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Quit. He fought a wince. He had never expected his tenure at the FBI to end like that...
“Just what I said, Rox. I resigned earlier this week.”
She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. Maybe he had.
“Yeah. I heard you. Butwhy?”
He wasn’t sure he could admit his reasons out loud—especially to her—so instead, he shrugged. “I just wasn’t feeling it anymore.”
She continued to stare at him in bewilderment. “Did you get another offer somewhere?”
He shook his head.
Her jaw dropped. “Let me get this straight. You just up and quit your job, and you don’t actually have anything else lined up?”
That about summed it up. Perhaps not the wisest decision of his life, but what could he do about it now?
“Yup,” he said, popping theP.
“Holy crap, Joe! Have you completely gone insane? What the hell are you going to do for work?”
Wasn’t that the million-dollar question? Because if he were being honest with himself, he didn’t have a damn clue. And since he was being honest, that kind of worried him.
All Joe knew was that he desperately needed a career change. But what the hell was he qualified for? Going undercover and investigating government officials for fraud, money laundering, extortion, and all that fun stuff. He’d been damn good at his job. He knew that. But along with the greater good doubts, he was tired of all the political crap that went along with being an FBI agent. Hell, the entire law enforcement field was full of political posturing and bullshit.
And if he didn’t want to continue in law enforcement, where the hell did that leave him?
With no answers, he turned his most charming grin on Roxie. “Well, one of my childhood friends owns this café in town. We’re in the process of repairing our friendship—”
Roxie arched a brow.
“—that I fucked up. So maybe I could earn some of her forgiveness by helping out around her shop.”
* * *
Roxie’s jaw dropped. Again. Hehadto be joking.
Did he seriously expect her to hire him—an FBI, er,formerFBI agent—to make lattes, cut casseroles, and slice pie? Really?
She knew her mouth was gaping open, but she couldn’t help it. “You’ve got to be kidding me, right?”
“Rox, we’ve been friends our entire lives—”
“Minus the last few years due to your assholery,” she amended.
Doing a poor job of suppressing a smirk, he nodded to concede her point. “True. But aside from my assholery, have I ever asked you for anything? Any sort of favor like this?”
Damn. He had her there. It had usually beenherasking for favors. Manual labor at the café. Running an errand or two for her when he’d been in town. Mailing her favorite treats from Boston. But still. Living with him was going to be enough of a pain in her ass as it was. If she had to work with him on top of it all... well, the powers that be might as well just kill her now.
But could she really say no? Something big must have happened if Joe had resigned from the FBI without a plan. The man was many things, but a quitter was not one of them. And being an FBI agent had been his dream job ever since he’d been a little kid.
Oh my god.
She had no choice. She had to say yes.
All of a sudden, Joe and Quinn started cracking up.
“Christ, Rox. If only you could see your face right now,” Joe said, snorting.
