An Act of Persuasion - By Stephanie Doyle Page 0,37

sat with Anna and watched her put three creamers into her tea. He hadn’t started the search for her biological parents yet, but he wondered if one of them might have been of English descent.

“Oh, before I forget.” Anna reached into her purse and pulled out a folded slip of paper.

Mark looked at the slip of paper with its embossed stamp and read the names he knew were fake.

“I know,” she said. “Makes you realize how easy we make it for terrorists. Hey, here are some names and baby footprints. Instant American citizen.”

“Stuff like this used to keep me up at night.”

“It doesn’t anymore?”

The question startled Mark because the first answer that came to mind was, no, it didn’t. On the heels of that thought he realized it wasn’t exactly true. He still read every piece of information he could find regarding the continuing mission in Afghanistan. He still cared what happened to the operatives and the soldiers he’d left behind.

But his first thought getting up every day was no longer about how he was going to beat the enemy. Instead, he thought about the cases he was working on, growing his business and what was his number-one priority right now.

Ben had been right. It had taken time, but he was definitely starting to make the transition from agent to civilian.

“Sometimes,” he finally answered. It was accurate enough. “I need to wrap up some other things, but then I’ll get started on this. Should be interesting.”

“Thanks.” She sighed.

“So what’s up with you?”

Her brows raised in a question.

“You were walking through the lobby like a zombie. Clearly something is up.”

She gave a wry expression. “I should have known better than to take up with another spy. You guys see everything. Ben wants to date me.”

“I thought he wanted to marry you.”

“He wants that, too, but he’s willing to start with dating. I—I told him how I felt about him.”

“Good girl.” Mark always believed in honesty between two people. Whether it ended happily or badly, it should at least be real. Helen had understood that.

“Yeah, well, I don’t know how good it is. He said he didn’t know how he felt about me but that he wanted us to get to know each other as something other than employer and employee. Something beyond friendship.”

“Seems reasonable.” And logical. A lot like Ben. By not pressing too hard, it appeared as if he was giving Anna options. She could easily say no to an offer of marriage. Harder to reject something as simple as a date.

Anna held the cup in her hands and looked away from him. “What if...”

“What?”

“What if this is only about him getting the baby? I mean, seriously, how desperate would a man be if he knew his one and only shot at fatherhood could walk away from him at any time and take his child with her? Not that I would do that, but he would know he has no control in this. I’m sure it drives him crazy.”

Mark shook his head. “He’s not that ruthless. I promise. If he said he wanted to give you a chance to date, that’s what he meant. Trust me. We weren’t pals, but we knew each other. Well.”

She smiled then, and it made him feel good. “You really think so?”

“I do. Now, I need to meet someone down here. Why don’t you go up and open the office.”

“You got it, boss man.”

Mark watched her leave and felt a twinge of guilt for lying. But it wasn’t like they had to be honest in their relationship, after all. Besides, he’d made her smile.

The hard truth was Ben was exactly that ruthless. If he decided he wanted the baby full time, he would take the most logical path toward achieving those ends. He wasn’t a master manipulator without reason. Mark was sure Ben was confident he could make Anna believe whatever he wanted. The question was would Anna realize before it was too late that she was being played.

Mark considered talking to Ben again. Maybe more of a man-to-man than a man-to-adversary discussion. Mark had known Anna only a few weeks, but he liked her and the thought of letting her get hurt...again...didn’t sit well with him. It was like watching a kitten trying to hold her own against a lion.

If he told Ben that Anna deserved better, would he listen? Mark could imagine how that conversation would go over. But the truth was if Ben didn’t love her, he wouldn’t be able to make