Page 13 of Shattered Secrets

Accepting her firm handshake, he said, “Matt, please. Or just Alvarez is fine.”

“Drop the formalities. Got it. And please, call me Esme.” She opened the manila folder she was carrying and held out a small stack of papers. “Fill these out and bring them back to me before you leave today. I’ll get you set up in our system.” She glanced at Gavin. “Discuss compensation, please. Preferablybeforeyou get into the cases. Then text me immediately with the final number.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Gavin said with a salute.

Esme turned on her heel, closing the door behind her.

Gavin gestured to the conference table and sat at the opposite end from Bean, who was now speaking into her headset. “As Esme mentioned,” he began, “we never talked compensation.”

Matt would take the job regardless—he was pretty sure they both knew that—but he was still curious to hear Gavin’s offer. Hudson Security was a world-renowned firm with deep pockets. Plus, all the employees Matt had encountered seemed to be doing fine money-wise. But what did he know? At worst, he assumed he’d be paid about what he’d made as a detective with the SPD, which had been a six-figure salary. Nothing to sneeze at.

Luckily, he was in a position to be flexible. After all, he lived rent-free at his brother’s place, had a sizable savings account, and was pretty damn frugal. It also helped that he’d had a top-tier divorce attorney, courtesy of one of his brother’s friends, so he’d come out of that clusterfuck relatively unscathed. Financially, that is. Once he sold his house in Seattle, he’d be more than comfortable.

“We’re not much for titles around here,” Gavin said, “but the deal’s full-time and salaried. Most likely some travel with expenses covered by the company. We pulled how much you were making at SPD?—”

Matt’s eyebrows shot up.

“What?” Gavin grinned, nodding toward Bean. “Blame her. She came up with the info.”

“There’s nothing to blame me for,” Bean said, ending her call. “You were a government employee; it’s all public information. You just need to know where to look.” She threw him an innocent smile and shrugged. “And I do.”

Matt chuckled. “Even if it wasn’t public information, I’m sure you’d find it.”

“And you’d be correct.” She gulped down some sort of fluorescent-green drink, and Matt tried not to cringe. “Truthfully, I didn’t realize detectives made that much. But seeing as you’ve been with the SPD for over eighteen years and steadily worked your way up, it makes sense. Not a bad gig. I’m surprised they didn’t try harder to keep you.”

“They did.” But there had been too many extenuating circumstances.

“Well, lucky us, then.” Bean toasted him with her glass. “Besides, this gig is better. Trust me.”

“Speaking of,” Gavin said, giving Bean a pointed look. Which had her eyes rolling and Matt biting back a laugh. “How does double your old salary work?”

His jaw dropped. There was no way he’d heard that right. “Are you serious?”

“Very.”

No way.“That’s nearly three hundred grand.”

“I can do math, Alvarez.”

Bean smirked. “Told you the gig’s better here.Andthere’s no bureaucratic bullshit. Just Gavin’s bullshit.”

Gavin tilted his head toward Bean. “What she said. There’s also full medical, dental, 401(k), and all that shit. You in?”

For a moment, Matt could only blink.

“Is that a yes?” Gavin waved his phone in the air. “I need to let Esme know before she comes back in here and stabs me or something.”

Bean snorted. “Like she’d ever be so obvious.” She caught Matt’s gaze. “Don’t let Esme’s pantsuits, spreadsheets, and impeccable organizational skills fool you. That chick’s a badass. Pretty sure she could kill you with her baby toe.”

A grin spread over Matt’s face, and he nodded. “Hell yeah. Let’s do this.”

He wasn’t quite sure what he’d just gotten himself into, but he studied the two people in the room with him and felt no trepidation. Gavin Frazier was solid. Easily one of the smartest and best men he knew, not to mention the deadliest. And Bean. He had no clue what her last name was, or her first name, for that matter, but he was beginning to think that was intentional. Rumor had it the petite brunette dynamo was one of the top hackers—oh, sorry,IT specialists—in the world.

Then there was the woman handling his HR paperwork, who was apparently Black Widow in disguise. Everyone he’d met at Hudson Security was top-notch. Yeah... this was a team he wanted to be part of.

“Welcome aboard, Alvarez,” Gavin said, sliding a pen across the table. “Now fill out that paperwork because Bean wasn’t lying about Esme.”

Once Matt’s HR paperwork was completed, Esme came to collect it. She was heading out to catch the ferry back to Seattle, but she promised he’d have a copy of all his employment paperwork in his new, secure inbox within the next two hours. Of that, he had no doubt. The woman screamed competence.

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