Page 42 of Hidden Ascent

“Thank you. I’m feeling the best I have in years. And how’s business been for you?”

“We’ve had a very good year so far. Next time I’m in your neck of the woods, I’ll stop by, and we can talk about it.”

“Sounds like an excellent idea. Make sure you bring your wife.”

“I will. Now, I’d better keep doing the rounds. I see a few people who will roast me if I don’t go say hi.”

“It was nice to see you again,” Tomas said to Isla. She nodded as they moved away.

“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Jay whispered as they crossed the room.

“But he doesn’t know me. I’ve never met him before.”

“Neither have I.”

“What? But you knew him. He knew you.”

“I know his name is Tomas Perez, and he’s the ambassador for Argentina.”

“How’d he know you were in business?”

Jay laughed. “What business would that be?”

“You mean he made it up on the spot?”

“Exactly like I did.”

“What if he called your bluff?”

“He wouldn’t. He’s met so many people in his line of work, he couldn’t possibly remember them all, and it did the trick. Now, you and I fit in because we’re old friends with the ambassador.”

“I still think it was risky.”

He pulled Isla to a stop. “You may have lost someone in an undercover operation, and I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for you to recover from that, but I know what I’m doing. You have to trust me.”

“I’m trying.”

“I want you to know, I chose the least risky person in the room.”

“How is the Argentinean ambassador the least risky person?”

“That health scare I mentioned is rumored to be connected to dementia. He can’t afford to forget anyone, so he has to pretend he knows everyone, just in case. But I don’t know why you’re worried about the danger. If we were coming in here with guns blazing, you wouldn’t be worried about it, and that would cause a lot more difficulties for us than this.”

“Maybe, but I’d be much more at ease in combat gear.”

“I’ll try to come up with a plan that involves flack jackets next if it would help.”

She laughed. “It would. Listen, I want you to know how thankful I am for your help with this. Peter was right to bring you in. I’m sorry if we got off on the wrong foot. I haven’t been very considerate of your feelings, and I certainly didn’t expect you to worry about mine so much.”

“You’re surprised that I care?”

“I’m surprised at how quickly you’ve gotten over the way I treated you.”

“It hasn’t been easy.” He dramatized his drawl, and she bumped his shoulder. “But what can I say? You’re a beautiful woman who hurt my ego. It’s painful, but I suffer in silence for the greater good.”

She snorted. “Your ego only gets hurt by beautiful women?”

He grinned at her, and her heart skipped a beat. It was a wide, amused smile that said she was the only one who could bruise his ego.

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