Chances Are - By Christy Reece Page 0,4
his hand. This was the price he paid for having Angela know almost as much as he did about the inner workings of LCR. Normally he enjoyed her input but this was one thing he would decide for himself. Seth Cavanaugh and Dylan Savage were excellent operatives but not right for this particular mission. “Finding you a partner won’t be a problem. I’m just not sure—”
“Will you ever be absolutely sure, Noah? You’ve treated me like family from the moment I walked through LCR doors and I can’t even begin to express how much that means to me. Without your generous salary, I’m not sure how my family would have survived. But that’s in the past. Being an LCR operative is my future.”
She leaned forward, her dark, velvet brown eyes searing his. “It comes down to this. I’m an LCR employee. And I’m a trained operative. This is an operation I know I can handle. It’s time to let me be what you trained me to be.”
Noah stared deep into her eyes for several seconds; Angela met his gaze, unflinchingly, unwavering in her determination and confidence. Finally, he took a breath and said, “Three conditions.”
A brilliant light entered her eyes but she kept her expression serious. “Name them.”
“No rash decisions. Your partner will be the experienced one. He tells you to do something, you damn well do it. No arguments.”
She nodded. “Of course.”
“You go through a two-day refresher course. Weapons, self-defense, and physical stamina. If your trainer says you’re ready, you’re ready. If he says no, then you sit this one out.”
“No problem. And the third?”
Noah held back a grin at her easy agreement. Lack of confidence had never been one of Angela’s weaknesses.
“I want you to talk with Samara. If she says you’re mentally ready for the challenge, you’re in.”
“That’s it?”
Noah nodded.
By nature, Angela was an exuberant, expressive person. Noah could tell it was taking every bit of her self-control not to get up and dance around the room. He had missed seeing that vivre. He just hoped to hell he had made the right decision. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.
She settled back into her seat with apparent effort and asked calmly, “Who's my partner?”
His eyes eagle sharp to gauge her reaction, he answered, “Jake Mallory.”
Multiple electric quivers zipped up Angela’s spine. Maintaining as neutral an expression as possible, she held her breath to keep from gasping. She knew her boss all too well…he was waiting for a reaction. She refused to give an outward sign that her heartbeat had just skyrocketed. Noah was aware of her fascination with Jake. She hadn't exactly hidden it from anyone, even Jake.
Aware that he was waiting for a response, Angela nodded her approval and said calmly, “I'll be glad to work with Jake. He's extremely capable.”
She wasn't fooling Noah. His slightly raised brow and little half crooked smile told her that. Okay, so what if she couldn't look at Jake without salivating or getting very heated in certain parts of her body. She was a professional and a mature woman. Her hormones didn't control her actions. Besides that, Jake had gone out of his way to show her he wasn't interested in her romantically.
Most operatives treated her like a kid sister. Their attitude had never bothered her before since she had always looked at LCR employees as extended family members. Until Jake. There was no way she could look at him and see anything other than a larger than life sexy man. One with all the necessary attributes and equipment to make her heart flip over and her hormones stand up and take notice.
Apparently deciding the meeting was over and the matter settled, Noah stood. Angela had no choice but to get up also. She didn’t even bother to tell herself that her wobbling knees had nothing to do with the fact that soon, she and Jake would be alone together for hours, maybe days. But this was an op…her very first. No matter her partner, she would do her job to the best of her considerable ability.
“Send Jake up when he gets here.”
Her unreliable, foolish heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t seen Jake in days. Still, she didn’t plan to stick around to hear what he thought about this assignment or his new partner. She would have to face him soon but not today. She needed to go home and regroup. Tomorrow she would be better equipped to deal with the fallout.
“He's not going to like