Page 38 of Operation: Sharp Angel

Michaela fixed her gaze on Becca. “I’m planning to eat here. Would you like to join me?”

“That would be nice, thank you,” Becca replied.

“I’ll be back in to put everything away in about fifteen minutes,” Angel said.

Becca watched her leave.

“Angel gave me the cliff notes version of your case and I know that you signed the NDA and Shepherd read you in on the agency,” Michaela said, surprising Becca. “And she also said you’re an attorney.”

“Yes, to all three,” Becca said. She followed Michaela to the counter where the food was lined up in a buffet.

Michaela handed her a paper plate. “What do you do here at the agency? If I may ask.”

“I play with new technologies, try to improve them, and implement them with the teams,” she answered as she served herself a plate-full of food.

“I’m not even sure what that means,” Becca confessed.

“For one, I invented that ankle bracelet you saw on Lilly’s ankle. It’s basically a compact version of an AirTag. That heart charm has the tech in it and the chain is made from tungsten, which is one of the strongest metals out there. We put them on all children of agency personnel. I have to add links when it gets tight. There’s no clasp to prevent them being taken off by anyonebut me or someone with the tool to do so here at the agency.” She smiled. “I could see you had questions about it.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be nosy, but yes, I was curious when I saw you examining the ankle bracelet. And that’s really incredible that you invent those kinds of things.”

“I also get to mess with weapon modifications and explosives.” She grinned a big smile when she saw Becca’s reaction to that. “Which is very cool. My most recent project has been working on fortifying our drones, so they withstand inclement weather better.”

“Wow, that is pretty cool,” Becca agreed.

Michaela laughed. “I crashed about a half-dozen in the process. That wasn’t so cool.”

“I bet not.” They set their plates onto the table and took seats. “Colonel Shepherd told me the majority of his personnel came from the military. Did you serve?” She couldn’t envision this beautiful woman in uniform.

“Me, no. I’ve been a lab rat my whole life, literally. Both my parents were engineers who worked for the Department of Defense and other U.S. intelligence agencies. That was how I made it here.”

Becca nodded, digesting that. “Do you like working here?”

“Yes, there’s no place I’d rather be. Shepherd’s the best to work for. I’ll be able to bring my baby with me to work as often as I like as long as she doesn’t interfere with what I’m working on, and I’ll be able to work from home if what I’m working on allows for it. There is always a documentation portion that goes along with my job, which I’ve done from home in the past and will still be able to. Angel has brought both her kids to the office and Brielle brings her son at least once a week. She generally works from home a few days a week too, so she only has to have a babysitter a few days a month. I’m planning the same. I like that Shepherd is so flexible.”

“That’s great.” She was surprised to hear that Colonel Shepherd was so accommodating. She would have thought that he’d have been a strict military man. “So, you’re having a little girl. Are you telling what her name will be?”

Michaela finished chewing her bite. “Oh, yeah, this baby’s name was decided long before I even got pregnant and everyone here at the agency knows. Her name is Stephanie and had she been a boy, it would have been Stephan. She’s named to honor my husband’s best friend, Stephan Arnott. They were in bootcamp together, both volunteered to be SEALs, and went through their training together. They were assigned to the same SEAL Team and served together in the Middle East, where Stephan died. Landon told me about their special friendship and told me if he ever had a child, it would be named after his friend. But I get to name the next one,” she added with a smile.

“That’s a very special name for your child.”

“It is,” she agreed. “Angel told me you’ll probably be around the building for a few days while the team resolves the threat against you. Will you be able to work from here?”

“I have been working from home since my sister and her family were killed. I emailed the partners this morning to tell them I need a few more weeks to work from home.”

“You must have a pretty flexible work situation then too,” Michaela said.

“I’m not sure how much longer they’ll be flexible. I may have resigned from my job this morning.”

“May have?” Angel asked from the doorway. “Sorry, I wasn’t eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help but hear you.”

“It’s fine,” Becca waved her off. “Yeah, I think their flexibility has been stretched as far as it will go. I heard from our office manager that the partners were wanting me back in the office, which obviously right now can’t happen. And in all honesty, I don’t think I want to go back.”

Another woman entered the room. “Hi,” she greeted everyone. “Angel, can I have a word. I need to vent and need you to talk me down.”

Angel glanced at the food, which still lined the counter.

“We’ll get it put away,” Michaela said. “If you need anything I can help you with, Briana, just let me know.”

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