His dark eyes met hers again. "We're going to need access into secured areas if we're going to find anything out. And since my clearance isn't high enough, we need someone's whose is. Or at least their security badge."
Jamie blinked. "Can't you steal one?"
Her companion's mouth collapsed into a straight line. "You're much better suited for that job than I am."
"What?"
"You're engaged to Cargraves. You're much moreintimatelyacquainted with him than I could ever be."
Jamie didn't like his tone. This was the second time he'd made some less-than-polite insinuation about her and Lance. Still, what choice did she have? She had to work with him if she wanted to get Sylvie back. "You want me to steal his badge?"
Her companion nodded. "Yes. Get that badge, and you can get me into the areas I need."
"Getusinto those areas, you mean," she shot back. He was nuts if he thought she wasn't coming along.
He ignored her correction. "We need to make our move soon. Can you get the badge?"
Jamie thought for a moment. Lance was an attentive fiancé, and he often came to her apartment straight from work, his badge still attached to the front of his suit jacket. If she could get him out of the jacket and away from it for long enough to snag the badge, he should be none the wiser.
"Yes," she said finally. "I'll get the badge. Tonight."
"Good," he said with a nod, then made to rise.
"Wait," she said, holding up her hand. "What should I call you? I mean, I don't even know your name. How do I contact you when I have it?"
He sat back down, his expression momentarily open. Jamie thought she saw a shadow of doubt pass over his face but it was gone too quickly to be sure.
"Call me Drake," he said after a moment. "And I'll contact you. Remember, I have to keep my cover up, so I'll be watching you."
His words sent a shiver through her body that she worked to suppress. Before she could reply, he stood up and headed out of the shop without a backwards glance.
Jamie sat there, staring down into her tea. The heart had become fuzzy at the edges, but its shape still remained floating in her cup. Taking it as a good omen, Jamie left, abandoning the untouched cup.
****
She called Lance that afternoon, asking him if he'd like to drop by after work. Her fiancé warned her that he had to work late, but she said she didn't mind. He asked if she wanted to go out, but she said that she only wanted a quiet night in, just the two of them. Jamie then set about putting her plan in motion.
Lance was such a straight-laced guy; she couldn't remember him even taking off his jacket when he visited her. If she was going to get him out of his clothes, she might as well ensure that he'd be well distracted.
Jamie dug through her closet, attempting to find something suitable for seduction. She had plenty of lacy undergarments, and even some that were more risqué, but she wasn't sure which one would ignite the blood of a mathematician-slash-astronaut who had yet to make a move on her.
She settled on a silk nightgown that reached her ankles but which had revealing slits in the sides that would expose her legs when she moved. It was low-cut in the front, showing the swells of her breasts off to perfection. A sheer robe, also in white, completed the ensemble.
Jamie took pains to polish her fingernails and toes with a bright red paint that usually set men's blood boiling. Her hair she left down, tousling it just so to give it that post-coitus look that she hoped would send the right signals. Then she coupled a smoky eye with a deep red lip, and with one last look in the mirror, she pronounced herself a siren and settled down to wait for her fiancé.
It was nearly nine by the time she heard the doorbell ring. Sauntering over to answer it, she opened the door then casually posed herself in the entryway.
"Hello, dear," Lance said in greeting, stooping down to plant a kiss on her forehead before he made his way into the hall. He was headed into the living room without a second glance, and Jamie had to stop her mouth from falling open.
She wasn't used to her efforts receiving no reaction, and for a moment she wondered what she'd gotten herself into, engaging herself to a man whose eyes didn't pop out of his skull when he saw her in this getup.
Strike One, she thought, then took a deep breath and followed Lance into the living room.
He was standing at the edge of the couch, scrolling through his phone. Jamie's eyes searched his suit jacket, lighting on the badge that was clipped to his lapel. Good. Now all I have to do it get that off him without his noticing.
"Are you hungry?" he asked her without looking up from his phone.
Jamie considered a comeback with salacious undertones, but because of the underwhelming response she'd gotten to her outfit choice, she gave up on the idea. "I could eat," she said instead.
