as per the instructions on the back of the record sleeve, but hey, you gotta make do with what you have."

Alen blinked. For just a split second, she seemed to have surprised him. "You do know his music," he conceded.

"Yeah, I do. Want me to come over to your place and sing you a few Bowie songs to prove it?"

Slowly, he cracked the same lazy, lopsided smile that had made her realize how sexy he was yesterday. "You want to sing for me? Well, I don't know what my wife would think of that."

She froze. He was married?

Alen's blue eyes turned darker as he carefully observed her reaction. "You're disappointed," he said calmly.

"I'm not," she replied as contemptuous as she could.

He smiled down at her. "Talk to you later, Tori," he said before strolling off to the table.