“Those pups are bigger divas than every employee here,” Mason said, this time amused.
Jay nodded. “Never come between Chip and his freeze-dried lamb liver.”
Bacon was Chip’s favorite, but Joker wasn’t about to work an event with real bacon in his pockets. It had not gone well forthe last security agent who tried that. He learned the difference between a Belgian Malinois and a German Shepherd real fast.
After reviewing everything on his schedule for that week, Jay left King’s office to start his day. Several agents on the floor had left for jobs in the field, while others were scheduled for training downstairs, leaving only a few in the office.
It was Jay’s job to know everyone’s schedules. Unsurprisingly, the most challenging part of his job was knowing where the Kings and Wild Cards were throughout the day. Correction. Where Ace, Lucky, and Joker were throughout the day. The others tended to be where they were supposed to be. Most of the time.
Joker was in his office because he wasn’t scheduled for an event until later that night. Jack was out with Cybersecurity agents, working from the surveillance truck. Red was in his office and would be at his event later that afternoon. Jay sighed. Of course, he had no idea where Ace and Lucky were. Acehadbeen in his office earlier, but his door was open,andit was quiet inside.
Everyone knew when the cousins were in the building. There was no way of not knowing. Jay finished making a few notes at his computer before heading into Red’s office.
“Do you know where Ace and Lucky are? They have a training session in half an hour.” Jay sat in the chair in front of Red’s desk.
Red shook his head as he tapped away at his keyboard. “I don’t know. They ran out of here like their asses were on fire, saying something about flan. I couldn’t understand the rest.”
When Lucky and Ace didn’t want the other Kings to know what they were up to, they spoke in rapid-fire Spanish, because even though the Kings and Wild Cards all spoke several languages, it was different when native speakers decided tospeak at the speed of light. The cousins used it to their advantage.
The inside of Red’s office was a stark contrast to King’s. There was a soft, calming, cozy feel. He had a diffuser running with essential oils, his couch had a big fluffy blanket and throw pillows. The walls were painted a soft bluish gray, and several potted plants filled the room. The office also received the most natural light on this floor. It was all very zen. King’s office was very functional and practical. Well, mostly.
When King and Leo got together, quirky items started to appear in King’s office, like packets of Goldfish Crackers, a Lego Super Mario Piranha Plant, and socks with a Swedish Fish pattern. Jay smiled whenever he walked into King’s office and saw something new Leo had left behind.
“Okay. I need five extra security agents for this afternoon,” Red said. He leaned back in his chair. “You think we can swing that?”
Jay tapped away at his phone and brought up the office calendar. He filtered for anyone classed as a security agent and looked through those to find who would make the best fit. “We can do that,” Jay replied. “Rodriguez and Saint were scheduled for training this afternoon. We can reschedule them. Hill is in inventory today, so we can reschedule him. Stevens was scheduled to work later today anyway, so I can call him and see if he can come in earlier. One more.” He scanned the list of names, and one name not on the list popped into his head. Oh. No, he shouldn’t. He couldn’t. He smiled at Red.
“Ryden is free today.”
Red’s eyebrows shot up. “Ryden?”
“Yep. I mean, he has experience with this sort of thing.” Jay didn’t move his gaze away from Red’s, and he could tell Red was thinking really hard about his life choices.Say yes, say yes, say yes.
“Fine, but you’re breaking the news to him.”
Jay resisted the urge to jump out of his chair with a cheer. Instead, he stood calmly. “It would be my pleasure.”
Red hummed. “I’m sure. Oh, and you’re going to need this.” He opened his desk drawer and removed a giant binder. “Yep, it’s one of those.” He slid the binder to Jay.
This day couldn’t get any better. Jay picked up the binder and practically skipped out onto the office floor. Ryden was at his computer and lifted his head, his eyes narrowed. With a composed expression, Jay sat behind his desk, placed the binder on the floor next to his chair, and met Ryden’s gaze. He crooked his finger, motioning for Ryden to come over. The suspicion on Ryden’s face was priceless.
“What?” Ryden asked when he stopped in front of Jay. “What’s that look for?”
“What look?” Jay batted his lashes.
Ryden groaned. “What’d you do?”
“I didn’t do anything.” Jay tapped at his keyboard, and Ryden’s phone pinged a heartbeat later. “You’ve been assigned a last-minute job.”
“What?” Ryden tapped his phone screen, most likely opening the client file Jay had just given him access to. “What is this?”
“You’re now working the Angelica Rusticucci party.”
“I’m sorry, who?”
“Angelica Rusticucci,” Jay repeated. He waited, knowing exactly how Ryden would react.
“Angelica rusty cu?—”
