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“Oh shit,” she gasped, swinging her legs around to sit up and set her bottle on the table.
“Oh shit good or oh shit bad?” Jayson asked, his jaw clenched tight and his eyes wide.
Charlotte waved him away. He needed to stop talking so she could read the email from Ataraxia’s human resources department. She was a little disappointed the news hadn’t come in the form of a phone call from Alexandra herself.
“We are pleased to inform you,” she started reading aloud, but Jayson swiped the phone from her before she could finish.
Charlotte glared at him. He’d always been much taller than her, even though they were less than a year apart and had been together since before puberty. She’d always hated when he took things and held them above his head and out of reach. But they weren’t kids anymore and Charlotte wrestled the phone back.
Reading the o er letter with Jayson peering over her shoulder and breathing into her face, her pulse jumped.
“You really did the damn thing!” he cheered before crushing her in a hug from behind.
“I’m going to ask for more money,” Charlotte countered.
Jayson released her like her skin had caught fire. “More money? Are you crazy? That’s a very generous o er.
Insurance, paid leave, and you’ll be making double what you make now. You’ll be making more than me—”
“Trust me,” she interrupted him with her hand on his muscular bicep. “She’ll respect it. It’s like five percent of the o ered salary. It won’t be a dealbreaker.”
Charlotte shot o a reply, conditionally accepting the o er. While they waited, Jayson grabbed them two fresh beers.
“You know if this works, we won’t be able to see each other again for a while,” he said, picking at the wet label on the bottle.
Poking his leg with her foot as they sat across from each other on the couch, Charlotte urged him to cheer up. “Come on, don’t be so dramatic. Why wouldn’t we be able to see each other?”
“Before she even considers telling you anything, she’ll vet you hard. She might even have you followed. I don’t think she’ll take a risk in trusting you if she knows your brother is a detective.”
Charlotte’s heart warmed at the term but remained skeptical at his extreme cautiousness. “If you say so.”
“Remember your only job is to watch.” He set his beer down after a long swig, his energy focusing. “Just watch and report. She’ll try to claim entrapment later, so don’t be a hero and make things happen.”
“Don’t be a hero ,” she echoed very seriously, willing his light energy to return. “Got it,” she added, imitating his intensity.
Jayson’s face softened as he smiled and relaxed. “You’re only deputized temporarily, but if this goes well and we
make this huge catch,” he picked up his drink and clinked the bottle in her hand, “the chief will make good on his promise and call in those favors to get you to the FBI.”
She didn’t dare hope. Being a forensic accountant for the FBI had been her dream for so long. Originally, she’d fancied herself a field agent, but her knack for numbers couldn’t be ignored.
Charlotte’s stomach tensed. She needed to dissipate the pressure of everything riding on this unconventional plan.
“If you’re desperate enough to deputize a civilian to infiltrate a wellness resort, I might be able to get more than just a job.” She laughed.
Getting approval from all the various big wigs involved hadn’t been easy. The plan had been run all the way up to the State Attorney personally, just to make sure whatever they got would be useable in court. Before the interview at the spa, Charlotte had been debriefed for hours by various detectives and a prosecutor. She understood the stakes, but that didn’t mean she wanted to think about them. Getting in her own head would be counterproductive.
“Don’t get crazy,” he warned. “You watch and you report.
Don’t instigate anything,” he repeated in the sternest tone he’d ever used on her. “Oh, and don’t commit any crimes, alright?” He smiled. “You’re not going deep cover in a motorcycle gang.”
“Maybe next time,” she replied wistfully.
As they both tried unsuccessfully to ignore Charlotte’s phone, they talked about madam to the rich and powerful Alexandra Leon. The cops couldn’t figure out where or how she was running her illicit business, and they’d never
managed to get anybody to flip on her. They’d failed to break in with prospective clients, so when Jayson saw the ad for an in-house accountant, he tossed out his wild idea about having the civilian Charlotte go undercover and retrieve something of use. The fact that it was taken seriously spoke of their desperation. The only thing Charlotte didn’t understand was how they could be so sure she was a madam if proof was impossible to come by, but that wasn’t her problem.
They’d finished the six-pack in the fridge before the phone chimed again. Charlotte snagged the phone o the table just before Jayson’s fingers curled around it. Reading the first few lines of the email, she smiled.
