“Jake wants to see you, too.”
“Me?”she squeaked.
She rarely interacted with Jake at the office.Like a handful of other employees, she was a former intelligence officer.But unlike the others, her role at the CIA had been an office job.As a targeter, she had sifted through vast quantities of digital data, teasing out patterns and piecing together connections to identify threats.She had been very, very good at it.
Her skill set was unique, and Potomac Private Services valued her.Still, most of her colleagues, and all of her supervisors, were men and women of action.She and the company’s in-house counsel, Ryan Hayes, were widely regarded as odd ducks.Geeks, if she was being honest.
The assessment didn’t bother her, but it did mean getting summoned to the director’s office was unusual for her.Omar must have thought so, too, because as she stood, he flashed her a questioning look.In return, she tilted her head, raised her eyebrows and palms, and stuck out her lower lip, giving him a classic Gallic shrug.She had no clue why Jake would want to see her.
Cal spun his wheelchair around in a tight circle and they followed him out into the hallway.Omar wore a small frown, and Marielle brought along her pastry and drink.Whatever Jake wanted, it wasn’t worth letting her midmorning treat go to waste.
2
Jake West’ssmall office was standing room only when McCloud took Omar and Marielle as far as the open door and left them there.Omar craned his neck into the crowded space as McCloud sped away.The guest chairs were occupied by Olivia Santos and Ryan Hayes.Olivia’s husband and Jake’s right hand, Trent Mann, lounged against the large window behind Jake’s desk.
Omar rapped on the doorframe.“You wanted to see us?”
Jake waved a hand.“Come on in and join the party.”
Ryan popped to his feet and gestured at the chair he’d just vacated.“Here take my seat, Marielle.”
She rewarded him with a brilliant smile as she claimed the chair next to Olivia.She leaned over and offered her best friend a piece of herpain au chocolat, and Ryan joined Omar in the back of the room.They leaned against the wall behind the chairs.
“How’d the croissant thing go over?”Ryan asked in a low voice while Marielle got settled.
“It’spain.It’s like a croissant, but it’s not a croissant,” Omar corrected him.
“Whatever.Did you finally win her heart?”
Omar exhaled audibly through his nostrils at the whispered question.Apparently, because all their friends had paired off into couples, he and Marielle were expected to do the same.It didn’t matter how many times Omar explained to Ryan, Jake, and Trent that it was never going to happen.They maintained their delusion.
Before he could respond to Ryan, Jake threw them an unamused look.Omar settled for jabbing Ryan in the ribs with an elbow.
Jake leaned forward in his chair vibrating with intensity as he braced his hands against the top of the wide desk and made his announcement.“We have a new high-priority job.”
Olivia brushed crumbs off her fingers and said, “It must be a big deal if you dragged all of us down here.Who’s the client?”
Jake gave a brisk nod and lowered his voice.“This mission is need to know.The only people who need to know are in this room.”He eyed Marielle and Olivia.“Let me remind you that this confidentially extends to Chelsea and Leilah.”
Unsurprisingly, both women bristled.Olivia opened her mouth to protest, and Marielle placed a hand on her arm as if to say, oh, allow me.
“Is there some reason you’re directing this little reminder to us?”Marielle demanded, gesturing with her coffee mug toward herself and then Olivia.A splash of milky coffee landed on Jake’s otherwise spotless floor in the process.
“Yeah, Moreau, there is.The four of you are like a pack of high schoolers with all your texting and girls only get togethers.”
Omar grimaced at Jake’s retort.Beside him, Ryan exhaled a soft curse.Even Trent dragged a finger across his throat in a cutting motion.But the damage was already done.
“I beg your pardon?”Marielle gestured even more broadly.“Chelsea isyourwife.Leilah ishisfiancée andhissister.”She twisted in her chair to jab a finger first at Ryan and then at Omar.“You talk to them more than we do.”
Jake raised both hands, palms out, in a placating gesture.“Look, the warning is for everyone.It’s just that I know how Chelsea’s phone blows up with your group chats.You’re tight, and that’s fine.But they don’t need to know about this.”
Unappeased, Olivia huffed, “And I’m a highly trained operative.I have at least as much experience maintaining a secret as anyone in this room—if not more.”
Despite Jake’s ham-fisted delivery, Omar empathized with the guy.The six people in the room and the two women who didn’t work with them were a mess of tangled connections—they were relatives, friends, lovers, and partners.Jake was right to worry that the lines might sometimes blur.Omar shared his concern.It was, in part, why he’d never acted on his feelings for Marielle.Somebodyin this place needed to maintain the illusion of professionalism.
Trent jumped in.“Liv, Jake knows that.I think he’s just trying to impress upon us how critical this mission is.”He gave Jake a meaningful look.“Maybe we should move along.You were about to tell us who the client is?”
Jake shook his head for a beat.Then he said, “It’s one of the alphabet agencies.”
