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“What’s the difference?” she asked, rummaging in her bag.
“This one is better.”
She set the old one on the edge of his desk so he’d have to lean over to reach it. She put the new one in her purse without looking at it.
“So, how am I getting paid when this thing goes off?”
“There’s been some concern about what you’re doing on the CIA’s dime, so I’ve arranged a different source of funding. It’s fine when you translate tapes or help find missing little girls. It’s the interrogations that are causing concern.”
“You’ve never been interested in legalities before,” she said. She highly doubted he was discussing her jobs with his superiors.
“You’ll be paid a salary, and your tuition will be paid for the foreseeable future.”
“You want to pay for my school?” she asked, incredulous. There had to be a catch.
“I honestly didn’t think you’d last the quarter, let alone do so well. So we’ve decided that a master’s in criminology would be a good thing for the FBI’s new liaison to have.”
“FBI?” she squawked. Her cool exterior was crumbling under the weight of what he was telling her.
“Only technically,” he said. “We give them money from whatever funding source we choose, and they pay you through their books.”
“Launder me through them, you mean.”
“It’s a situation where everyone’s happy.”
“Everyone except me!”
“You’ll be doing the same thing but with a free ride through school and a steady income,” he said. “Of course, you’ll have to work at least twenty-five hours a week, so maybe don’t take more than two classes, hmm?”
“No, absolutely not,” she said. “It’ll take me forever to graduate.”
“Miss Weaver, I have made a very generous offer.” His tone turned chilly. “It’s obvious you are filling a need, and this is the least you can do for your country.”
She looked down into her lap. “My country.” She liked it a lot better before she saw the inner workings up close.
“Let me remind you what a fragile position you’re in. You have nothing to bargain with. You have no leverage. You cannot get by without me. You will not find a better job, not at another government agency, not at a Neiman Marcus, not even flipping burgers at McDonald’s. No bank will give you a loan, no school will accept your transfer.”
He never raised his voice, but the impact of his words set her back. He might as well have picked up the coffee mug on his desk and smashed it down again.
“And need I remind you that you have people you care about? Your family. Your friend in San Rafael and her young children.” He leaned in. “What happened to you in Belarus, well, one could write that off as undercover work. You aren’t the first agent to seduce someone’s wife. But two is a pattern, Miss Weaver. What you do affects not only you but all the women you let between your legs. Do you want to ruin Helen’s life as well as your own? Kevin and Ashley’s?” His lip curled in disgust. “Do you want the world to know what you are?”
“What’s that?”
“A dyke and a quitter,” he said softly. “A tragic combination for someone with so much promise.”
“Enough.” She gripped the arms of the chair until her knuckles were white. “You’ve made your point.”
“My point, Annie, is that you crossed a line in Minsk, and I’m the only one who can help you now. This could have been so much easier.” He got up and walked around his desk, stopping to rest a hand heavily on her shoulder. “Together we can make this right.”
She shrugged his hand off and stood up to face him. “I did what I thought would give me the best chance to get useful information. It didn’t work. The cleanest fix was to leave the Company.”
He sighed. “And so we find ourself at this impasse. I will make it plain for you: if you’d like your private life to remain private, I suggest you take this deal.”
She couldn’t imagine bringing Helen home to meet her parents. Her grandparents. The LAPD already treated her like garbage, calling her a bitch behind her back. The last thing she needed was rumors that she was a lesbian.
Annie nodded. “Fine.”
“Good. We’ll put this ugly talk behind us, then. You, young lady, have a plane to catch! And when you return to Los Angeles, we’ll make the adjustments to your schedule.”
