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The other was most certainly a part of the organization that had kidnapped Flint’s wife and blackmailed his sister. And apparently, he was her new boss.
CHAPTERTWO
Josephina Rodriguez tuckedin her blouse and glowered at the reflection in the mirror. Undercover at an office building? Her boss had definitely lost it on this one. He’d interrupted her girls’ night out so she could attend the meeting at Hamilton’s, then ambushed her with the fact that she would be working for Cole Kensington. She was definitely messing with his keyboard.
“What was Flint thinking? I can’t do this,” she moaned, turning toward the phone propped on the dresser.
Miranda Bradley’s laugh came quietly through the speaker. The screen only showed an empty kitchen, but as Joey grabbed the phone, her friend appeared from off-camera.
“Oh, sweetie. Yes, you can. Anyone else, I’d agree. But Flint wouldn’t send you in if he didn’t think you could do it.”
She flashed Miranda a skeptical look. “I’m not so sure about that.” Unfortunately, Miranda only knew half of the story. The only other member of Black Tower that knew she suspected Cole Kensington was Ryder. The two of them had been digging into the Syndicate for months. And now she had an opportunity to go inside the lion’s den and suss out for herself just how deep Kensington’s involvement went.
She’d do whatever it took to protect Flint and her team at Black Tower. When she finally had some real dirt on Cole Kensington, it might be hard for Flint to accept, but she couldn’t be worried about his feelings.
“How do I look?” She stepped back from the phone so Miranda could see the full ensemble.
She was wearing an awful, shapeless button-down shirt and a pencil skirt she normally wouldn’t be caught dead in. Inside Black Tower Security, where she usually sat in her own war room of computers, she was far more likely to be in sweats and a tank top, with her curly hair loosely bound in a scrunchie.
Not at Zia Pharmaceuticals, though. There was a dress code, Mr. Kensington had ever-so-kindly informed her. Thoughts of the successful pharmaceutical CEO made her usual morning scowl somehow scowlier.
“Oh, my.” Miranda’s reply told her everything she already knew. “At least your hair looks good?” she offered with an optimistic lilt.
Joey glanced at the clock near her bed. It was six-thirty. She was supposed to report at seven, which meant she needed to leave soon. With a sigh, she ran a hand over her hair, missing the feel of her normal curls. She’d straightened her hair last night and it hung over her shoulders. Cole hadn’t specifically mentioned her hair in his dress code comments, but she’d seen his eyes flicker to it when he said the words. Cue all the teenage insecurity she still carried about her unruly hair.
The buzzer sounded. She frowned. “Someone’s at my door. We’ll talk later, okay?”
“No worries. I’ve got to jump in the shower anyway. I want to hear everything later tonight, though!”
Joey waved good-bye and disconnected the call just before she hit the intercom button.
“What?” Her tone came out a little harsh, but she wasn’t in the mood to be friendly to a visitor who showed up before seven.
“Good morning, Miss Rodriguez. Mr. Kensington is waiting for you in the car.”
She narrowed her eyes and jogged to the window to take a look. A sleek, black town car was parked in front of her building. The windows were tinted, but was that a shadow in the back seat? She hurried back to the intercom. She wanted to argue and suggest exactly what Mr. Kensington could do with his early-morning surprise visit. But it wasn’t the arrogant CEO at the door. It was his driver. Because, of course, he had a driver. Probably wearing one of those little hats. And she’d feel bad yelling at the messenger.
“I’ll be down soon,” she said. She’d take the ride, but she wasn’t going to hurry on Mr. Kensington’s account. This little visit hadn’t been in the agreement. And she didn’t run when just anyone called.
Flint? Him she would come running for. He’d been her boss at Raven Tech after she landed in a heap of trouble. He’d managed to get the charges dropped and gain her eternal loyalty at the same time. She was the one he called when Jessica was kidnapped, and now she worked for him at Black Tower Security.
It was the members of BTS who comprised the remaining list of those she would come running for. Ryder, Tank, Marshall, and Jackson. And, of course, Miranda. They were the closest thing Joey had to family, and she’d do anything for them. More than once, that meant answering her phone at three in the morning or dropping everything in the middle of a trip to the gym.
But Cole Kensington? He could cool his designer Oxford heels while she finished getting ready.
If only she wasn’t already done. She glanced at the coffeemaker, considering whether she could make him wait the eight minutes it would take for the machine to make a pot of disappointing drip coffee.
That was probably pushing it. Instead, she went back to the bathroom and fussed with her hair, taming the flyaways at her scalp and applying just a touch more eyeliner. As if makeup was a shield, and she was going into battle. Which she was. Flint may have sent her to protect Cole Kensington and Zia Pharmaceuticals from some invisible threat, but she was admittedly skeptical that such a threat even existed. Her own mission was far more delicate. And she needed to be on top of her game to investigate Kensington while right under his nose.
Finally, when there were no other tiny tasks to delay her, Joey grabbed her turquoise leather backpack and headed downstairs.
It was time to face the target. Handsome and charming as he might be, that’s what her new fake boss was. Cole Kensington was a suspected hostile operative, and she was going to dig until every last one of his secrets was revealed.
* * *
Cole flipped through emails on his phone and shifted restlessly in his seat. His irritation flared at having to wait for Miss Rodriguez. Wasn’t she supposed to be the best? He’d told her to be at the office at seven, so she should have been nearly ready to leave when he arrived.
Initially, he’d planned to meet her at the office, but after further consideration, he decided it was better for them to meet beforehand, so her first day would appear completely normal to anyone whose interest was piqued by her arrival at Zia.
