AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m just suggesting that you make certain you don’t overlook anything,” Grummond pointed in an almost dramatic manner. “If you want to work for the FBI, this investigation is your chance to show us that you belong here. And if things don’t go well, we may come to the conclusion that you’re not a fit for the Bureau after all.”
One investigation. One chance. His meaning was clear—this was my shot, and if I failed here, my career would be derailed. I would be sent off to some desk job with no hope of excitement or advancement. It would all be over.
I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.
And though I knew he was trying to impress upon me the importance of filing my paperwork, what I took away from the conversation was that I needed to bemuchmore careful in my interactions with Brian. If messing up a few reports could ruin someone’s career prospects at the Bureau, what would happen if it was ever discovered that I’d had sex with someone I was supposed to be investigating?
I was sure the answer to that wasn’t anything good, and I didn’t want to find out.
“That’s all I wanted to say,” Grummond leaned back in his seat. “You’re excused.”
I stood up and sprinted across the floor, past my desk, and into the ladies’ room, where I locked myself in a stall and waited for my heart rate to return to normal.
He doesn’t know what happened. There’s no way he could know.
But I couldn’t help feeling as though I’d just had a narrow escape.
It couldneverhappen again. Things with Brian would have to be strictly professional from now on, and I would have to give my full attention to my investigation.
I couldn’t fail.
Chapter five
BRIAN
ThelastthingIwanted in the world was to have dinner with Henry Barrett tonight.
I would have canceled, but he would have wanted to know why, and I didn’t think I could come up with a reason that wouldn’t sound like an excuse. Henry and I ate dinner together once a month, religiously. We’d done so ever since his retirement from the SEALs. I couldn’t just cancel on that without a good reason.
So we were sitting at our favorite five-star restaurant, sipping cocktails and looking over the menu as if we hadn’t seen it a hundred times before, as if there would somehow be a surprise on it tonight. I was studying the menu so hard because by doing so, I could avoid looking at Henry.
The image of Alison, splayed out naked on the conference room table, was still vivid in my mind, unwilling to leave me alone. Not that I wanted it to. It was a lovely thing to think about. But it did make it harder to look her father in the eyes.
“What’s on your mind?” Henry asked, breaking into my thoughts. “You seem distracted tonight.”
Do I?
I swallowed my drink, grateful for the fact that I hadn’t choked on it. “Work stuff,” I scratched my head lightly. “We’re being audited by the feds again.”
“Oh, I heard about that,” Henry said. “Alison is a part of that sweep.” He grinned ruefully. “Can you believe my kid is working with the FBI?”
“I really can’t.”
“It seems like just yesterday that she was playing with dolls.”
Well, that wasn’t a turn I wanted the conversation to take. “Did Alison tell you she’s investigating the SEALs?”
He sighed. “I was afraid that might happen,” he said. “But maybe it’s for the best.”
“How could it be for the best?”
“I don’t know—don’t you think it’s good to have her doing that investigation? I mean, it’s Allie. You can have her in and out quickly. If anything, I think it’ll benefit both of you. You won’t have to put up with some pompous stuffed shirt doing the investigation, digging around for trouble where there isn’t any. Allie can impress her supervisors by getting the job done quickly because you’ll help her find everything she needs.”
He said it so confidently. I could tell he was imagining me taking a friendly uncle role in the whole thing, guiding Alison through her investigation and making sure she did not have trouble accessing the documents she wanted. I thought about the way I’d dug in my heels about it when Alison had asked.
Well, I wasn’t going to feel guilty about that. It wasn’t my job to help the feds find evidence against the SEALs, even if those feds did happen to be Henry Barrett’s daughter.
How I felt about the fact that I’d fucked her was a little more complicated.
