by Deanna Chase
I yanked my tie off. “No chance of that. People are going to take one look at you and wonder how I ended up with such a beautiful date.”
A trace of pink rose on her cheeks, and suddenly making Marley blush became my new goal in life.
“How was your day?” she asked, changing the subject.
Damn, it had been a long time since someone asked me about my day. And by someone who knew the truth about my job, no less. Before I could talk myself out of it, I seized the opportunity and started talking. Next thing I knew, Marley was sitting on the edge of the bathtub listening while I shaved away my five o-clock shadow at the sink. She laughed at my stories of cubicle life and asked questions like she was genuinely interested. I didn’t know if she really was, or if pretending to be fascinated by men’s conversation was a part of her professional repertoire, but I wanted to believe, at least for a while, that her interest was real. I needed a friend, and I was beginning to think Marley might be it. Of course, I’d never had a friend who had me walking around with a permanent semi. That might get annoying.
I stifled a groan. Ever since that lap dance, my cock had been on high alert, like it took me humping Marley’s leg like a dog for me to notice she was a hot woman. Christ, the way her skin had smelled when I’d bent to nuzzle her neck. Peaches on a hot summer day. All I’d wanted to do was carry her off to my bed like a Neanderthal. And now, I couldn’t think of much else.
After I finished cleaning up, we headed downtown to the restaurant attached to the hotel where Deputy Director Chesley was staying. In the car, I reinforced the whole investment company cover story so Marley knew to play along. I wasn’t positive what the Agency would do if they found out I told her, but I suspected it would involve me shoveling snow in Siberia for the rest of my career.
The hostess at the front desk escorted Marley and me back to a private room, well away from the main restaurant. I didn’t know many of the people milling around, at least not on a personal level. Trent Neil stood on the far side of the room, his arm lightly draped around a generic looking model-type. I’d be surprised if he knew her last name. When he spotted me, he raised his glass and smirked. I flipped him off.
“May I get ya’ll something to drink?” asked a waitress.
“I’ll just have a Coke.” Marley said.
“Same here.” Alcohol and drugs can weaken psychic abilities, so I assumed Marley was keeping herself clean for a reason. While I doubted I’d be running into any spirits tonight, I figured I’d follow her lead.
“Moreno!” called Chesley’s booming voice. I turned to see the man approaching with an elegant older woman on his arm. He pumped my hand vigorously. “Glad you could make it. And who’s this lovely lady?”
“Marley Sexton. It’s nice to meet you.” She shook hands all around.
“What a beautiful dress,” Lindy Chesley commented.
“Thank you, ma’am. My mama made it.”
This started the women off talking about clothes. Chesley gave me a look like we were two dudes sharing an inside joke.
“I appreciated you being such a good sport on the course. I know golfing really isn’t your thing, but Neil was right about you, you’re a trooper.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“No need to call me sir. We’re here to have a nice time and let off some steam. Just call me Wayne.”
Before I could formulate a reply, Frazier strode up, edged me out of the way and greeted Chesley like a long lost college buddy. The stink of my boss’s desperation made my nose twitch.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Chesley,” I said, taking the liberty to run my hand down Marley’s back. “Would you mind if I stole Marley away a moment?”
The woman waved us off with a knowing grin.
I led Marley to a quiet corner so I could give her the lay of the land. “The balding, constipated looking guy? That’s my boss, Gary Frazier.”
She glanced over my shoulder and nodded. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do, but my nudging isn’t perfect. The message has to be really short. All you want is for him to file your paperwork so you can go back out to the field, right?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, so I think the best thing to do is to get into a conversation with him about work. Think you can ask him again about reassigning you? Nudging works pretty well on procrastinators. If he’s already thinking about it, I just have to give him a little goose.”
“No talking about work in front of civilians. I’ll need to find a way to get him alone.”
The servers began bringing out dinner, so we went to find seats. I hoped for a place near Frazier so we could get the nudging over with, but he and his chinless wife glued themselves to the Chesleys along with the rest of the brown-nose crew.
“Come on, Moreno.” Neil said, grasping my shoulder. “I saved you seats at my table so I can flirt with your date.” He winked at Marley and bent to brush a kiss across her knuckles. A pretty blush colored her cheeks. I grit my teeth to keep from stomping on Neil’s foot.
“Marley, this is Trent Neil. Don’t trust him.”
“Ah, don’t listen to him, Marley. I’m the best friend he has.”
Shit, he was probably right. As my handler, and one of the few people who I had contact with during my years undercover, Neil knew more about me than even my mother did. He drove me nuts most of the time, but there wasn’t anyone else I’d rather have at my six in a fire fight.
I followed them to the table where Neil introduced us to his date, Valentina. The woman looked supremely bored. She didn’t speak much and ate even less.
“So, Marley,” Neil asked as he cut his steak. “What do you do?”
“I’m a dancer.”
Valentina gave Marley one of those once-over looks women do when they are sizing up their competition. “Ballet?”
“No, something more...exotic.”
Valentina looked horrified, and I choked on my soda.
“Oh, I’m going to like you.” Neil gave Marley an admiring look. “You’re exactly what this stick in the mud needs.”
Marley grinned, ridiculously proud of herself.
After pushing around the appropriate amount of food on her plate, Valentina excused herself to go have a cigarette.
Once the three of us were alone, and I was reasonably certain no one was eavesdropping, I leaned toward Neil. “We need to talk.”
The man’s smile never faltered, but I could sense the gears of his mind changing over to business. “This is a family event. We’re not supposed to be discussing work.”
“This isn’t work. The party you told me about is coming up quick. You in?”
Neil eyed Marley. “Is she going to this party?”
Marley nodded. “I sure am.”
“You know you’re my favorite wingman,” I added.
Neil sighed. “I’ll call you for directions later.”
Even though Neil was about as psychic as a rock, conversations with him always had that mind-reader feel. He was a world class expert in communicating vast ideas with as few words as possible. I’d heard rumors about his off-the-charts IQ, and I was inclined to believe them.
When dinner was over, Valentina returned. Neil made an excuse about her having an early appointment and left with a promise to call me in the morning. Gradually, people stood and began reaching for their coats.
“Hey, your boss just headed to the men’s room. You corner him and get him talking.”
“Where are you going to be?”
“Just go!” She pinched my ass, starling me into taking a step.
The restrooms were located at the end of a long, empty hall.
“I’m not following him in there like some perv.”
“Just stand here and pretend you’re talking on your phone. Then when he comes back out, hang up.” Marley tried a door marked Employees Only. It opened to a small broom closet jam packed with cleaning supplies. Marley slipped off her strappy heels, and stepped up into an empty mop bucket. “Shut the door. I’ll hear you fine.�
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I closed the door and took out my phone. There was a text message from my little sister. I’d gotten her a fancy phone last month for her thirteenth birthday, and she’d been texting me several times a day ever since. Thank god for unlimited texting, or my parents would’ve strung me up. I tapped out a cheesy knock-knock joke to her. Just as I hit send, Frazier stepped out of the men’s room, adjusting the belt on his pants.
“Good evening, sir.”
Frazier’s brows lifted like I’d startled him out of his thoughts. “Oh, yeah. Have a nice night. See you in the morning.”
He made like he was going to step past me, so I reached out to shake his hand. I sure hoped it was damp from poor hand driers and not because he’d forgotten to wash.
“Thank you for inviting me tonight.” It really wasn’t his idea to include me on the guest list, but I needed to keep him talking.
“Uh, yeah. Glad you could make it.”
“Did you get a chance to file my transfer paperwork this afternoon?”
Frazier took a deep breath and let out a sigh. I was pissing him off, but hopefully with Marley’s nudge it wouldn’t matter.
“No, Moreno.”
“Oh. So do you think you’ll have a chance to look at it soon? I’ve been working in the office for months now, and I know my skills are needed out on the streets.”
“I meant, no. I’m not approving your transfer back to field work.”
All the blood in my body turned to sludge. No? Why the fuck not?
“Look, Moreno. You’re a good agent, but there’s no way you can go undercover with El Caos again. You’re persona non grata south of the border. So I think your knowledge is best put to use in the office here.”
“Then what about transferring me to a different field team? Send me to Brazil or something?”
“I’m going to level with you here,” he said, staring at me with intent. “I see you going far in this organization, but when I envision your future, I see you here. Now, I know reviewing the bank accounts of money launderers isn’t the most exciting thing, but heck, you play your cards right, and you could have my job someday.”
“But I’m a psy agent!” I hissed, trying to keep my volume down. “That’s why the Agency recruited me. The only dead people I see lately are the zombies who push the mail carts around twice a day.”
“I’m not trying to upset you. I’m just thinking about the overall health of the department.”
I must have looked confused, because he continued.
“Look around the office sometime. Half of the people you see will be retiring in the next five years. What am I going to do when my experienced analysts leave? The time to train for the future is now. You’re bored? I get it. It’s about time I gave you more responsibility. How about I set you up on a job shadow next week with Louis? He can show you the ropes in Web Surveillance.”
A woman I didn’t know turned down the hall headed for the ladies’ room, effectively ending our conversation.
Frazier used the diversion to make his escape. “We can talk specifics tomorrow.” He patted my shoulder like I was a disappointed child and headed back toward the party.
I stared after him with my mouth hanging open. Visions of gray cubicle walls and the scent of pencil shavings swirled through my brain, making me light-headed. A soft creak sounded behind me, and Marley climbed out of the closet.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I groaned.
Marley stomped into her shoes. “How dare that rat bastard talk to you like that! I have half a mind to tell him what I really think of his greasy comb-over.”
I touched her wrist. “So the nudging...?”
“I can’t nudge someone who has his mind dead set against something.”
My chest constricted. “So that’s it.”
“Are you kidding? You’re not gonna give up just like that, are you?”
I slumped against the wall and rubbed the back of my tense neck. “I don’t know, Marley. What else can I do? His decision sounded pretty final to me. And it’s not like I’m in a position to just quit. But hell...the thought of going back in there tomorrow knowing that’s what I can expect to face for the next thirty years makes me want to puke.”
Marley’s eyes grew bright as twin flames. “No useless bureaucrat is going to treat one of my friends like shit and get away with it.”
She grasped my hand and pulled me back to the main room. But instead of approaching Frazier, she led me in the direction of Wayne Chesley.
“No!” I dug my heels in. “You’re going to get me fired.”
She rolled her eyes like she was dealing with a petulant child. “I am not gonna get you fired. Trust me.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Stop looking like you just got kicked in the gut and follow my lead.”
Chesley and his wife stood off to the side saying goodnight to a group of people. As soon as they stepped away, a grinning Marley sidled up.
“Thank you so much for hosting us all tonight. Dinner was wonderful, and I’m so happy to get to finally meet JC’s co-workers.”
“So glad you could make it, Marley,” answered Lindy. “I’ll be sure to check out that boutique you suggested before our flight leaves tomorrow.”
“Oh, I know you’ll love it! And, Mr. Chesley, thank you so much for being good to my honey here.” Marley held my hand and leaned into me. “He just loves working for your company, and I want nothing more than to see him happy.”
“Well, we’re lucky to have him.”
She gazed up at me with rounded doe eyes. “Aw, ain’t he just the sweetest thing?” Turning back to Chesley she continued. “JC’s always telling me how much he loved it when he used to be able to get out of the office to meet with clients in the field. He talks about it like it was the best job in the world. Not that he doesn’t enjoy office work, but you know JC, he gets restless cooped up inside all day. I understand this is just a temporary thing, right? I mean, you do plan to send him back out to the field soon?”
For a moment, Chesley’s eyes glazed, like a man who’d had too much to drink, but then in a snap it was gone. “Of course. We can always use good men working with clients in the field.”
“So you’ll help him get re-assigned?”
“Absolutely,” Chesley beckoned to someone across the room. I looked over my shoulder to see Frazier approaching. “Frazier, JC’s temporary assignment in your office is just about over, isn’t it? I was thinking it’s time to get him back out into the field where he belongs. He always did his best work when he could meet clients on their own turf.”
Frazier glared at me accusingly and sputtered, “Y-yes, sir. I-I was just speaking with Moreno earlier today about filing his transfer.”
“Good. See that you do it tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Wayne,” I said, shaking the man’s hand and studiously ignoring Frazier. “I appreciate this opportunity to get back to the job I love.”
“No problem, JC. And if you and Marley ever get up to Virginia, let me know. We’d love to have you both out on the boat.”
We said our goodnights, and I hustled Marley out while we were ahead.
When we got to the hallway, I couldn’t contain my gratitude any longer. I spun Marley around and pressed a kiss to her mouth. Laughing, she parted her lips and pulled me closer so my hardening cock grazed her belly. Well, I didn’t need an engraved invitation. I took her mouth deeply, licking in to tangle with her tongue. She tasted so damn good. Her summer peach smell filled my brain, making me strain in my shorts. I wanted to kiss every inch of her. My lips trailed down her jaw to nibble on her neck.
“JC.” She sort of giggled and whispered at the same time. “Your co-workers can see us!”
“I don’t care,” I muttered. “What you did in there was a fucking thing of beauty.”
“I’m serious, back off.” She shoved at my chest, and I reluctantly gave her some space. “I don’t waste my time with boys who do nothing but tease.”
“Oh, you know...like last night. Don’t tell me you weren’t as hot and bothered after that lap dance as I was...the evidence was poking me in the gut. But then you got all cold feet and ran to hide in your bedroom. I like a man who knows how to finish what he starts, and if that isn’t you...” She shrugged.
This woman was going to be the death of me. I tugged her further down the hall so I could say what I wanted without having to worry about nosy eavesdroppers.
“Oh, I know what I want, missy. I was just trying to be a gentleman.”
“Then hold the door open for me. Don’t get me all horned up and then run off.”
“Did you just say ‘all horned up’?” I laughed.
She smacked me on the arm. “You know what I mean.” Then a sort of seriousness washed over her face like a cloud. “JC, I don’t need no silly ring or promises. I’m not that girl. But don’t play games with me. I don’t have the time or the energy for things like that.”
I’d liked Marley before, but that little speech caused my blood to rush through my chest in a way I wasn’t familiar with. I reached up to frame her face with my palms. “I won’t hurt you, Marley. And I’m not into playing games either. But in the short time I’ve known you, I’ve felt more like myself than since before I went undercover. I don’t know what this is, but it’s worth exploring.”
I tilted her face up and covered her mouth with mine. I was going for tender and sweet, but after a minute Marley had other ideas. She twined her body around mine, igniting something in me that went beyond the physical.
Reluctantly, I drew back. “Maybe we should take this someplace a little more private. My place?”
Her eyes narrowed wickedly. “Too far. And I don’t want you growing some misguided conscience on me like you did last night. Come on.”
Marley led me down the hall to the ladies’ room. Bathrooms are not sexy in the least, but I’d take her bent over a counter if it meant I could get inside her quicker. She checked the stalls to make sure we were alone, and then flipped the lock on the door.
“You sure about this?” Please god, let her be sure....
