“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Amaro.”
“Please, call me Machine. My real name sounds too formal.”
Kade rolled his eyes at the statement while I chuckled. Seemed as though my observation was spot-on.
“Okay, Machine it is then.” I gave him my brightest smile.
Kade cleared his throat before speaking. “After further discussion with the team, we would like to offer you the position. I will have Christine draft up a formal offer letter, however I wanted to give a personal verbal offer in the meantime. The base pay for this position is $140,000 with a sign-on bonus of $5,000. Employment comes with full benefits such as medical insurance, a 5% match on your 401k, and discounts to many of our clients’ companies. Would you like to be part of the RSS team Ms. Mowers?” Kade asked with a grin.
“Absolutely!” I exclaimed, trying not to come off too over the top. I shook both gentlemen's hands and ensured Christine had the needed information, confirming that my orientation would begin the following day.
I turned my phone on as I walked out of the building and notifications started coming through. The first text was from Aaron, wishing me luck at the interview.
The second notification was from Chief in our team chat, that we needed to meet at HQ in an hour. As I got into Bug, I quickly switched my shoes and began my journey back to headquarters. Step one for my undercover mission was now complete.
SIX
EVELYN
As I pulled up to Domino's Gym, I noticed the familiar vehicles that belonged to my team. I was surprised they all beat me when usually I was the first one to show up for meetings.
I walked into the gym’s main entrance and was greeted by our regular clients. Buddha was in the weight room, spotting Arrow on the bench press. As soon as Buddha noticed me, a wide grin filled his face. My arrival was their cue that it was time for the meeting.
The conference room was located on the far side of the building, hidden by a set of double doors that read “employees only.” I placed my hand on the scanner that ensured no patron could access the area.
The scanner beeped as it allowed me access through the doors. The bare hallway illuminated as I walked to the conference room. There was a huge oak table in the center of the space and the back wall was lined artillery and tech gear next to a large screen.
As I entered, I noticed Zombie, Badger, andChief were already seated. Zombie was his usual broody self. However, I couldn’t decipher Chief’s expression.
“How did the interview go?” Badger asked, smiling at me.
“Good, I got the position.” Before I could continue, Arrow and Buddha joined us and took their seats.
I began to describe what I saw at the Hive, the setup of the office, and its staff. “I think this is going to take more old-fashioned methods to get intel, things appear to be locked down tight and the team is very close-knit,” I concluded.
“Did Phantom meet someone who can beat her at her own game?” Arrow teased.
I stuck my tongue out at him like a petulant child. He blew me a kiss in response.
“No, I just want to take extra precautions. Especially with Ricci going dark after the last raid.”
“Phantom is right. Ricci would have found out about our raid by now. If we want this to be successful, we need to use our brains and not be too heavy on technology,” agreed Chief.
“Are the rumors true about Kaden Romano?” Badger asked with a smirk.
“What rumors?” Buddha asked.
“That he’s sexy as sin, but scary as fuck,” she responded.
I rolled my eyes.
“I would hope as the Don of the Italian Mafia, that the dude would be scary as fuck, Badge,” Arrow stated.
“Don’t forget about the sexy part, Arrow,” she teased back.
“Well considering his right-hand Evan Amaro goes by the name 'Machine' and also owns one of the most successful security companies in the world, then yes, the rumors are true.” Itoo avoided the sexy part. I didn’t owe anything to Aaron, but I still respected that we were intimate with each other. He didn’t need me gawking over Kaden Romano, and I would tell Badger how sexy Kade was later when it was just her and I.
“As riveting as this conversation is, I have dead bodies and forensics I need to process,” Zombie butted in, his voice void of emotion.
