Page 13 of Made of Steele
She lowered her chin. “I always wondered how people could go under like you have. Especially for a year. That’s a long time.”
“Which is a good reason for this op to wrap up.”
“Do you plan to take another assignment after it does?”
“Can’t. ICE rules won’t allow it, but I might consider it if they did.”
“So I guess you’re not married or don’t have a real girlfriend.”
“No. You with anyone who’ll object to our dates?” he asked, not really for the job. It wasn’t fair to make her think it was.
She shook her head. “No time. My family depends on me to keep the business running. Not sure what I’ll tell them if this assignment takes up too much time.”
“You won’t tell them about being sworn again, right?”
“Right. But I’ll have to tell them about you, and I hate to mislead them.” She sipped on her cup again, her expression filled with questions. “Where do we go from here?”
“The Contis are expecting me this morning. I’ll head over to World of Crafts. It would be a good time for you to show up while I’m there. I can express my interest in you and get the Contis’ blessing on dating.”
“I can do a routine check on our guard like we often do, and it won’t raise suspicions.”
“Then let’s get going.” He started to rise.
She raised a hand. “What about filling me in on their operation?”
Ah yes, of course she would want to know that. And that was the kind of thing Harris didn’t want him to share. “I don’t want to keep the brothers waiting. Can we talk about it over dinner tonight? It’ll be our first date.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You really think you can sell them on the dating thing?”
“I persuaded them to let me into their inner circle. Means they trust me.” And it won’t be hard to convince them that he was into Teagan. Not when the more time he spent with her, the more his interest grew.
Teagan entered the Steele Guardians’ office and took a deep breath of the pine scent coming from the fresh Christmas tree with twinkling multi-color lights. She’d put it up right after Thanksgiving and decorated it with gift tags for visitors to take and return with gifts for children in need.
She loved Christmas. How she loved it. Probably because of her birthday on the fifth of December. She embraced the whole month as her own. As a child, she’d once believed the fuss was all about her birthday until she understood the real meaning of Christmas, but by then she was hooked on Christmas. She always made a big deal of it. All except last year when her cousin Thomas had been murdered near Thanksgiving. The whole family had a low-key Christmas then.
Their receptionist, Gretchen, looked up from behind a long desk decked out with pine garland and twinkly white lights. She’d braided her hair the same shade of black as Teagan’s, but the dyed color looked stark against her lighter complexion.
“Oh good.” She pursed her lips coated in purple lipstick. “Glad you’re finally here. Everyone’s looking for you.”
“Figured they would be.” Teagan never arrived at work after seven and it was going on eleven now. She probably should’ve called to prevent worry. Couldn’t even think of it though. Not after the call from Gutierrez, being deputized again, and seeing Drew.
Drew—not Dylan.
Teagan offered Gretchen an apologetic look. “I’ll check in with everyone so they quit bugging you.”
“Your family is never a bother.” She rolled her eyes in a cheeky look, then laughed.
Teagan caught her good mood and laughed too as she strode across the polished concrete floor. With all the former law enforcement officers in the family, they could each be a real pain. Driven. Forthright. And pushy.
Yep. That described them. And that Gretchen had put up with all of them for over two years spoke volumes about her abilities to handle anyone who walked through their doors. And the reason the family made sure she was well-compensated and had benefits even at times when family members went without full pay.
Teagan climbed the iron staircase with thick wood slab risers. She took them two at a time and paused at the landing to put her game face on. She would have to evade and redirect any questions without lying. And without raising suspicions. Her Uncle Gene would be tough to fool, but her dad would be the hardest one of all.
Her office was located right inside the door so she dropped off her backpack, ignoring the mound of paperwork waiting for her in her Inbox next to a carved miniature nativity set. The smell of fresh coffee beckoned her back into the hallway and into the break room. She filled her favorite mug, a British souvenir with a Royal Guard member painted on the side from her trip to England. What better mug for the COO of a company that provided guards?
Sipping the full-bodied coffee, she looked into Bristol’s door holding a large evergreen wreath with a big plaid bow. Teagan’s youngest cousin, who’d recently joined the company in a sales role, wasn’t in. Good. One down. Four to go.
Teagan moved on to the next office belonging to Mackenzie.
