Taylor
“She just pulled into the garage.”
“Thank you, Scott. Make sure the contract is ready. I need for this to go smoothly. She’s the only candidate we’ve found so far who I feel is a safe bet.” I pause and close my eyes. I hate interviews. I would probably hate them less if we hadn’t been conducting them non-stop for the last week. “One more thing,” I say as I open my eyes to see Ms. Becker walking towards the elevator.
“What’s that?” Scott sounds annoyed with me. It’s probably because he’s been sitting in the security room for over an hour, watching for her to arrive. I don’t care. One can never be too careful. We made the mistake of letting someone in before. It won’t happen again.
“Make sure Branch has her background reports ready for me. I want to look over them one more time. I’m getting that feeling again even though she checked out.”
“I’ll see you in a minute.”
I hang up without saying goodbye. Scott and Branch work for me and I make sure to remind them of that fact as often as I can. I don’t care if I appear heartless or act like an asshole. The last time I tried to be friends with the people below me I was almost killed. Never again.
As soon as she hits the button to call the elevator I step out of my car and approach her from behind. She’s staring down at a small piece of paper in her hand. I take a tentative step towards her to see what’s written on it when the elevator arrives and the sound echoes through the parking garage.
She gracefully walks in and turns. When she spots me I can tell she had no idea I was standing behind her. She’s shocked. She tries to brush it off as she reaches out to hold the door for me.
I walk past her and inhale her scent. She smells of lavender and vanilla. It’s enchanting. She’s enchanting. Her hair is the most gorgeous shade of auburn I’ve ever seen. Her light brown eyes are absolutely stunning. What attracts me to her the most, is the way she’s smiling at me right now. Sweet and innocent.
“What floor?” She asks and I’m broken from the trance.
“Same as you.” The words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them. I’m not supposed to be flirting with her.
“Really? Are you sure about that?” She’s flirting back and when her eyes meet mine, I’m pretty sure my heart drops into my stomach. This girl is fascinating. I can see she’s trying to hide her nerves behind her smile, but what a beautiful smile it is.
“Pretty sure.” I’m not trying to be rude or short with her, but I can’t seem to make a complete sentence right now.
Deep breathe in, then out. Repeat.
“Okay. You hit the button then and we’ll find out.”
She wants to play a little game, then we can play a game. I keep eye contact with her as I reach past her and hit the button for my floor. I watch as she takes a deep breath and I mentally praise myself for spraying on new cologne before I left this morning. I’m rewarded with another smile and this time it reaches her eyes.
“Do you believe me now?” I ask, ready for this game to be over.
“Depends. How did you know which floor I needed? Are you a stalker?”
“Ms. Becker, I know a lot about you.”
She takes a small step back, putting space between us. Her smile fades slightly, but she regains control mere seconds after her expression turns to shock. Good. She should be shocked by this. If she were on the other side, working for them, she wouldn’t be shocked at all.
“Do I know you? You apparently know who I am.”
“No. You don’t know me – yet.”
“Care to enlighten me?” She’s flirting again. I can work with this. In fact, I would be interested in more than flirting with her if it turns out her background check came back clean again.
“Taylor. Thomas Taylor. I believe you have an interview with me in less than five minutes.”
She thrusts her hand at me. I make no move to shake her hand and she retreats fast and pulls herself together.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Taylor.”
“You too, Ms. Becker.”
As soon as the elevator arrives at our floor I walk past her and straight to my office. Her scent seems to follow me. It’s all I can smell. I close the door to my office, remove my suit coat and toss it over the back of my chair. I walk towards the wet bar and pour myself a long pull of Jack. I need to get this girl out of my head before I start her interview.
Sitting on my desk are the reports I asked Scott to retrieve for me. I take a seat and open the first folder. It’s her background check. She’s clean. My private investigator didn’t find any oddities or gaps. There is nothing which connects her to anyone from my past or to the FBI. She’s not working for the Bureau, trying to get in here and take me down.
A shiver runs the length of my spine at the thought. I close my eyes and think back to the last time they managed to get someone on the inside. He worked hard. There were no holes or gaps in his story either. If he hadn’t screwed up, he would have never been uncovered. I felt bad that we had to kill him, I really did, but it had to be done. He knew too much.
I knew after I visited Courtney they would start looking for me again. I knew they would find me. I even knew at some point they would be able to get on the inside. They can throw whoever they want at me from here on out. No one is going to be able to get on the inside again. If they do, they’ll end up pushing up daisies like Ben.
There’s a knock on my door, bringing me out of my thoughts and back to reality. I didn’t need to relive that shit again, anyway. I’ve seen the photos. I was there when Scott pulled the trigger. I watched them bury the body.
“Come in.”
“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Taylor,” Jessica says, peaking her head in the door. “Ms. Becker has arrived for her interview and Scott just phoned me to let me know he’s ready whenever you are.”
“Thank you. Let him know I need a few more minutes.”
She nods once before closing the door. I need more than a few minutes. I need to focus and look over this information again. I take a swig and enjoy the burn a little too much as I swallow. I need to take the edge off, a little.
I focus on her file, reading it twice, cover to cover before I close it and pick up the other envelope on my desk. I pop the clasp and pull out her contract. I give it a quick read through to make sure Scott didn’t screw up her list of responsibilities. I need everything in the paperwork, laid out, so I can hold her accountable. She needs to know her boundaries too. I don’t want her snooping. It might cost her her life, regardless of whether or not she’s on our side.
I place the contract back in the envelope and glance up at the clock. I call Jessica and tell her to bring Ms. Becker to the conference room. Then, I call Branch and Scott into my office. We all need to be on the same page. I don’t want them to start asking random questions like the last few interviews.
I give them the run down and tell them to basically shut their fucking mouths. We run through the questions quick and head towards the conference room. I pause outside the door and my eyes close involuntarily when I inhale a whiff of her scent.
Fuck! I am in over my head and I’ve barely been around this woman. Pull your shit together, Taylor.
I mentally chastise myself before turning the handle and pushing the door open. I need to keep my head clear. I need to get under her skin. I need to know everything there is to know about Magdelyn Becker. Looking at her right now, I want to know everything about her. For all the wrong reasons.
2.
Maggie
It took us almost two hours to get through all the paperwork, but it was worth it. I made him explain every line to me, in detail. I made him give me the reason behind everything I questioned him on. I made him amend a few things just because I wanted to and I still haven’t signed his contract. Those are all the things which I did right over the last two hours.
Now for the things I did wrong. I sat a little too close to him. I inhaled his masculine scent a few too many times. I l
aughed at his jokes when they weren’t funny. I flirted. I was supposed to flirt with him. It was part of my job description. I was to lure him in, make him like me on a personal and professional level. I was flirting with him uncontrollably. None of this was an act for me. It was coming too naturally.
He is so damn good looking. Any woman would lose control of her body sitting this close to him, smelling his intoxicating scent. This is going to be a major hiccup in the game plan. Yes, I need to lure him in and have him fall for me, so eventually we can trap him. I’m not supposed to fall for him, though, and I think I already am.
As long as I complete the assignment, who cares? Right? I may end up with a broken heart, but the job will be done. I need to go home and reread his file. I need to remind myself of who he really is. I need to remember all the terrible things he’s done. Then, maybe, I can get his sexy ass out of my head.
Damn it!
“What’s the matter?”
Shit. I said that out loud. I need to get my shit under control before I lose it all together.
“Nothing. I just remembered I promised my roommates I would pick up lunch on my way home and it’s past lunch time.” At least I can still lie on the spot. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to pull Logan or Elliott into this, but it looks like that is going to be impossible now.
“I’m sorry I kept you so long. Would you like for me to have lunch delivered to them?”
Hmm? What’s he up to?
“No, thank you. I need to get going, though. Would it be all right with you if I take the rest of these documents home and looked them over one more time before signing them?”
“I’m sorry, but those can’t leave the office.”
“Does that mean I’m not going to get a copy for myself?”
“There will be a copy available to you at all times, but no, you will not have a copy you can take home with you. If you need to look over your contract you can do so anytime you like, here in the office, with either myself, Branch or Scott in attendance.”
Shit! How was I going to get a copy of this to Montgomery?
“Can I ask why? That seems a little extreme.”
“Company policy. It’s stated in the contract. We must have skipped over that section.”
No. I remember it. I read it and skipped over it on purpose. I was hoping he would let it slide, or forget it was in there.
“Oh. All right, well can I at least go home and sleep on it?”
“I need your answer before you leave, Magdelyn.”
He used my full name and I like it. I like the way it flowed so effortlessly off his tongue. He makes my name sound beautiful. Any other person who calls me Magdelyn has a way of making me sound like an old lady. Not Taylor.
I take a look at my watch and see it’s getting close to one o’clock. I need to get out of here and brief Montgomery. If I don’t check in by two he said he was going to call me and I can’t have that. It might say “unknown number,” but I can’t take the chance that Taylor will recognize Montgomery’s voice.
“Umm-“
“Why are you hesitating? What is it that’s keeping you from making your decision?”
“Honestly?”
“Please.”
Let’s see if I can boost his ego and kick his legs out from under him at the same time. If I’ve read him right, he’s attracted to me as much as I’m attracted to him. This might actually be fun, depending on how he reacts.
“Well, I’m attracted to you and I’m afraid I might have an issue with the boundaries the contract lays out with interoffice relationships. I’m not sure why, but I feel this… I don’t know, I guess you could describe it as a magnetic pull towards you.”
I’m expecting shock, or a similar reaction from him in regards to how bold I was. I’m expecting him to at least smile at me. Maybe I read him wrong. Maybe he’s not attracted to me. Shit! I keep screwing this up. I jumped over phase one and went right to phase two. I was supposed to secure the job first, then seduce him. Not the other way around.
He still hasn’t said anything. I reach for my contract and sign it so I have at least secured my position and push my chair back to stand. That’s when he makes his move. When his hand lands on my bare thigh my legs actually give out and I land back in my chair with a thump.
All I can do is stare at his hand. I know if I make eye contact he might kiss me. I want that, I really do, but first I need to get the fog to clear. My brain is firing at a rapid pace and my body reacts to his touch in a way it’s never responded to anyone else before. I’ve been scared a number of times since arriving here today. This fear is greater than all of those times combined.
I feel his free hand move to my jaw and I allow him to tilt my head up. When our eyes connect I can see he’s searching mine for something. Probably my ulterior motive. Maybe even doubt. He won’t find either. This is all purely selfish right now. This moment has nothing to do with the case. That’s when I realize how easy it would be for me to fall for Taylor, on a personal level.
“Why don’t we get some lunch while I have your contract amended? We can go over it again when we get back and you can decide then if you want to sign it. If not… well, we can talk more about it when we get back.”
My voice is lost. I know I shouldn’t go to lunch with him. I know I should stay far away from him. I shouldn’t accept the position with the way I’m acting right now. As if my body and brain have both decided to deceive all rational thinking, I find myself nodding my head.
I have less than an hour to figure out how I can contact Montgomery before he calls and ruins everything. I figure I’ll sneak away at lunch, use the ladies room and call him. My master plan is put on hold when we pull up in front of an apartment building. His apartment building.
Taylor must have seen me tense up. He doesn’t make a move to exit the car. In fact, it looks like he’s waiting for me to say something. He turns towards me in his seat and stares at me. I feel his eyes on me, running the length of my body, pausing where my shirt meets bare skin. I would say he’s sizing me up, but it feels more like he’s eating me up without actually touching me.
“Your place?” It is most definitely a question and not a statement.
“I hope you don’t mind. I had lunch brought to us. I figured we would be able to talk privately about your concerns here.”
The way he said concerns makes me flinch. I hope he doesn’t think I’m going to sleep with him. I mean, eventually I would like to, personally, but professionally it wouldn’t be a good idea. Not as his employee and not as an agent. I need to make sure he understands that. Why in the hell did I even say anything to begin with? Oh yeah! I’ve turned into a blubbering idiot because he’s so good looking.
I don’t know what to say so I only nod. He moves quickly and before I realize what’s happening, he opens my door for me and extends his hand to help me out of his car. I accept, expecting him to let go as soon as I’m standing. Apparently, he has other ideas. He laces our fingers together and leads me inside the building, practically pulling me through the lobby and into the elevator.
I try to release his hand as soon as the elevator doors close, but he grips me tighter. Shit! This is not going how I planned. I woke up this morning with one goal in mind: bring him down at whatever cost. That’s still my goal, only the costs are growing exponentially by the second.
The ding of the elevator signals our arrival. I’m nervous. I knew at some point I would have to figure out where he lived, get inside his apartment somehow. I never thought it would be today or it would be this easy. I didn’t realize I would have this much of an effect on him or vice versa. It was all a little too easy.
I put my guard up and my game face on as we exit the elevator into his penthouse apartment. I should have known. Men like him don’t like to downgrade from what they are used to even after a setback like he had a few years ago. Nothing keeps them from living the life. Not even brushes with death.
There is a delicious smell emanating from somewh
ere close. He still has a tight grip on my hand as we round the corner and I stop dead in my tracks. The sight before me is astounding and the smells are even more intense.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked so I made sure they provided a little bit of everything. You’re not a vegetarian, are you? I didn’t plan for that.” This is the first time I’ve heard him sound like this. He sounds almost caring. His voice is softer than before. It’s lost the boom of the conference room. Maybe it’s his surroundings, but he sounds like a normal guy.
“Not a vegetarian. I actually don’t like many vegetables so that wouldn’t work out well for me.”
“Good. Shall we?” he asks, gesturing to the two chairs which are side by side, pulling one out for me.
I take my seat and he takes the one next to me, pulling his chair closer to mine as he sits down. He must be up to something. There has to be something I’m missing. I’ve never had anyone react this way to me before. Whether I tried to be the center of attention or completely invisible, no man has ever tried to impress me. Taylor is impressing me right now and I’m not even sure if he’s doing it on purpose.
He fills my plate with a sample of everything on the table before filling his own. I place my napkin in my lap and bow my head to say grace out of habit. I stop myself mid-bow.
“Please continue.”
“No. It’s fine.”
“Really. I don’t mind. I’m not a very religious man, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pray in my presence.”
“It’s just a habit. Something I’ve done since I was a child.”
“Please It would upset me if you didn’t. I don’t want to change who you are as a person.”
Hmm. What is that supposed to mean? I bow my head and think about it instead of praying like he asked me to. As I lift my head I see him watching my every move. I’m not sure why, but my body starts to tingle in all the wrong places. His stare is penetrating me.
The Secrets Duet Page 19
