Diamonds Are Truly Forever: An Agent Ex Novel 2 (30 page)

Of course, he wasn’t quick in there. But his dawdling gave Staci time to lay out her outfit—gray empire-waist dress with a flowing skirt and pink platform pumps—and throw a few more items into the box of spy gear Drew had approved for office use. Specifically, she packed her black light and the iPhone recovery stick. He’d expressly forbidden her from using the recovery stick, claiming an innocent man deserved his privacy. Men! They all stuck together. Despite the American League standings, Staci still wasn’t convinced Sam wasn’t fooling around. He was up to
something.

*   *   *

An hour and a half later, Drew pulled his car to a stop in front of Attitude’s front office. He got out, grabbed Staci’s box, and carried it into the reception area for her, looking like her handsome, sweet, all-American boy-next-door husband. The one who turned heads and melted hearts with his charm.

And today he was all charm as Lucy Wells greeted them. He shot Lucy his killer grin, remaining cool and collected while Staci’s heart raced. She’d nearly jumped when Lucy approached them, certain Lucy was going to recognize them, particularly Drew, as having been in the spy store.

“There’s our temp girl. Right on time!” Lucy pointed to an empty chair behind the reception desk. “You’ll be working reception during your time with us.” Lucy was barely paying any attention to her. Instead, she was smiling dreamily as she told Drew where to put Staci’s stuff and watched his butt while he walked around behind the reception desk.

Lucy didn’t look in the least like she remembered Drew from the spy store. Then again, she hadn’t seen his butt in Spy Gear Seattle. Drew was right—take people out of context, even handsome men, and they become practically unrecognizable.

“Isn’t reception your area?” Staci knew very well it was.

Her question snapped Lucy’s focus back to her—begrudgingly, from the look on Lucy’s face. “Huh? Oh, yes. Reception is my baby. But for the next few months, it’ll be yours while I replace Brittany in the black-box area in the back.”

“I thought I was replacing Brittany?” Staci’s mind raced furiously. Stuck out in reception, there’d be no way to spy on Sam.

“Sorry temp services gave you the wrong impression. You need a government clearance to work behind the doors.” She pointed to the formidable glass doors that led from the reception area back to the office, manufacturing area, and lab space. “It’s too time consuming and expensive to get one for a temp. Since I already have a clearance, I’ve been temporarily reassigned.” She smiled brightly.

Staci got the feeling Lucy was looking forward to invading new gossip territory. Did Attitude and the US government
really
think Staci was a bigger security risk than Lucy with her wagging tongue? Someone needed to set them straight.

“But there are no restrictions on reception,” Lucy said cheerfully. “You just can’t go behind the doors into the black-box area.”

She patted Staci’s arm in a patronizing manner that irked Staci. “Don’t worry. I’ll train you and show you all you need to know. Approached with the right attitude”—Lucy winked—”working reception can be highly rewarding.”

I bet,
Staci thought, wondering how many attitude jokes she was going to have to endure during her stint here.

Drew set Staci’s box down where Lucy pointed. He came around and addressed Staci, “Looks like you’re in competent hands. I’ve gotta run, babe. Have a great day.”

He leaned over and kissed her, the kind of light, sweet kiss a loving husband gives his wife before heading off to face the rat race, corporate ladder climbing, and, in his case, fending off foreign agents and hiding bodies on the job.

He gave her arm a reassuring squeeze, smiled at her, and walked off as if he weren’t watching her and guarding her life. He slid on his rearview spy sunglasses so she was pretty sure he kept her in view until he reached the car. Who was going to try to take her out in Attitude, with all their high-tech security?

Staci glanced over at the security guard at the door. He appeared to be asleep on his feet. Maybe she should have been as cautious as Drew.

She and Lucy watched Drew leave the building and drive off toward Hook House Ale. The natural way he stayed undercover amazed her. He played the game just right, so convincingly even she believed the ruse that they were happily reunited. She wondered—if Drew would just stay undercover as himself, could their marriage actually work?

Lucy broke the mood. “What a wonderful husband you have! Driving you to work on your first day—how cute!”

Cute like a kindergartner going off to school? That wasn’t the way Staci saw it. More like worried she’d be offed in some unseemly manner on her way in from the parking lot. But she couldn’t say that so she simply nodded, pleased with herself for finding ways to lie without actually uttering untruthful words.

“Let’s get you settled in and trained,” Lucy said. “They want me in the back this afternoon.”

As a steady stream of Attitude employees arrived for work, Lucy taught Staci the job. “Smile and greet them,” Lucy whispered to her as the mostly male workforce filed in. “Oh, they’re going to love seeing a young, pretty face out front. Pity you’re not single. This would’ve been such an opportunity for you.”

She smiled at Staci significantly, leadingly, as if she was just waiting for the story behind Staci’s storybook reunion with Drew and the apparently reconcilable differences that led up to the separation in the first place. “There’s no chance of that now?”

Staci shook her head no, tamping down her anger at Lucy for prying and forcing her to lie, and confront the realities of being single and on the prowl again. Not a single one of the men who streamed in caught her attention or made her heart flip. Not in the way Drew had the first time he’d smiled at her during the lunch date Bill had set them up on. Not the way he still did. Love chemistry was a fickle, unreliable science. Staci wished she really lived this fantasy cover life they were presenting to Lucy, the life where Drew was exactly who Staci wanted him to be.

Lucy stared at her, waiting for Staci to say more.

Finally, Staci gave in and, much as it went against her moral code, lied. “Drew and I are happily reconciled.”

Lucy sighed. “Yes, your mom told me. Isn’t that romantic? I love to see love survive. There’s nothing more uplifting. You’ll have to give me all the details!”

No way! Staci was not giving the gossip queen any fodder.

She couldn’t believe her mom had already told Lucy anything. Linda had only found out two days ago.

“Maybe later.” Staci turned and smiled at two men who’d just arrived.

“Later then.” Lucy nodded and greeted another group as she pulled a pen from the pocket of her slacks. “We’ll go over the basics first—how to answer the phones, buzz visitors and employees who’ve forgotten their badges through the doors, and issue temporary badges.” She paused and took a breath.

“You look overwhelmed already.” She smiled. “Why don’t I jot a few notes for you as we go over things?” She reached for a pad of paper.

As she did, Staci recognized Lucy’s pen as one she’d seen at the spy store. It was the Audio Recorder 2000 rollerball with black ink. That tricky Lucy! Attitude was unknowingly letting her behind the dreaded doors with a recording device. And yet they didn’t trust Staci? She, at least, would only spy on Sam!

Funny the righteous indignation of the spying life. Staci had to make sure she wasn’t mistaken about the pen. “Nice pen!”

Actually, that was a little over the top. Her spy chatter needed work. The Audio Recorder 2000 was made to look innocuous, like a cheap, disposable pen so it wouldn’t call attention to itself. Staci watched Lucy to see if she blanched or developed a nervous tic, anything that gave her away.

Lucy laughed, more of an anxious chortle, really. “This? It’s just your office-supply store variety.”

“May I see it?” Staci couldn’t help herself. She was feeling an adrenaline rush from testing Lucy. “I have such a hard time finding pens that write well.”

Lucy opened her mouth and shut it again without speaking.
Ah-ha!
Staci thought. This was the downside of these expensive spy pens. It was impossible to deny a reasonable request to borrow one, especially one that looked like a ninety-nine-cent cheapie. Lucy handed it over with obvious reluctance.

Staci hefted it. Examined it. Stealthily found the button to disarm it and did. She scribbled a few lines on the pad of paper in front of Lucy and handed the pen back. “It has nice action. I’ll have to get one.”

Lucy smiled weakly and, looking both relieved and irritated, resumed their lesson.

By nine o’clock, Sam still hadn’t arrived. Staci asked Lucy about it. “Where’s Sam?”

“We work on flex time. Employees choose their own hours. He’s one of our late arrivers. Never comes in before nine and always works late. He told me once he likes the quiet of the office after the bulk of the people have gone home.”

Lucy would know. Staci was grateful she’d added the extra intel. Staci wondered if Sam worked late hours to avoid her mom?

“Sam seems to travel a lot for Attitude. Who knew document control engineers would have to be on the road so often?”

Lucy frowned. “Travel a lot? No, I’m sure you must be mistaken. Sam rarely travels for Attitude. But, like anyone who’s been with the company for thirty years, he has loads of vacation. More than he can possibly take and still get his job done. Except for the annual conference on document control held in Vegas, I’m sure any traveling he does is personal and on his own nickel.”

Was that malice Staci detected in Lucy’s tone? It was almost as if Lucy enjoyed crushing Staci’s assumption. There was also a definite tinge of bitterness in her voice.

Annual conference on document control? Come to think of it, Staci remembered her mom mentioning that one. Sam never took her along. Staci thought her mom was actually grateful. It sounded like a real snoozer.

“That one’s coming up soon, isn’t it? Next month?” Staci tried to remain friendly, as she pretended to be unaware of the tension that had sprung up.

“Yes.” Lucy cleared her throat, suddenly developing a nervous, guilty tic as she fiddled with her pen. And was that a flash of anger that crossed her face?

What the heck? Staci made a mental note to look into that particular conference.

“I’m sure you’re right about the travel. I’m probably confused,” she said to reassure Lucy. She didn’t want to lose her unwitting informant, especially now that she couldn’t go behind the closed doors to her left.

A deliveryman came in, carrying a clipboard and looking for a pickup. Neither Staci nor Lucy could find it. Lucy called to the back and went off behind the closed doors to locate it. Staci took the opportunity to unpack her box.

She’d barely armed and set her nanny cam bear on the reception desk when Sam strolled in. He carried a white glass vase filled with a large bunch of oversize, deep-purple irises. “There she is! Welcome to Attitude!” He set the flowers on her desk. “Your mother sent these in for you from her garden.”

Staci froze, momentarily puzzled, and paralyzed at the mouth. Her mother would
not
send her irises. Linda knew their scent gave Staci a headache on first sniff. Would her mother forget? Try to ruin her first day of work? Not likely. Which had to mean … what? Her mom was sending her a coded message?

Staci had been living with Drew too long. Her mother never sent coded messages. Was Sam lying, then? But why would he bring her flowers? Maybe he was a considerate old softie and didn’t want to admit it. Staci didn’t want to admit that, either.

She forced herself to think like a spy, act naturally, and play along. “They’re gorgeous! You’ll tell Mom thanks from me?”

“Sure will, kiddo.”

She hated it when he called her kiddo as if she were five.

He glanced at the clock behind her. “Damn! I almost forgot. I’m late for a meeting with my boss and a client.”

Staci tried not to grin. She’d like to see the hurting-her-mother Sam get in trouble with his boss. Serve him right. “Important one?”

Sam scowled. “One of those damn meetings with our impossible DoD client, a pompous general. I’d better run.” He slapped the desk. “You have a good day!”

“Yeah, you, too.”

Sam dashed to the glass doors and scanned his badge. As the doors opened for him, he called back over his shoulder. “I’ll be tied up in the meeting all morning, but if you need anything later, holler.”

Uh-huh.

The doors closed behind him. She stared at the treacherous irises. They were gorgeous and killer-headache-inducing. Two more seconds alone with them and she’d be in the break room, lying with a cold compress over her eyes. She had to get rid of them, fast.

Lucy swung back through doors, carrying her cell phone and a white cardboard overnight envelope, labeled and ready for pickup. She set them down on the reception desk while she double-checked the package label and signed a release form for the deliveryman.

When he left, she noticed the flowers. “Gorgeous irises!”

“Thanks. My mother sent them in.” Staci decided she may as well keep up the lie until she found out what was really going on. “She must have forgotten I’m allergic.” Headaches qualified as an allergic reaction, right? “If you promise to cart them away immediately, you can have them.”