His eyes were on me, and I caught a glimpse of tenderness, maybe even wistfulness. I wouldn’t say the look suggested any burning desire, but he seemed thoughtful; hopeful, even.
“I’m sorry, do I have cheesecake on my chin? I can be such a pig sometimes.” As I groped for a napkin, his hand found and closed over mine once again, stilling my efforts.
“You could have cheesecake all over your face, and you would still be adorable.” A hint of a smile showed on his face, but his eyes were still serious.
Well, at least I had achieved adorable. Plainly it was going to take some more time to achieve incredible status. But it was a challenge I accepted. Phil raised my fingers to his lips and pressed them softly against my middle knuckle
“Why don’t we bag these brochures back up and go for a stroll to walk off all this food?” he suggested.
“Lovely idea. And maybe if the press sees me out with a handsome fella, they’ll give up on trying to satirize me.” I winked at him and scooted my chair back as I stood.
The weather outside was perfect, and the slight breeze carried the scents of all the restaurants and bakeries nearby. I let Phil help me into my jacket before placing my hand on his arm and setting off. We were both quiet for a few blocks while we took in the scenery and the people, both locals and tourists alike.
We were both so lost in the peacefulness of the walk that even I became startled when a huge beast of a man stepped out in front of us and crossed his arms. I gasped, hand pressed to my throat as if I felt threatened by the man’s presence. I knew if I needed to, I could take this guy down. A well-placed kick to the knee took down cocky giants every time.
“Boss wants to talk to ya,” Mr. Big stated.
“Well, I am rather busy at the moment. Can this wait until morning, maybe?” Phil seemed rather flustered at this man’s sudden appearance.
“Boss wants to talk to ya. Now.” Mr. Big put two fingers to his mouth and whistled sharply.
In response to his call, a black sedan pulled up next to us. The windows tinted dark, and I couldn’t see inside.
“Phil, what is going on? Who is this guy?” I asked, voice quivering.
“Boss wants to talk to ya, in the car,” Mr. Big showed his amazing vocabulary once more.
“Phil, this guy is creeping me out,” I whispered.
“I apologize Tessa, but I must go talk to this potential investor. He’s awkward about speaking in public.” Phil’s eyes avoided mine. “You will forgive me, I hope?”
“Oh of course, please do what you must. I’ll call Alonso to come get me.”
Philip squeezed my hands. “Tessa, you are lovely. I’ll ring your room tomorrow. I promise to research charities first thing in the morning, okay?”
“Alright, just be careful. This guy gives off some crazy vibes.” Batting my lashes, I let my eyes well up a touch, showing my concern for his safety. It worked like a charm, and he pulled me into a tight embrace.
“I will be okay, I promise. Until tomorrow.” He said, letting go.
He turned away, and I pulled on his hand to turn him back to me. My lips pressed a quick but firm kiss against his, and his eyebrows were lifted in surprise when I pulled away.
“Until tomorrow,” I said huskily, and let him go.
Chapter Twenty
I had quickly retreated to a bench and had my mascara-cam out and snapping pictures before Phil and Mr. Big had gotten into the car. Now back at base, Vaneesa, Isaiah and I were going over the results. The 3D holographic viewer displayed the pictures in large and stunning detail.
“Yep, I’ve seen that guy in other pictures in Cavalierri’s file. Hired muscle, pretty much,” Isaiah stated, arms crossed.
“Yeah, his lack of cognitive capability gave me that impression. And he’s huge. It’s pretty ballsy that Cavalierri would grab Phil right off the street.”
“Well, it means one good thing for us; he has no clue who you are. If he thought you were just some random woman, then he felt safe approaching Phil in the open. He most likely doesn’t even know you by your cover.” Isaiah was pleased.
“Well, this is a good development, then. We’ve got a solid tie between Phil and the scumbag,” Vaneesa was slowly flipping through the pics and taking notes.
“Any of those pics show who is in the car?” Isaiah asked.
“No.” Frustrated, Vaneesa shut down the display. “I was hoping so, but what we have now is much better than what we had before.”
“We still don’t have much, though. Sure, we can tie Philip and Cavalierri together, but we don’t know what for exactly. I mean, yeah, weapons, but why?” I was just as frustrated as Vaneesa, but for a different reason. She wanted more evidence. I wanted to know what Phil needed all this money for.
The three of us moved around the surveillance room in deep thought, tidying up for the night. Vaneesa was shutting down monitors while I was pulling printouts of the pictures I had taken off the various printers around the room. I was hoping for Isaiah to leave before Vaneesa and me, but he piled all the folders in front of him and sat down.
“You ladies head out whenever. I’m going to thumb through these one more time.”
Huh. I’d never seen Isaiah so dedicated to Intel. Maybe he was secretly enjoying being part of the information gathering and puzzle solving.
Vaneesa grabbed her jacket from where it had been slung hastily over one of the unused monitors. “I’ve got new pieces to stock in the gadgets and comms room upstairs. Lyon wants it done tonight.” She targeted me with her large brown eyes, silently communicating her apologies.
I winked at her and waved. Her features relaxed into relief when she turned and walked away. I wanted to spend time with her, too, but work was work.
“Well, Isaiah, if you are going to stick around here, could you see about getting me a suitcase set up with a fat stack of cash? I think it’s gonna be an irresistible lure for our fish. If I can get him to take responsibility for finding my charity and moving the money to it, well then we’ll see how desperate he is.”
“Good plan. How much you need?” Isaiah asked.
“I think for starters, five hundred grand should do it. It’s chump change for an heiress, but it’s a small fortune for him. So he may be more likely to lift it.”
“Yeah, that should be easy enough. When do you need it?”
“I’d like to give it to him tomorrow if we settle on a charity. He’s into me, but if I give it to him now, he may not feel attached enough yet not to take it and run,” I said, thinking. “Make sure the case is chipped, too. We’ll track him while he has it and will know as soon as he runs if he decides to.”
“Yeah, I’ll go get one from Vaneesa while she’s still upstairs,” Isaiah rose from his chair.
“Hey, Isaiah? I’m glad you still have my back.”
“No one watches it better than I do, love,” he leered, chuckling at his self on his way out of the room.
Yep. Walked right into that one.
With my other team members ensconced in their work, I decided to use up my idle time by checking in with Colonel Lyon. I’m sure he had been staying up to date on the case, but he sure hadn’t been giving us much input. He had been the one to insist I get close and personal with Phil, but I was now back to feeling like it wasn’t the right move.
When I walked into his corner office, Lyon had his face scrunched up in serious thought while he stabbed away at his keyboard. He acknowledged my greeting with a sharp grunt, continuing his hunt-and-peck typing for a few more minutes. Finally, he grabbed his mouse and clicked so hard I waited to hear the dang thing squeal. Damage done to his computer, he swung his attention to me.
“What can I do for you, Agent?” His gaze fixed somewhere above my head, maybe watching to see if the others were behind me somewhere.
“I would like to speak with you about this case, sir.”
“I was under the impression that you had it all under control, Agent.” His short tone followed his gaze back to his messy desk
, currently littered with papers. And he hadn’t called me by name, yet. I had a brief unprofessional thought that he may not remember it.
“Sir, you asked me to get in close and intimate with Philip Townsend. I’ve done this, and I’ve gained some impressions of his character. These only lead me back to believing that romance isn’t going to get him to crack.” I sank into a leather armchair in front of his desk, and he glanced at me in sharp annoyance.
“No, I said to invade his personal space. That is not romantic. That is being a spy. Don’t tempt him with long walks on the beach, baffle him with blatant innuendo. Throw him off guard. Make him feel as though he could use you and walk away.” The Colonel drummed his fingers on the cherry stained desktop. “I thought you were capable of doing this?”
“Of course I am, Sir. However, I’m not used to being left to dangle on a case. Your insights would have been useful a bit earlier.” I thought too late that I shouldn’t speak in such a way to my superior. But watching him from across the desk as he sneered my way had my eye twitching.
“Then show me that you are capable. Colonel King recommended you for International work, insisted you were ready to move up. Maybe she held your hand too long, held you back from your full potential.” His last bit of the speech was seemingly posed as a question but hit like an accusation.
He rose from his chair, not much taller standing than when sitting, and leaned forward onto his spread-out fingertips. I rose when he did, out of respect for his rank, though I wasn’t feeling the least bit respectful at the moment.
“I’ll do whatever it takes, Sir,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Good. You are dismissed.”
I walked out of the office, calm on the surface, and made my way through the reception area of Henderly Energy Solutions, International Incorporated. A brief thought of finding Vaneesa crossed my mind, but I was too pissed off and didn’t need to bring it to her.
A drive back to the hotel in the Porsche calmed my nerves while thoughts of everything that had happened since I boarded that plane in Texas rolled through my mind. I pulled into the parking garage thinking about meeting Vaneesa on the plane, sharing my secret with someone else for the first time in my life. Everything that transpired after that followed me during the elevator ride to my room. My life had been turned upside down, and I struggled to keep Vaneesa at bay while maintaining a professional front at work.
But I obviously hadn't been able to do either one, and the struggle had proven futile once I let Vaneesa get close. Now that I'd let her in, all the stress I'd been under had virtually disappeared. I caused my own stress, and most likely the strain between Isaiah and I was of my own making as well. I had been so scared to let Isaiah know the real me, I never even gave him the chance to be my friend.
But now I felt different. Stopping in front of the full-length mirror on the door of my closet, I realized that I looked different, too. The strain lines around my mouth had vanished, no longer held there by the perpetual frown that normally graced my face. I looked happy, too. And I realized I was happy. All because of the girl I met on a plane. The odds of us sitting next to one another had been unlikely, but I am so glad now that it happened that way.
And I had managed to salvage mine and Isaiah's partnership. But I still needed to salvage our friendship.
I needed to tell him the truth.
~
I awoke the next day to my room phone ringing next to my head. After a few failed flailings I finally managed to grab the receiver.
“Hello,” I croaked once I got it to my ear.
“Good morning, Tessa. It sounds like I've woken you.” Phil's voice on the other end sounded amused.
“Oh shit, what time is it?” I hadn’t anything planned that morning except for meeting with Phil, but neither had I intended to oversleep.
“It’s only seven-thirty. I didn’t mean to wake you; I wanted to talk to you as soon I could,” he replied.
“You do the talking; my frog voice isn’t very sexy first thing in the morning.”
“Ha, you sound like a croaking Angel, Tessa. You must have had a late night?”
“I can’t fall asleep early.” Which was true, I was used to being up late or even all night for missions.
“Sounds stressful.”
“More like lonely. But enough about me, what do you have going on this morning?” I was still sleepy, but my brain was kicking into work mode. Time to lure him in some more.
“I hate that you feel lonely, Tessa. A good person like yourself shouldn’t ever feel that way.” Sympathy laced Phil’s voice. “You want to meet for breakfast?”
“Yeah, well, you’d think I’d be used to it by now. I have a great childhood sob story. And breakfast sounds great, as long as I don’t have to drive. Come over to my room; we’ll order in.”
A short moment of silence followed my invitation.
“Are you sure? That wouldn’t seem inappropriate?” He answered after a moment.
“Screw inappropriate. I’m hungry.” I chuckled.
“Ha, well alright then. What’s your room number?”
“Well, I won’t give that out over the phone. Never know who could be tapped in. You can meet Alonso in the lobby, and he’ll bring you up.”
“I’ll see you in twenty minutes then.”
“Deal.” I hung up and scanned my room for anything that needed hidden.
Within ten minutes I had all of my spy gear packed back into their regular suitcases, in the very back of the walk-in closet. The door leading to the elevator was dead-bolted and keyed, the key hidden in the bottom of my toothbrush holder on the bathroom sink. Alonso had brought up the suitcase of money, and it was on the bed waiting for me to give it over.
Now for the hard part. I was going to have to turn up the heat a bit. Being sweet and vulnerable was playing to Phil’s sympathies, and he may not be so eager to take advantage of my heiress fortune. Last night’s conversation with Colonel Lyon coupled with Phil’s classification of me as ‘adorable’ had me agreeing Phil was too down to earth for mere romance to work.
Whatever he was hiding or needed money for, it became evident he wouldn’t take it and run if he cared for me as a person. Time to unleash the predator.
~
The doorbell rang, and I stepped out of the shower, wrapping a thick fluffy towel around myself. Deep breaths, in and out. I knew I could do this. It never got easier, though.
Phil’s face froze as I opened the door and he saw the only thing I was wearing was my towel.
“Um, I apologize, am I early?” he stammered.
I was right. He was completely thrown off.
“No, no, I just had a long shower to wake up. Come in, hang out on the couch while I get dressed.” The couch faced away from the bathroom, but if I didn’t close the door, my reflection would show distinctly in the seventy-five-inch TV in front of it. After he had sat, I walked into the bathroom and dropped my towel, grabbing a fresh one to dry my hair with. I didn’t turn back around until I had finished dressing, walking back into the main room while clasping on my earrings.
Phil had stood and turned around when I walked out. By the flush on his face, he had seen everything in the TV’s reflection. His features were warring between lust and embarrassment. He wanted to be courteous, I could tell. But watching me naked had severely affected him. I was gambling on him also being a bit off put by my not caring if he saw me naked. I was hoping he would assume I was that careless with other men. This action coupled with the recent pictures in the papers would solidify a reckless reputation. I needed that rift between us now, to make him feel okay with taking the money and never looking back.
“Tessa, I um…” he began, his voice unsteady.
I placed my fingertips on his chest, playing with the buttons on his shirt while staring into his eyes.
“Are you ready to eat?” I purred.
Phil’s arms came around me, crushing me to him, while his lips sought mine for a hard kiss. His hand came
up into my hair, gripping it in a fist and pressing his mouth even harder until I gasped. Taking advantage of my open mouth, he swept his tongue inside, then pulled back to nibble at my bottom lip.
His other hand had made its way to my bottom, cupping it in a firm grip. I had to admit; he was a good kisser. If he were my type I may even have enjoyed it. Throaty sounds escaped my lips, pretending I was into it. He responded by groaning and pressing further into me, his need very obvious and stabbing into my pubic bone. After running his mouth down my neck, he pulled back to stare at me, expectantly.
“Phil, I’m starving. Can we go eat now?”
Whatever Phil had been expecting, it wasn’t that. My words hit him like a blow to the gut. His face fell, his confusion apparent. I stepped away from him to grab my ankle boots from the end of my bed. After zipping those on I turned towards him. I was met with a blank, emotionless face, arms hanging placidly at his sides.
“Oh, here’s the money for the charity,” I said, pushing the case over towards him. “Have you thought of any good ones to donate to?”
“I have some children’s hospitals in mind.”
“Oh, that is fab! Absolutely perfect. Take the case with us to the lounge, and when you go you can take it with you. Whatever charity you choose I back a hundred percent.”
His face tightened even further when my words indicated we wouldn’t be spending time together after lunch.
We had just stepped into the hallway when Phil’s phone chimed in his pocket. He punched in his code and scanned the screen.
“I’ve got to run, Tessa. This investor is making my life miserable, but this should be the last meeting with him.”
“Oh no! What about lunch?” I feigned dismay.
“I will make it up to you, I promise.” He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and held up the case.
“No, no you take it with you. There’s a letter of introduction in there so you can present it to wherever you choose, whenever is convenient. It confirms you are acting as an agent to the Estates of Tessa Henderly. You are doing me such a huge favor.” I breathed, relaxing my shoulders. I needed him to think I was more worried about my pics in the tabloids than the money.
[Colt Information Agency 01.0] Agent Colt: Classified Pride Page 8
