Page 45 of The Only Reason (The Trident Trilogy 2)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Millie

Virginia Beach, Virginia

2020

Raine closes her office door behind me as I whip around to face her.

“What the fuck is going on?” I say as she cautiously walks by me to get behind her desk. “Did you know Mason and Alex were going to be here?”

“Mason got here yesterday. I only knew his team was going to be assigned to you this morning.” She sits down in her chair and rolls it against the back wall, clearly trying to distance herself from the tirade that’s about to come her way. “I figured he told you. Are you not together anymore?”

“We’re not going to talk about my love life right now.” I fling myself down in the chair across from her and scoot it back against the opposite wall.

“Oh, I think that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about. Your ex-boyfriend and your maybe-more-recently ex-boyfriend are both here preparing to go on a mission with you,” she says, annoyingly not trying to suppress her laugh. “This is like a really bad government version of The Bachelorette.”

“That’s not helpful, Raine,” I say, shaking my head. “Did you know Alex was going to be here?”

“Absolutely not. That I definitely would have told you. How long has it been since you’ve seen him?”

“I haven’t seen him since he took the assignment in Moscow. So, what, like three or four years?”

“He’s such an asshole, but he’s still the prettiest man I’ve ever seen.”

“Does he look good? Seriously, I didn’t even look at him. I was so shocked. I think my eyes stopped working for a second.”

The door opens slowly and I see Alex peeking his head through the crack like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. “Ladies, may I come in? Or is this a private conversation?” He comes in and closes the door without waiting for a reply.

“What are you doing here, Alex?” I say as he takes the chair next to me.

“What do you mean? I told you,” he says as he pats my knee. “This is my assignment. I’m sorry George didn’t tell you. I’m sure it was a shock to see me walk into that room.”

“Why don’t I let you two have a second to talk,” Raine says, standing up.

“Wait, Raine. Stay for a second,” Alex says. “I need to talk to both of you.”

Raine stares at him coldly as she sits back down. She has never been a fan of his, and I’ve never understood why. She and I started at the agency together. We met Alex on our second day working at Langley. I thought he was charming. Raine thought he was full of shit. Despite her ardent warnings, I started dating him a month after we met. We dated for almost a year until he got assigned to Moscow. He wanted me to move there with him—so much so that he proposed to me. I said no. He got pissed. After he got to Moscow, he called me nonstop for a month, trying to get me to change my mind. I finally had to tell him to quit calling. He got more pissed, but he stopped calling. I haven’t heard from him since—until today.

“Millie, George told me you’ve tried to resign from the agency. I don’t know what that’s all about, but I know you’re not particularly into this assignment. That was very apparent in the meeting.”

“I’m fine. I’ve committed. I’ll do my job.”

“No, I know you will. You’re good at your job, and I trust you. It’s just that George told me you were in a relationship with the team leader, and that complicates things. His behavior—and yours, frankly—were inappropriate.” I try to interrupt, but he holds up his hand. “No. Let me finish. That wasn’t a personal comment. You know as well as I do, it’s a conflict of interest having him on this mission. I’ve tried to get another team without any luck, so it is what it is, but I need you and Raine to be on my side on this. On the agency’s side. We need to keep this circle tight.”

Before I can say anything, Raine jumps in. “This isn’t high school, Alex. There are no sides. We’re all on the same side. Master Chief Davis is the best operator in this entire building. I’m sure he’ll be professional. We need to let him do his job.”

“Raine,” Alex says smoothly, “I know working in this building can start swaying your loyalties. These people are your co-workers now. But you work for the agency, and that’s where your loyalty needs to be.”

“I know where my loyalty needs to be. I am loyal to the mission. And to complete this mission successfully, we all need to be on the same team. All of us—regardless of who signs our paychecks.”

They stare at each other so intensely that I wouldn’t at all be shocked if fire started shooting out of their eyes. “Everyone needs to settle down,” I say as I wave my hand to try to break their intense focus on each other. “Alex, you’re in charge. Raine and I will follow your lead. Let’s just get over there and get this done.”

Raine stands up abruptly. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”

Alex laughs as she closes the door loudly. “So I guess she still doesn’t like me, huh?”

“In her defense, you’re kind of being an ass. What’s all this Team Agency bullshit?”

---