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“You are going to need to take that up with him. If you decide to do this, then you are his strap.”
“Strap? What is a strap?”
“You will be attached to him, and he will be responsible for you. Some guys don’t want the responsibility.”
I thought back to the look Greg had just given me, and I began to smile. “Oh, don’t you worry about Greg. I got him under control.”
He started to chuckle, and then Alice’s voice came over the speakerphone. “Jake, Oscar is on line one.”
He glanced at his watch. “Eighteen minutes. Faster than either of us thought.”
Chapter Fifteen
Gregory
Ineeded air before I strangled Jake or turned into a complete asshole with Maggie. I hit the street and started walking. I had no place in mind to go, just a need to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving.
Jake was crazy to allow Maggie to go on that mission—operation, delivery, whatever the hell it was—if we did get it back. How could he allow that? How could Jake do that to me? He wanted to make her my strap? My responsibility? What an ass!
But if I didn’t do it, who would? Harvey? Mike? Jake? Was Jake even going? I wasn’t sure if he would put her under one of our part-time guys, but maybe he would if I refused.
I turned the corner, slowing my step as I began to realize that I was going to have to keep her with me. It was the only way to make sure she was safe. What would I do if she got hurt because I’d refused to watch her? Jesus, what would I do if she got hurt under my protection? The thought almost made me stumble.
No, if he wanted her to go, then I’d watch her. I’d protect her, but before she could go, I was going to make sure we tested her endurance and reactions. Get her to the range, see how she did on an obstacle course, not just firing from a line.
I knew that it wasn’t standard practice for a press member to carry a weapon but working as a civilian contractor made things a little different since we weren’t working for the military. Whether she was strapped or not, she needed to be appropriately trained and know how to protect herself if things went to shit.
I dwelled over that as I hit the next corner. Maggie had always been a strong-willed woman, eager to get into a debate and stand behind her beliefs. She never let me get away with anything when we were younger, and after last night’s confrontation, it was apparent she was still like that.
I thought back to something else Jake had said when he’d been chewing my ear off earlier. He’d told me to go after her, get involved with her because she wouldn’t want to sideline me. Was he right? In the past, I had avoided relationships because I didn’t want to leave someone behind and not know if I was coming back, but what if that person was right there with me? If the two of us were sharing the same kind of life. Would she be able to accept that? Would she even want to do that? Could she mentally handle it?
Something close to excitement began to burn under my skin. What if Jake was right, and Maggie could do this? She could prove to us that she was fit to go, physically and emotionally, and then she kept going? Would Maggie and I be able to work with each other that way and have a relationship? Would she even want one with me?
After last night’s kiss, I had to think that she might consider it, but before I got too excited about it, we needed to see if she could handle it.
On the way back to the office, I stopped at Cocoa’s Coffee Café and picked us up coffee. The manager wouldn’t let me pay, said it was the least he could do after yesterday.
Back at the office, I handed off the cup to Maggie and went back to my desk. I felt her staring at me, and I turned to see her toast me with her cup and then go to work. In the back of my mind, I was devising the perfect test plan for her while I worked on another proposal and caught up with an old buddy.
I was kicked back talking to Will, one of our part-timers who had just gotten back from a quick operation in Saudi Arabia, when I noticed Maggie looking at me.
Thoughts on what other kinds of endurance tests I’d like to do on her flew through my mind as I checked out every inch of her beautiful body. She knew that I wanted her; she knew it last night, so why not let her see it now? Maybe it would throw her off-kilter enough that she wouldn’t pass the physical obligations for the trip. I could use it to keep her here and out of danger.
About an hour after Maggie disappeared into Jake’s office, she emerged, and Jake called us all back to the conference room.
“Contract is back on,” Jake announced as soon as we were all seated. “Thanks to Maggie.”
Trevor gave her a high-five as Harvey did a little whoop.
“Alright, so when are we moving?”
“Wheels are up in ten days.”
Alex asked, “And Maggie is going with us?” I’m glad he asked because I didn’t want to.
“Yes, or we are going to assume she will be with us. I want you and Greg to put her through the paces. It’s going to be a quick course, but I think she will be a quick study. This is only a level three operation, so if she knows the basics, I think she will be fine.”
“Actually, can I have Trevor do it for me? I will be out of town tomorrow; remember I am meeting with High-Gen.”
