Page 16 of Misdirection

She was naturally gifted at convincing people to buy whatever she was selling. She had the knack of being able to read people’s body language, to exploit vulnerable thinking that eventually led them to believe they had to buy what she was selling.

Olive had been good at what she did—and she’d brought in good money to prove it.

But she hadn’t been satisfied.

While doing one of her sales pitches at a hotel in Vegas, Rex had stumbled upon her. He’d stood in the background, watching her presentation as she sold energy bars to a group of wealthy women with money to burn.

After work that evening, he’d found her in the hotel lobby and asked to talk.

Olive had dismissed him at first and thought he was simply hitting on her. Then he’d told her he had a job offer.

She’d been curious so she’d decided to meet him. She’d picked a place out in the open, somewhere she could easily leave if things got uncomfortable.

Rex had shown up and told her about a private security firm he ran. Said he was looking for new agents.

Olive had literally laughed in his face and told him she had no training as a detective.

That was when he’d told her he would personally train her. He’d said he could teach people certain skills, but there were others that couldn’t be learned, that were natural. Her ability to read people and to convince them of things was a real talent.

Rex had told her to think about his offer and that he’d be in touch. He hadn’t taken any contact info, which at the time seemed strange.

Even so, she’d thought about it for a week. Then after a particularly grueling day trying to sell people products she didn’t truly believe in, she’d decided she would entertain the idea.

As if reading her mind, Rex had found her while she was out to dinner with a friend that evening.

Rex had been thrilled when Olive told him she was in. Two days later, she was on a plane to Indianapolis and wondering if she’d made the biggest mistake of her life.

But Rex had proven to be legitimate. He was a former Navy SEAL who’d gone on to work for the State Department. He’d left those jobs when he was only thirty-six in order to start Aegis.

He never took applications; he only recruited. Others at the company were former CIA, former cops, former bodyguards.

Then there was Olive.

True to his word, Rex had trained her. Taught her the tactics needed to defend herself. Taught her how to find out information. Taught her the ins and outs of computers.

She’d excelled, to say the least.

That was three years ago.

She snapped back to reality and glanced at the time again.

Five forty-five. She had to get ready to meet Jason, something she dreaded.

“What is that?” Tevin tilted his head as he observed her.

“What is what?”

He narrowed his eyes. “You look nervous. I see it in your gaze.”

She laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m fine.”

She never showed her nerves. She’d perfected her acting skills so she could only show people what she wanted them to see. She was always guarded, yet she could act relaxed when needed.

Compartmentalizing. She was an expert, even when it was to her detriment.

“Are you forgetting that both of us have to be good at reading people in order to do our jobs?”

Olive wanted to continue to deny his words, but maybe chatting with someone would be nice and help her clear her head.

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