by Anna Wells
“Yes, I went over that with your brother, Trevor. Agent Barrett coming in this morning and will be introduced to Joyce as a new hire in HR that she needs to train. That way they will spend a great deal of time together. Actually Barrett should be there now.”
“Okay, good. Look I need to confide in Michaela about this investigation. She needs to understand the whole picture now that she’s a target.”
Gonzales sighed over the phone. “Okay, I get it, but I want to be at this discussion when she’s briefed. I need to ensure that she understands that she can’t reveal anything about this investigation to anyone.”
“Look her brother is an FBI agent. I think she’ll get it,” Jordan said in a dry tone.
“Shit, who’s her brother?”
“Donovan Prentice.”
“Well, that explains why Prentice has left me several voice mails asking me to call him.”
“Why would Donovan be contacting you? He’s with Counter Terrorism. How could he possibly be aware of this investigation?”
“You’re dating his sister, right?” the special agent asked as if that explained everything.
“Yes.”
“And he knows that?”
“Well, yeah.”
“My guess is that Prentice went to do a background check on his sister’s boyfriend. Your file has been red flagged because you’re involved in this investigation which means Prentice couldn’t access any in depth information without going through me. He’s probably shitting bricks thinking his sister is dating a criminal.”
“Oh that’s just fucking great,” Jordan said his voice filled with irritation. “I can’t believe he tried to do a background check on me.”
“Don’t let it bother you. I run checks on all of my sister’s boyfriends too.”
“How does your sister feel about that?’
The agent snorted. “Like I’d tell her that.”
“So could you let my future brother-in-law know that I’m not the subject of an FBI investigation? It would be a big help.”
“I’ll call him right away and let him know. So when are we going to meet with Michaela so I can brief her?”
“Today, I’m meeting her for lunch. I’ll pick her up and then we can meet somewhere.”
“Why don’t you come to the FBI offices so we can discuss this privately? We’re at One Center Plaza.”
“Okay, I’m picking Michaela up at 12:30. We should be there before 1:00.”
“See you then.”
Jordan hung up the phone and immediately sent Trevor an email asking if Agent Barrett had arrived yet. Things were becoming increasingly complicated, but he felt an incredible relief since Gonzales had agreed to inform Michaela about the undercover operation. Finally, he could stop feeling guilty about hiding this situation from her.
A pinging sound indicated he had a new email. It was from Trevor telling him that the new employee, Sam Barrett had started his day and was currently being trained by Joyce. Everything was going ahead as planned. Jordan then sent Ian an email updating his brother that the undercover agent had arrived today.
He got up from his chair and headed out of his office. He was going to meet this undercover agent. As he strode down the hall he watched his brother Ian emerge from his office.
Ian glanced in his direction and smiled. “Where are you off to?”
“To meet our new employee,” Jordan told him.
“Won’t that look suspicious if we both go?”
Jordan stopped in midstride. “Yeah, it’s going to look weird. Let’s pretend we’re just passing through on our way to a meeting in the boardroom.”
“Let’s say we’re going for a coffee instead. I mean we’re not even carrying any file folders or anything so I don’t think the boardroom story will fly. You know, I’m feeling very covert,” Ian said in a slightly hushed tone.
“I’m feeling like I need this woman in jail and out of our offices,” Jordan returned his tone also quiet. He certainly didn’t need the rest of the office overhearing this particular conversation. They continued down the hall on their way to Human Resources trying to appear casual and disinterested. They totally sucked as undercover operatives, Jordan thought.
As they turned the corner he spotted Joyce at her desk with a man sitting next to her. He appeared to be hanging on to her every word. When they reached Joyce’s desk, she looked up and smiled. She always wore a come fuck me smile, he used to think that was just for him, but he had come to realize that she shared that with everybody. Joyce was a stunning woman and she used that to her fullest advantage, but it hadn’t taken him long to realize that everything under the surface was superficial. Now when he looked at her, he didn’t find anything about her attractive and wondered how he ever did.
“Good morning, gentleman,” Joyce greeted the two of them. “This is our new HR Recruiter, Sam Barrett. Sam this is Jordan and Ian Marsh the company’s CEO and CFO.”
Jordan inclined his head. “Good to have you on board, Sam.”
“Welcome to the team, ECOM Works is always looking for hardworking talent,” Ian added.
“Thanks,” Sam said giving nothing away. “I’m thrilled at this opportunity.” He looked every bit the eager new employee.
“I see you’re shadowing with Joyce, stick close to her she knows the ropes inside and out,” Ian told him.
Joyce beamed under his praise. “Thank you, Ian. It’s so exciting for me to train a new employee. You know, it wasn’t that long ago that I was one myself.”
“Ian we should go grab that coffee, we’ve got a meeting with Trevor at ten this morning,” Jordan interjected.
“Oh yeah, right,” Ian said and then turned back to Joyce. “Why don’t you take Sam out to lunch and expense it to the company?”
“Thanks, Ian,” Joyce said with a smile.
“No problem,” he told her as he and Jordan went out into the hall to catch the elevator downstairs.
The two entered the elevator and Jordan leaned forward and pushed the button. “Why are we paying for the FBI agent to go to lunch?”
Ian shrugged. “I don’t know, it just seemed like the natural thing to say.”
“You’d make a shitty FBI agent.”
Ian looked offended. “You would too,” he returned.
Jordan arched his brow. “That’s your best come back?”
Ian ignored his question and said, “I guess we have to go to Starbucks now.”
Jordan sighed. “We’re sort of committed.”
“That was kind of a colossal waste of time, wasn’t it?”
“Yep, pretty much,” Jordan agreed.
Jordan spent the rest of the morning in his office trying to concentrate on work, but he found it difficult to focus. He was anxious to have that meeting with Gonzales and Michaela. He sat at his desk tapping his pen as he read over some of Ian’s latest financial reports. Things were looking good and the company was meeting their sales forecasts for the quarter. At twelve o’clock he practically dashed to the elevator. Paul was scheduled to meet him in front of the building so they could go pick up Michaela for lunch.
As he stepped into the elevator her heard Joyce’s voice. “Jordan, can you hold the elevator?” she asked.
He held the door as Joyce and Sam Barrett stepped in.
“Thanks,” she said using that slightly breathless tone.
He ignored her and turned to Sam. “So how’s your first day going?”
“Great sir,” Barrett said sounding like a nervous new employee talking to his boss.
“That’s good. I see you two are on your way to lunch.” The elevator doors opened and they walked out through the main lobby. The three made their way to the front doors of the building. Jordan could see the Bentley waiting by the front curb through the glass doors. As they exited the building, Jordan held the door open for the two of them.
As he let go of the door Joyce grabbed his arm and leaned close in an intimate manner. He could feel her breast brushing the side of his arm.
She licked her lower lip before asking, “Won’t you join us for lunch. I’d love to have you.”
Jordan really wanted to roll his eyes at her blatant come on, but refrained. He was just about to tell her no when he looked up and saw Michaela climbing out of the Bentley. Their eyes locked and a look of disbelief and horror crossed her face as she took in the scene of Joyce pressed close to him, holding his arm.
Joyce must have noticed the direction of his gaze because she turned and looked toward Michaela. A satisfied smile came across her face. “Michaela, it’s so good to see you. See, I told you Jordan had forgiven me.”
Jordan couldn’t believe the words coming from the bitch’s mouth. He could literally see the pain on Michaela’s face. He felt like his world was closing in on him and his thoughts began to scramble trying to find a way to explain everything. What the fuck, he thought, she’s never going to believe me.
Chapter Nineteen
Michaela sat at her desk and began to put away her files. She gazed out the window appreciating the view of downtown Boston. She’d had a very productive morning and she had finished her work early. She really wasn’t in the mood to start another project before lunch since she only had a half hour or so before Jordan was going to pick her up. Rather than sitting around wasting time, she decided to call Jordan’s driver, Paul, to ask him if he could pick her up and bring her over to Jordan’s office. Paul had responded that he was close to her office and he would be waiting for her in front of her building in five minutes. Grabbing her coat, she made her way down to the front of the building and found the Bentley waiting for her.
“Good afternoon, Paul,” she said as she slid into the back seat of the car.”
“Good afternoon Ms. Prentice. I’ll just take you to Mr. Marsh’s office.
“Okay great.” She fumbled through the contents of her purse searching for her cell phone. Once she found her phone she tried to call Jordan to let him know that she was on her way to pick him up, but she got his voicemail. She shrugged to herself and left a quick voicemail. It was no big deal, she thought, he was expecting Paul to be waiting for him. The surprise would be that she would already be in the car.
Paul had made it to Jordan’s office adeptly managing the heavy afternoon traffic. She looked out of the Bentley’s window to see Jordan exiting the building. He turned to hold the door open for someone. Michaela decided to get out of the car to greet him and, as her feet hit the pavement, she saw that he was holding the door open for Joyce. Joyce leaned into him and put her hand on his arm. She was looking at him as if she owned him. Michaela felt a sick dread spread through her body at the sight of them together.
At that moment Jordan looked in her direction. Their eyes met and she was sure he could read the look of hurt and betrayal on her face. Shock and surprise filled his face at her unexpected arrival. Michaela’s feet propelled her forward toward the two of them. Michaela, at this moment, was seeing red. She’d heard that expression so many times, but never actually thought people actually saw red. Well, yeah, she literally saw red. Really, she thought? Was this going to be her life; one relationship after another coming to an end because she caught her man with another woman? The cliché was killing her, but this time she wasn’t going to run away from this confrontation.
Joyce gave her a half smile, oblivious to the tension that filled the air and said, “Michaela, it’s so good to see you. See, I told you Jordan had forgiven me.” She cocked her head to the side. “What are you doing here anyway?” she asked. “Have you two stayed in touch?” Her confusion was apparent and Joyce didn’t seem to have any idea that she and Jordan were involved.
Michaela crossed her arms to ward off the chill. Snow flurries blew around her face unnoticed as she wondered what she should tell Joyce. She noticed a young man standing next to Joyce, looking slightly uncomfortable. He’d obviously picked up on the tension growing between her and Jordan. He was looking around at his surroundings in an alert manner that reminded her of her brother, Donovan. Even when they weren’t on duty, cops never stopped assessing their surroundings for possible trouble. Hmmm, she thought, was that guy some kind of cop or security person?
“Michaela,” Jordan interrupted her thoughts, “she just works for me.”
She looked back at Jordan becoming aware that the expression on his face wasn’t guilt. He looked as horrified as she did, and then unexpectedly the red haze lifted allowing her to think more clearly. The revelation spread through her body slowly and with warmth and reassurance; Jordan wouldn’t cheat on her and especially not with Joyce. She knew Jordan and that just wasn’t his style. He loved her and he was never going to treat her like those other guys before him had. It was that simple. There was definitely something going on with Joyce that needed to be explained but she was certain that it didn’t involve an illicit hook up.
Michaela turned to Joyce to answer her question. “Yes, I guess you can say we’ve stayed in touch.” She paused because really she wanted to get the full impact of the dramatic affect before she replied. “We’re living together while we plan our wedding.” Okay so maybe the wedding planning was a bit much, but Joyce deserved it and she was fairly sure Jordan wasn’t about to contradict her.
Michaela wasn’t sure who looked more surprised at her statement, Joyce or Jordan. She was tempted to burst out laughing at their stunned expressions but she didn’t want to kill the drama. She was having fun.
Joyce managed a quiet, “Oh, I had no idea.”
Michaela gave her a slightly insincere smile and said, “Obviously.” Turning to Jordan, she gave him a radiant smile, and holding out her hand she said, “I believe we have a lunch date.” In the back of her mind, she thought, I’ve finally caught up to Jordan.
He returned her smile with a big grin of his own grasping her hand and giving it a tight squeeze. “I believe we do,” he said and then looked at Joyce. “Sorry we have to rush off, all that wedding planning. You understand?”
Michaela didn’t think it was possible for her to love him more, but his adding in that bit about planning their wedding certainly did it for her. Suddenly, she was distracted by the sight of Donovan striding purposefully toward Jordan’s building. That’s odd, she thought.
Michaela was just about to call out to her brother when she felt a strong force slam into her back. She heard a loud cry and realized it was her own voice as pain shot through her back and chest. She looked down and saw blood covering her winter white coat. She stared up at Jordan’s stunned face as her knees began to sag. “What happened?” she asked.
She was vaguely aware of Joyce screaming and her brother running in her direction. She heard more voices shouting as Jordan caught her before she hit the ground. “Someone call 911!” he shouted. “Michaela, I think you’ve been shot.”
“Holy shit,” she said as she looked down at her chest seeing the blood on her coat. “You were right Jordan. Someone is trying to kill me.”
Jordan gently lowered Michaela to the ground. He opened up her coat to find the wound and quickly ripped off his jacket and pressed it to her shoulder to staunch the flow of blood.
Paul had gotten out of the car and was by their side. “I’ve called 911, an ambulance should be here soon. I’ve got a blanket in the trunk, I’ll get it for her.” Paul walked over to the rear of the vehicle retrieving the blanket and placing it over her as Jordan continued to press his jacket against the wound.
“Shit, this hurts,” Michaela managed to gasp. She noticed her brother had rushed over to her side.
Donovan crouched next to his sister and put his hand on her throat. “Her pulse is strong. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
“What the hell just happened?” Jordan asked, feeling stunned and never taking his eyes off of Michaela’s face.
Donovan’s voice was grim as he looked around the streetscape. “Besides the obvious, I wish I knew.”
“Michaela, you’re going to be okay,” Jordan said, his voice insistent. He then turned to Donovan. “What t
he hell are you doing here anyway?” Jordan demanded as he heard the approaching sirens.
“We’ll discuss that later,” Donovan told him. The ambulance and police cars began arriving. Two paramedics, with a gurney, pushed their way through the crowd that had formed.
A woman paramedic approached, “Gentlemen, we’ll take over from here.” She crouched down next to Michaela and grabbed her hand. “Hi, I’m Niasha and my partner is Jack. We’re going to get you patched up so we can take you to the hospital. Can you tell me your name?”
Michaela noticed that Niasha’s eyes were kind and her voice patient. She was so tired and she just wanted to fall asleep, but she concentrated on answering the paramedic’s question. “Michaela Prentice,” she finally managed to get out.
“Okay, that’s good. Are you having any difficulty breathing?” Niasha asked. While Niasha asked questions, her partner Jack was busy retrieving a pressure bandage from his bag. He then wrapped a blood pressure monitor on her arm.
“No, I can breathe, but my chest hurts like hell,” Michaela told her.
“Her blood pressure is steady,” Jack informed Niasha.
Niasha looked at her partner. “Good, breathing seems normal. Let’s bandage the wound and get her on the board.” She turned to Jordan, “Sir I’m going to have to ask you to move now.”
Jordan nodded and gently relinquished his hold. The paramedics went to work, cutting away at her clothing to obtain better access to the wound. They quickly applied pressure bandages to her chest and her back to stop the bleeding. They then slid the board close to her and log rolled her back onto the board and then strapped her securely. A cervical collar was placed on her neck. The paramedic glanced at Jordan noticing his growing alarm. “We’re just going to use towel rolls and tape to secure her head. It looks scary but it’s for safety reasons.”
Jordan nodded grimly acknowledging her explanation. The paramedics lifted the board onto the gurney and began wheeling her over to the ambulance. Jordan and Donovan followed closely.
“What hospital are you taking her to?” Donovan asked before Jordan had an opportunity.
