Page 4 of Fall of the Trident
Marta walked straightto her desk and did something she hadn’t done in years.While standing, she shut down her computer, moved all confidential and secret files to her safe, grabbed her purse…and headed toward the door over an hour before quitting time.
She felt the eyes of everyone in the office on her back.
Stopping at the receptionist’s desk, Marta pasted on a smile.“I’m headed out.”She forced a smile wider.“The admiral gave me the rest of the day off.”
As she scanned the many faces of her dedicated employees, she made an instant decision.In an unprecedented move, Marta raised her voice.“Everyone who has had to work overtime this week, thank you.I truly appreciate your dedication.Go home.Get some rest.Enjoy your life.I don’t want to see you back here until after noon tomorrow.”
Refocusing her attention on the receptionist, she suggested, “Laura, please follow after-hours protocol for those of us who are leaving.I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As she strode across the tiled lobby, it dawned on her that she hadn’t given a time of her return.Maybe it was a sign that she, too, would take the morning off.
At the raised volume of several jovial male voices, she glanced toward Captain Hubbard’s office.He was still there surrounded by his commanders.
Good.She could call Genevieve before he got home.Damn, she needed her best friend.
As soon as she hit the parking lot, she clicked her key fob to start her car.Maybe it would be cooled down two degrees by the time she opened the door.Although the temperature was always moderate on Coronado Island with highs in the mid-seventies even in August, the sun was damn hot.
She opened the door to her white Honda Accord and wished she’d had the nerve to buy the cute little two-seater convertible she’d looked at before purchasing her conservative car.Given her position on the base, she’d always thought it more appropriate for her to drive a traditional sedan because she was a civilian employee.It was fine for the newly graduated ensigns, and still-single lieutenant junior grade officers to drive sexy sports cars, but she was pushing fifty-five years old.She should act like it.
Or not, according to Genevieve.Some of the other women in her sunrise yoga class agreed, but several of them were hunting husband number two or three and living well off divorce settlements.
Marta had made her own money.
No one except her broker knew she was a multimillionaire.
When John had died in combat over twenty-five years ago, she’d already been working in what was now called the Naval Special Warfare office on the Naval Base Coronado.With her degree in business, she had easily gotten one of the lead positions and made more than enough money to live comfortably.Because of the insurance the mortgage company had insisted upon, her house had immediately been paid off.On the advice of a retired captain turned financial advisor, she had taken his military life insurance and invested it.
She most certainly could afford the silver BMW convertible.
Instead, she slid into her moderate car and redirected the chilly air from the vents at her face.
Marta quickly texted Genevieve to see if she was able to talk.Now that her friend was in full-time grandmother mode, taking care of Ian while Dylan was at work or deployed, a text notification wouldn’t wake up the four-month-old.
Five seconds later, her phone rang.
“Is everything okay?”Her best friend asked concerned woven through each word.
“Yes.No.”Marta didn’t know if she was coming or going.Her head was still spinning at how bold she had been with Trevor.
“Is it…is Dylan…” Fear and trepidation filled Genevieve’s voice.
“No.Dylan is fine.He’s safe.”Marta quickly added, “You didn’t hear this from me, but he’s on his way back home.Matter of fact, they’re all headed to the United States.No casualties on our side.”
“Thank God!”Genevieve let out a long breath.“Is that what you called to tell me?”
“No,” Marta confessed.She sucked in the cool air as if it could fortify her.“I called to tell you…”
You can say the words.This is Genevieve.You can tell her anything.
“I kissed Trevor Maddox.”She said the words as fast as she could.
“You what?”
“You heard me.I kissed Trevor Maddox.”Then she thought about it a second.“Actually, he kissed me first.”
“You kissed your boss?”
“Technically, yes.The second time for sure.”She could admit to herself that she had been slightly stunned the first time when he’d picked her up and quickly laid his lips on hers.In the end, she had been an active participant.
