Page 39 of The Spy

My cover as Tabatha Bracknell was all set, including an office at Sotheby's.

Someone at Oversight had called in a favor, and Sotheby's had agreed to allow us to use their office space, logo, etc. And Devlin had planted a little story about some pieces from an auction the Tate family had attended two months ago being identified as fraudulent. A couple of media outlets reported on it, and the bait was that the family would want to have their work authenticated. The auction had been a private one, and all authentication would all be directed to me.

Saff and Kaya had helped with the setup of offices, staff, and all that. Both women knew something was up, but Saff knew me the best. "I can tell you're wound up. Are you sure you're okay?"

Kaya came in and grinned wide. She was acting as my assistant for the next week until Tate made contact. We had some junior agents who would be additional support staff when needed for an office setting. "I do love the new hair."

I ran my hand over my hair, missing my curls. The red color was, as always, striking against my brown skin, and my freckles showed even under makeup. "I feel like a different person."

Saff nodded at me. "That's the whole point. Live it. Breathe it. Be it."

"I know."

Saff sighed. "Was Gabe already being a dick?"

I shrugged as I double-checked my security cameras to make sure all bugs and cameras were functioning. I knew Devlin and Rook had already checked, but I wanted to triple-check. "How is that different from any other time? Gabe is always a dick."

Saff nodded. "Truth. He is always a dick. But your fight in the conference room yesterday… Damn, we could hear it all the way down the hall."

I rolled my eyes. "Excellent."

Kaya's gaze bounced from Saff to me and back to Saff. "So we're not going to talk about how she and Gabe just want to bang?"

Saff’s laugh was a loud barking noise. "That's never going to happen. I know my brother is a fit bloke, but I'm not going to have this conversation."

I rolled my eyes at their ridiculousness. "He's a controlling arse and not my type. He's so used to being at the top of the food chain his entire life, he doesn't even consider that the level of control he exerts is a total problem."

Saff nodded in agreement. "I won't disagree with all of that. But the biggest problem is he doesn't ever deal with his emotions. Ever. He will avoid, evade, shut down. Anything to keep him from having to think about what he’s feeling. It served him well when he started working for MI5. It serves him well as Ops Command. The problem is that it does not serve him well with his interpersonal relationships. He's shite, in case you haven't noticed."

I laughed. "Oh, I have certainly noticed. And I am suffering because of it."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could say he didn't mean to be a dick, but you've dealt with him. He obviously means to be a dick."

I snorted. "Well, there's that."

In our coms units, we were alerted that the asset had landed. Saff took my hand and squeezed it. “You’re going to be great. Focus on you, not my idiot brother. There is no one else I’d trust for this job.”

I plastered a smile on my face. “I’ve got this.”

But in that moment, I almost believed Gabe. I did not, in fact, have this. What if he was right about me all along?

13

Tabatha

I didn’t know exactly what I had expected, but Jennings Tate was not it.

Sure, he exuded all the billionaire trappings, cultured, smooth, charm for days. He was even handsome. Again, not much of a surprise. But what struck me as different was that he seemed nice.

I knew what he was accused of doing. I wasn't a dumbass. I had done my due diligence, but I wasn't expecting nice. At the same time, he was there for an art evaluation.

And very clearly, to flirt.

Which was the whole point.

I remained aloof. Cool. Disinterested. I was in it for the art. At least that was my character. And predictably, at the end of our meeting in my fake offices, I got the invite to the house because obviously, they didn't want the pieces moved. They were in a climate-controlled environment, so of course I would evaluate them on-site. I kept things cool and above board. Little did he know that I worked with Lachlan King, Jasper Saint, Marcus Legend, Westin St. James, and Phineas Devlin. All filthy stinking rich. All charming in their own way.

Jennings Tate had nothing on them.

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