Tessa studied the crowd. “They do look happy.”
Zane knew that was as much as Tessa would give him. At least for now. Her perfectionist tendencies were never going to go away. And he didn’t want them to. They were part of what made herhisTessa. And if he had his way, he’d be hassling her at her ninetieth birthday party about that time she complained that the bad guys didn’t present a big enough challenge.
“What are you thinking?”
He hadn’t realized she’d turned her all-too-perceptive gaze on him, but it didn’t matter. His secrets were hers. “How this will bug you until you’re ninety.”
She laughed. “Yeah. It will.” This time she was the one tugging on his hand. “Come on. I have to get you to the airport and then get back to the Carmichaels’. This day is nowhere close to over.”
29
TWO HOURS LATER,Tessa entered the room the PPD had chosen to make its command center for the night. It was a small room Graham said had once been used as an art studio by one of the Carmichael daughters during her “starving artist” phase. The room had huge windows that provided an abundance of natural light, and it boasted a ridiculous amount of lighting options, including black lights and UV. Even though the windows were currently blocked by shutters, the space was lit up like an operating theater.
There was an exterior door that would make it easy for agents to come in and out unobtrusively as they rotated between the indoor and outdoor seating areas for the event. This room also shared a wall with the main dining area. Shared walls made it easy to run discreet wiring without drilling holes in the home. Always a plus. But in this case, there was even a hidden door. This room was originally designed to be an oversized butler’s pantry, which made it possible for household staff to come and go without disrupting the homeowners and their guests during parties.
Zane was with the president, and they were scheduled to arrive in ten minutes. Which meant she didn’t have much time.
“Do you need something, Tessa?” Richard Carver walked overto join her. She liked Carver, but unfortunately his question caught the attention of Rodriguez, and he sauntered over with a huge smile on his face and a look in his eyes that made Tessa want to shower.
“Yes, Tess. How can we help?”
Tessa fought to remain professional. “I saw a woman enter a few moments ago. In her thirties. Blond. Curvy. She was with Tyson Monteith.”
“Okay?” Carver shrugged. “Wife? Mistress?”
“No idea. That’s what bothers me. I memorized the guest list. He was coming alone.”
Rodriguez gave Tessa a patronizing smile. “Oh, I know who she is. Wendy Monteith. Tyson’s daughter. And a last-minute addition.”
“Who approved her?”
Rodriguez had the decency to look abashed. “Sorry, Tess. It came from the president.”
Tessa didn’t bother to hide her annoyance. “Didanyonevet her?”
Carver had walked over to a computer while they were talking. He returned with the laptop turned toward her. “Wendy Monteith. Thirty-seven. Daughter of Tyson and Debra Monteith. Attended high school with the Carmichaels’ daughter, Shelby.”
Tessa scanned the write-up. It was painfully short. Looked like daddy dearest had pulled some strings.
Don’t scream.She took a long, slow inhale and exhale. Carver handed the laptop to Rodriguez and stepped closer. He dropped his voice to barely a whisper. “Sorry, Tessa. It doesn’t happen often. POTUS generally doesn’t pull stuff like this. You see the security risk. I do too. But he doesn’t. Monteith is a huge supporter and a frat brother. All the president sees is a friend who wants hisdaughter to have the opportunity to chat with the president and who’s willing to pay a cool forty thousand to make it happen.”
Tessa would never get used to the amount of money that flowed in the world of politics and campaigns. The idea of anyone dropping $40K on a meal and a photo op hurt her bargain-loving soul.
Monteith was on her list of possible suspects, and she’d hoped to have the opportunity to speak to him alone tonight. With his daughter in attendance, the odds of that happening went down considerably. Not that she was going to share any of that with Carver. “You’re right, but I don’t like it. We’ve had enough lunacy on this visit. I don’t like finding out at the last minute that there’s a hole in our defenses.”
Rodriguez was still staring at the computer. “Wendy Monteith is hot.”
Carver closed his eyes and gave Tessa an apologetic “What are you gonna do?” shrug. She understood. Rodriguez was a dog.
“Weird.”
Tessa didn’t want to ask, but she couldn’t stop herself. “What’s weird?”
“She never married.”
“Rodriguez?” Looked like Carver had put up with all he could from Rodriguez. “What is weird about that?”
When Rodriguez looked up from the computer, all the smarminess had washed out of him. “Hear me out. She’s anextremelyattractive woman. She’s the daughter of anextremelywealthy and influential man. Monteith is a gatekeeper.”
