“Of course.”
They worked for the next ninety minutes in companionable silence. He’d always liked being in the office with Tess. She was smart and funny and could work circles around any agent he’d ever come across. Luke and Gil were excellent agents, but both of them had to take a break every hour or so. And he had to get up and walk. He couldn’t think sitting or standing still.
But Tess could sit in that chair for hours. And when she did get up to get a drink or a snack, she could return to that place offocused effort almost immediately. He had no idea how she did it, but it made her very productive and effective.
“This is interesting.” Tessa’s voice floated to him through the cubicle walls.
Zane walked around the wall they shared. “What’s interesting?”
She pointed to her screen. “This threat.”
He leaned over her shoulder and fought the unexpected but intense urge to play with her hair while he read the email. Three lines in and all sense of play deserted him. “This is a threat against you.”
“Yeah. I got that part.”
He read the words again.
To Whom It May Concern: The president of the United States deserves to be protected with diligence and courage, by men who respect the office and are willing to lay down their lives to preserve the life of the man legally chosen by the people of the United States of America. While we respect the efforts of the United States Secret Service, allowing women to fill this crucial role is beneath the dignity of the office they are called upon to protect. We saw the woman on the news tonight. She looks like a Barbie doll. What is she supposed to do? Bat her eyelashes at the bad guys until they give up? This is the only warning we will give. Remove the female agent from the protection detail on the president’s visit to Raleigh, NC, or we will make sure she is unavailable to serve.
Tessa pointed to herself. “In what universe doIlook like a Barbie doll?”
There was no way he was going to answer that question, but when he didn’t respond, she turned to face him. “Well?”
“I think the more important question is why that’s the part ofthe threat you’re fixated on. Who cares if they think you look like a Barbie doll? They’re threatening to make sure you’re unavailable to serve.”
Tessa conceded the point, but her expression made it clear she wasn’t happy about it. “Fine, but don’t think you’ve gotten away with anything. You don’t want to talk about the Barbie doll comment because you’re afraid anything you say will get you in trouble.”
There was no point in denying it. “You are one hundred percent correct.”
She grumbled under her breath as she spun her chair to face her monitor, “I’m not a Barbie doll.”
“So, I’m guessing calling you Barbie is out?”
Tessa straightened in her seat and responded with a clipped, “Do you have a death wish?”
Now wasn’t the time to bring up that he only started calling her Princess after he overheard a young student at an elementary school tell Tessa that she looked like a Disney princess. Tessa had taken the remark as the compliment the little girl had intended, and while she never admitted it, he was almost certain she didn’t mind him calling her Princess for the same reason. It was one of many secrets they shared, but unlike the painful events he held close and would never share, this was more of an inside joke. He knew for sure he was the only one who would ever call her that and get away with it. But he didn’t say it often, because every time he did, and every time she accepted it as the endearment it was meant to be, it was like Cupid had released a crossbow bolt with precision aim at his heart.
Zane wanted to get to the bottom of why the Barbie comment bothered her so much, and normally he’d push to do that. But in the past year of their friendship, he’d learned that sometimes the full-force approach backfired.
Badly.
Subtlety wasn’t his specialty, but he was capable of it. He was also not above changing the subject for no reason other than that he didn’t want to fight with her. “Do you think I’d lose my job if I shot Hank Littlefield?”
Tessa didn’t turn, but her shoulders shook in amusement.
“Note, I didn’t say I would kill him. I wouldn’t do that. Just take a little skin off. Probably from his rear.”
Tessa’s entire body was bouncing now, and her stifled laughter escaped in a muted giggle.
“You think I’m joking.”
“In answer to the question you originally asked”—she gave him a pointed look that told him he wasn’t off the hook for dodging the Barbie doll question—“yes, you would lose your job. And go to jail.”
“Killjoy.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t find some other, less violent way of delivering appropriate retribution.”
“Do you have something in mind?”
