Page 55 of Jep

“No, he thought I’d have valuable content to contribute.” She slumped. “He was obviously wrong.”

“You were unprepared. That’s all. Happens to the best of us.”

“I have never seen that happen before in this office. If I’d known he was going to do that?—”

“He shouldn’t have asked for your input anyway. It’s not your job to speak about the details of an operation.”

She deflated further. “No. I guess not. I was relieved to see Lawson’s approval of Jep’s return. Or, at least, that’s how it appeared.”

Pearce looked toward Lawson’s office. “Yeah. For now. But it’s a thin thread. Jep might not feel it, but he’s got a leash, and it doesn’t stretch as far as it did.”

“Don’t say that. Jep’s not stupid. He’ll pick up on it.”

“Lawson’s not stupid either. He’ll be careful.”

“I wish they could stand on the common ground they have instead of…whatever it is that’s going on.”

“We’ll have to wait and see how much self-control they both have.”

“Do you know what happened between them?”

“Only what everyone else knows. An operation Jep was running went bad. People died. Booth says more people would have died if he’d done it Lawson’s way. Lawson says the opposite.”

“Who’s right?”

“I wasn’t part of the mission.”

“You haven’t looked at the file?”

“It wasn’t my place. It’s not your place either.”

“But what if Lawson’s the one in the wrong?”

“Jep’s the one who left. I think that answers that question.”

“No, it doesn’t. He left of his own free will.”

“What are you trying to say? You think Lawson’s the bad guy here?”

“All I’m saying is I believe Jep’s gotten a bad rap. I don’t think he’s the man everyone’s made him out to be.”

“I’ve never been against Jep, remember? I’m the one who brought him in. But whatever happened on that mission, the bottom line is, he’s not a guy who plays by the rules. You can’t deny that’s true. So, as much as I’m all for him being here, I’m also worried and determined to keep an eye on him. And you, since you’re stuck with him.”

“You ever think that maybe some of the rules need to be changed?”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this from you. You never struck me as the kind of person who would encourage rule breaking.”

“I never said I encourage it.”

“Don’t get lost in this, Em. You’re a good person, and I can understand why you want to stick up for someone who appears to be the underdog. But Jep can take care of himself. If you get too involved, you’ll end up getting hurt.”

She huffed in exasperation. “I keep telling everyone it’s not Jep’s fault that I got cut.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” He moved closer. “You like your job, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’d hate for you to lose it on account of a guy like that.”

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