Investigating 101

by Debra Webb

  Feeling triumphant and utterly satisfied, Todd took one last deep breath before knocking on the door.

  Oh, yeah, today was definitely going to be a stellar day.

  Syler glanced up but didn’t bother standing as Todd entered his office. Funny thing was, his superior didn’t look the least bit happy. Without so much as a good morning, Syler reached for the envelope. Confusion elbowing out his victorious afterglow, Todd placed the envelope in his boss’s hand. He didn’t sit since he hadn’t been invited to. The whole situation suddenly felt off kilter somehow.

  Syler shuffled through the glossy eight-by-tens, his expression never changing. Somehow Todd hadn’t expected this kind of reaction. Anger, disappointment, jealousy maybe, but not this total lack of emotion.

  The older man shoved the pictures back into the envelope and turned his full attention on Todd. Todd had the uneasy feeling that he’d just walked into a trap.

  “Did you know that Ms. Dryer had been married and divorced?” Syler asked, his voice flat as he delivered the seemingly irrelevant question. “Her maiden name is Syler.”

  Todd blinked as the relevance hit him square between the eyes. “No, sir,” he admitted before swallowing hard to force down the massive lump of crow in his throat. “I didn’t know that.” But he knew exactly what it meant. “She’s your daughter?”

  The blush of fury started at his superior’s crisp white collar. “That’s right.” He snatched up the incriminating envelope and shoved it into his middle desk drawer. “I’ve suspected for some time that one of the senior partners was the leak. I asked Ms. Dryer to find the truth.” His jaw flexed twice with rage. “She was to do whatever necessary to accomplish her mission. Today she will announce her findings in a closed briefing to the senior partners.”

  The whole scenario suddenly made perfect sense to Todd. Syler was a partner, but not a senior partner. If he could prove one of the senior partners was the leak, he would be in line for a promotion, as would his lovely daughter. The information she had obtained would cinch both moves.

  Oh, man. “I can assure you, sir,” Todd put in quickly, “no one will hear about her methods from me.”

  “The problem is, Mr. Thompson—” Syler rose from his chair as he said this “—I don’t like you. My daughter doesn’t like you. Let’s just leave it at that. When you’ve cleared out your desk, you can pick up your severance pay from the receptionist.”

  There was nothing else to say. Todd knew a brick wall when he hit one and he’d damned sure rammed headfirst into this one.

  Todd cleared out his desk and picked up his severance pay as instructed. All under the careful watch of a security guard. As hard as he’d tried to be out before the staff started to arrive, he ran into Dryer in the lobby. She smirked and gave him a universal hand signal that stated her position quite clearly.

  She’d won. The promotion was hers and he was out of a job.

  He tossed the box of odds and ends into the backseat of his car and then dropped behind the wheel. At least it was Friday. He’d have time to look over the classifieds and update his résumé before hitting the streets on Monday.

  The severance pay would cover the coming month’s rent.

  He swore as he twisted the key in the ignition. Maybe he should have gone to grad school. His folks had said he’d regret not pursuing a higher degree. But no, he’d been too on fire to get out there and dive into the world of investigations. It had been his dream since he was a kid.

  It should be simple. He was good. Just ask any of his professors. Hell, he’d even lived a double life for three whole months to write a thesis like no other. The plan had backfired a little, but he’d come out all right. His advisor had secretly told him he’d never read a thesis so compelling. So what if Todd had pretended to be someone he wasn’t to make it happen. No harm had been done, except to a few egos.

  Oh, well. Chicago was a big city. There had to be an agency that would appreciate his particular skills.

  He pulled over to the curb in front of the diner where he usually grabbed breakfast on Saturdays. Might as well eat and maybe scan today’s paper. Anything was better than going back to his studio apartment and walking the floors.

  He couldn’t call his parents. They would only plead with him to come back home to Alabama. What was a small-town boy like him doing in a big city? That was his folks’ way of looking at the situation. He couldn’t explain to them that there was a great deal more to life than being the star football player on the high school team and going on to teach at the same school as his father had. No offense. Todd loved and admired his father. But that life just wasn’t for him.

  He wanted—yearned for—excitement. The kind he wouldn’t find in Birmingham, Alabama. Chicago was the place to be. And even if Wellsly wasn’t the very top agency in this city, it had been a damn good starting place.

  But he’d blown that opportunity by being overzealous.

  Who the hell else would give him a shot without any real experience? Listing Wellsly as a previous employer might not be the best way to get his foot in the door someplace else, considering he’d just been fired.

  “Morning, Todd.” Anna, the waitress who took his order every Saturday morning, greeted him from behind the counter. “You want the usual this morning?”

  He dredged up a friendly smile. “You got it, pretty lady.” He winked and the older woman blushed. She reminded him of his mother. Gray hair tucked into a practical bun. Conservative uniform concealing every inch of her from the knees up and shiny pink lip gloss making her smile sparkle. A genuinely nice lady.

  Todd slid onto a bar stool and listened to Anna chatter about late April’s sudden cool snap as she poured him a cup of coffee.

  “Winter’s determined to hang on this year,” she said knowingly, then shivered visibly. “It’s almost May, it ought to be warmer than this.” She sat the carafe back onto the warming plate and snagged the nearest newspaper. “Here you go.” She studied him a moment, her expression suddenly serious. “Looks like you could do with something to occupy your mind this morning.”

  Yep, just like his mother. A mind reader.

  “Thanks.” Todd took the paper and turned the page without even surveying the front headlines. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about current events but he had his own problems today. Such as finding a job and pretending that his ego wasn’t stinging like hell.

  His gaze snagged on a large advertisement for this weekend’s job fair. He scanned the staffing agencies and firms participating, his hopes faltering with each name he read. The dead-last one had him sitting up a little straighter.

  The Colby Agency.

  He steadied his runaway imagination and reminded himself that he’d looked at their requirements once before. Minimum age was twenty-five with at least two years of pertinent experience. And, as good as he was at pretending to be someone or something he wasn’t, lying wasn’t going to work with the premier investigative agency. A firm like the Colby Agency would surely do an extensive background search.

  Just when he would have moved on, his eyes encountered three seemingly innocuous words that sent a broad smile stretching across his lips and a burst of adrenaline-driven anticipation through his veins.

  No experience necessary.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” he muttered. Maybe he’d done something right lately, after all. Whatever had gained him the favor of the gods, he hoped it was enough to see him through the screening process.

  “Here you go, son,” Anna announced as she set the plate laden with eggs, bacon and toast in front of him. “Clean your plate, you’ll feel like a new man.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Todd dug in. He would need every ounce of energy he could summon for today’s performance. And that was all any job interview was. The opportunity for a prospective employer to watch candidates perform to whatever music they played.

  And no one was better at that dance than Todd. He had every intention of dazzling whoever was in charge. It was what he did best. />
  He could charm or talk his way out of practically anything, anywhere, anytime.

  Well, except for this morning. But then he hadn’t known he was taking pictures of his boss’s daughter. Even he wasn’t that good.

  Chapter Three

  When the elevator stopped, Todd hesitated before stepping into the lobby of the Colby Agency.

  This was definitely the floor on which security had instructed him to alight. But this wasn’t at all what he’d expected.

  The furnishings, chairs and tables, including what was clearly the receptionist’s desk, sat in one corner while three men worked quickly to install new carpeting starting at the opposite wall.

  “Mr. Thompson?”

  Todd’s gaze turned to the woman who’d said his name. “That’s me.” The smile he saved for charming the ladies pushed automatically into place. “And you are?”

  The pretty lady’s cheeks turned pink, but she managed a shaky smile of her own. “Elaine. The receptionist.” She glanced around the spacious lobby. “Sorry about the mess. They were supposed to have finished last week, except something went wrong and…” She shrugged. “May I get you a cup of coffee?”

  After leaving the job fair, Todd had spent the entire weekend walking the floor of his one-room apartment. The call from Victoria Colby herself this morning had dragged him from the closest thing to sleep he’d gotten since. A quick shower and about a dozen cups of strong black coffee had followed that much anticipated call. He definitely did not need any more caffeine.

  “No, thanks.” Somehow he managed to keep his smile in place. The receptionist’s blush deepened and for a moment she seemed completely flustered.

  “This way, Mr. Thompson,” she said finally, with a gesture toward the corridor to the left of where her desk likely sat under normal circumstances.

  “Call me Todd,” he insisted as he followed Elaine to what he presumed would be Victoria Colby’s office.

  His guide took him to the far end of the long corridor and another, smaller lobby. This one had already been dressed in the new, no doubt expensive gold carpeting. He wasn’t that knowledgeable about decor, but even he was impressed with the lush ambience he’d encountered so far. But then, this was the Colby Agency, the very top of the tip top of the private investigations heap. He expected nothing less.

  “Mildred, this is Mr. Todd Thompson,” Elaine announced to the older woman behind the desk. “Victoria is expecting him.”

  Elaine flashed him a shy smile then headed back to her own domain. Todd watched her for a second longer than he should have, but she had a nice walk. In fact, she was very, very nice. He liked this place already.

  “This way, Mr. Thompson.”

  The stern tone tugged him back to attention. Though he felt confident the gesture was wasted, he gifted the lady—Mildred Parker, according to the name plate on her desk—with a flash of pearly whites that generally charmed most of her gender. As he suspected, she wasn’t buying it. Despite the firm expression, she had a pleasant face and looked to be well into her fifties. This, he decided, was a woman on whose good side he definitely needed to stay. She might not be the boss, but she was damned close.

  “Mrs. Colby-Camp is ready to see you now.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Taking note of the addition tacked onto Victoria Colby’s name, Todd followed the all-business Mildred through a set of double doors and into a lavish office that made him think of royalty.

  “Good morning, Mr. Thompson.”

  Victoria Colby-Camp stood near a small conference table to the left of her impressive desk. She looked exactly as he had expected, extremely classy and completely unreadable.

  “Thank you, Mildred,” she said, her tone soft, polite and yet commanding somehow.

  Todd took the hand Victoria offered and shook it firmly. Behind him he heard the door close with Mildred’s exit.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Colby-Camp.” He wondered if she had any idea just how sincere those words were. He wasn’t entirely sure it was possible to relay with a mere sentence how much it meant for him to be here.

  Victoria indicated the chair closest to him. “Let’s sit and talk, Mr. Thompson.”

  “Todd,” he suggested as he waited for her to take her seat first. She acknowledged his suggestion with a nod and settled into the chair at the head of the oval table. He pulled out his own chair and got comfortable. At least as comfortable as he could with his whole future hanging in the balance. He wasn’t generally a guy who got nervous about much of anything but this was the most important moment of his life—he had to make this happen.

  “Nicole and I reviewed the video of your interview and considered the results at length.”

  Todd wasn’t surprised that the interview had been videoed. Agencies this high profile didn’t leave anything to chance. If he was hired it would likely be by committee.

  “I assume your conclusion was favorable,” he offered. His confidence level rose significantly. He’d known he had impressed Nicole Reed-Michaels. Unlike this lady, Nicole had been somewhat easier to read. And gorgeous. Was everyone who worked here beautiful? Whatever Victoria’s age, she was still an attractive woman.

  Life at the Colby Agency would certainly be easy on the eyes, at least if the rest of the female staff lived up to what he’d seen so far. Beautiful, intelligent. Very cool.

  He’d been somewhat surprised that Nicole had conducted the interviews alone. He’d expected at least three interviewers and that a minimum of two would be male. But the Colby Agency appeared to know exactly what they’d been looking for. He’d watched with interest as Nicole had weeded out literally hundreds of applicants. Only twenty had moved on to the written exam. A mere twelve had survived that portion of the extensive interview. Less than half of those had remained once the intense one-on-one portion concluded. Nicole Reed-Michaels was a hell of a looker, but that hadn’t kept her from being as hard as nails. She was one tough lady.

  But not nearly as tough as the one analyzing him just now.

  “Favorable yet cautious,” Victoria allowed. “This is the Colby Agency, Todd. We don’t take chances with our reputation.”

  He experienced a glimmer of worry, but he didn’t flinch. “Understandable.”

  She assessed his response for three seconds. “Of the five recruits Nicole selected, only three received a call this morning,” Victoria informed him, her eyes still gauging his response.

  Todd held his ground, didn’t let her see him sweat. “I’m flattered to be among those three.”

  “Considering the number of applicants, you very well should be.” That dark gaze that gave away nothing remained pinned to his, waiting, watching for him to make his first mistake…for him to falter.

  The next ten seconds ticked by with excruciating slowness. He gave himself a mental pat on the back when he managed not to squirm.

  “You did extraordinarily well on the written exam,” she said eventually, tossing out that bone with scarcely any inflection in her tone.

  “Thank you.” He’d known he’d aced the test. He was particularly good at giving the answers people wanted—which weren’t even always the correct ones. Because folks had certain expectations of success as well as failure and he’d met each one as if he’d designed the test himself. No one was better in that arena. Every professor whose class he’d taken at the University of Alabama had said the same: Todd had his own personal guardian angel when it came to test taking…either that or he was the luckiest bastard on the planet.

  “My single hesitation, Todd,” Victoria went on, instantly snapping him back to the present and putting him on edge, “is with your somewhat overlarge ego.”

  Uncertainty streaked through him. For the first time in his life he wasn’t sure how to respond. Though he felt confident Victoria wasn’t the first to think as much, she was definitely the first to say so.

  “Not that there is no place in this line of work for a healthy ego,” she allowed. “To the contrary.” The knowing expres
sion she kept aimed in his direction did nothing to alleviate his mounting uneasiness. “It takes courage and confidence to be the kind of investigator this agency seeks out.”

  “I agree,” he said, seeing no reason to deny what she obviously understood about him. “You’ll find that I have no shortage of either. But I also know how and when to keep the latter in check.”

  A smile gave him a moment’s reprieve. “I’m certain you know exactly how to conduct yourself in any given situation.” She leaned back into her chair, adopting a more relaxed posture. “Let me be frank, Todd.”

  He didn’t relax, couldn’t have if his life had depended upon it. That fleeting reprieve he’d experienced had just vanished. This was the moment. Whatever she said next would determine where he went from here. Every minute of every hour of his adult life so far had been leading up to this.

  “This agency is constantly inundated with applicants more than qualified,” she explained. “We choose carefully, and only the very best.”

  And then he knew why he was here. He didn’t have to see it in those closely guarded eyes or to hear it in her voice. He understood exactly why a lady who could command this prestigious agency even bothered to talk to him, a guy who lacked any semblance of the qualifications of which she spoke.

  “Mrs. Colby-Camp,” he said, that cocky attitude he was known for taking precedence and showing, probably a little more than it should. “I don’t have that experience you speak of with such reverence, but I do have a couple of assets you might find every bit as admirable.”

  She inclined her head slightly to the right and waited for him to continue.

  “Ambition. Determination. You give me this opportunity and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.” He leaned forward, anticipation burning through him like flames licking a path through a dry field. “I will do whatever it takes to ensure you’re impressed.”

  The intensity in those dark eyes cranked up a notch. “Make no mistake, Todd, I am already duly impressed, otherwise you would not be here.”