Riley said calmly, “Are you saying, if I’d reminded you, you’d have taken the time off?”
“Of course!” Lucas said instantly, vehemently.
They listened to that insistent echo bouncing off the surrounding mountains before ricocheting back. Riley said nothing.
Lucas grimaced, admitted, “Two weeks at the end of the year would be a lot.”
“Sure. What about taking a week off?”
“At the end of the year?”
The moonlight cast unfamiliar shadows across Riley’s face. “Yes.”
“I… It wouldn’t be easy. It would bea lotto ask.”
Lucas meant it would be a lot for him to ask of ASAC Dennis Brody. It was not too much for Riley to ask.
Riley, gazing off at the white glimmer of snowy mountains, nodded.
“Does it have to be at Christmas time?” Lucas asked a little hopelessly.
Riley looked at him. “No. It doesn’t have to be at Christmas. I’d like to see my family for the holidays one of these years. I’d like you to meet my parents. But I’d be happy if we could just get away for a couple of weeks together. It could be whenever you like.”
Lucas swallowed, opened his mouth to say, of course.Of coursehe could and would do this for Riley. In fact, if that was all Riley was asking for, it was actually a relief. He’d been afraid Riley was going to ask for…something Lucas wasn’t sure he was ready for. Maybe wasn’t cut out for.
Even so, two weekswasa lot. Maybe he could swing it if they spent the two weeks in Silver Pine. That might be doable. But two weeksaway? That was asking for trouble. It was like asking Lucas to throw open the doors and windows to his house—or more importantly, his RA— and then wander away hoping for the best.
“I don’t know about two weeks. But I could probably—”
Riley gave a funny laugh.
“What?” Lucas asked defensively.
“Luc, it’s not like I’m a first office agent. I was at the L.A. field office for four years. George Potts took time off around the holidays. Not every year. Maybe every other year. All senior leadership did. They all took their vacations and their weekends just like the rest of us. It’s not unreasonable to take time off. It’s not unreasonable to go away on vacation.”
“I know that.” Sometimes Lucas forgot Riley had been at “Hollywood Bureau.” He’d slid so neatly, effortlessly into Silver Pine’s culture, it was like he’d always been there, an integral part of the team.
“Do you, though?”
“Yes. Of course. But a field office has more personnel available for coverage.”
Quiet though Riley was, he was a very good arguer when he decided something was worth arguing over. He said patiently, “The Bureauwantsus to take time off to avoid leave caps and burnout. And yes, I understand that requesting time at year-end is logistically complicated for you. But we’re a-a satellite office. It can’t be more complicated for you to take a couple of weeks’ vacation than it is for George Potts.”
Silver Pine was a very small RA, sure, but to refer to it as asatelliteoffice in that tone felt dismissive, and put Lucas’ back up. “George Potts,” he said scornfully. He’d been at Quantico with Potts. A nice guy, sure, but he’d been a middling field agent. At best. All the same, Potts had scaled the promotion ladder nearly as fast as Lucas. Born to be middle management. That was George Potts.
“Okay, but my point is, you’ve got a good team in place. You’ve got experienced, knowledgeable people—”
“Are you feeling burnt out?” Lucas demanded. “BecauseIdon’t feel burnt out.”
“I wasn’t until we started having this conversation,” Riley said.
Hopefully, he was kidding. He sounded like he was kidding. Sort of.
“If you want to revisit this after the holidays,” Lucas began, but his phone vibrated. Riley sighed, but it was just the restaurant letting them know their table was ready.
On their way back to the restaurant, Lucas said briskly, “Maybe we could look at taking a week during the summer. What do you think about that?”
Riley said, “A week during the peak of tourist season? I think there’s not a chance in hell.”
