“Why are you even dealing with some low-level thug?” Bodie asks curiously.
I hesitate, wondering how much to reveal. Anna’s the only one I’ve told about Jaime, because I wanted a female perspective. But Bodie’s my best friend, and he has been for forever. We’ve endured life-and-death battles before.
“I’ve been seeing someone.” My words are tentative.
Bodie breathes into the line. “Holy fuck. It’s end of days.”
“Shut up,” I snap. “Anyway… it’s her brother. He’s been borrowing money from her, and he’s pretty aimless. She’s worried about him, and I thought I’d check it out for her.”
“Gotcha,” Bodie replies, accepting my explanation. “Now tell me what type of woman has lassoed a man who notoriously decries monogamy and relationships.”
I spend a few moments updating him on Jaime. How we met, what she does, and, most importantly, that I truly do like her.
“That’s great, Cage.” I can hear the affection and pride in his voice. As a man who is happily married, deeply in love, and a great father to his son, Tony, he sees this as a wonderful rite of passage for me. “Hey… you should bring her to the San Francisco conference so we can meet her.”
I had told Jaime I was going to a trade show in San Francisco. It was partially true. I’m definitely headed to San Fran, but it’s for a security conference where Rachel and I will be giving presentations. Of course, though, I couldn’t tell her that.
“Not a good time,” I clip out. “She has to work.”
Bodie’s silent a moment, but his next words catch me off guard. “Nah. There’s something else. Spill it.”
Observant son of a bitch.
“She doesn’t know what I do for a living,” I admit on a long sigh.
“Explain,” he demands.
And I do. I tell him why I lied, how I hadn’t thought it mattered at first, and now I know it does because I’m in deep. I even admit my fears that my admission of the truth will end the relationship because Jaime has high integrity, and her last boyfriend cheated on her. I admit my selfish desire to ride it out as long as I can.
“You’re planning on this failing,” Bodie concludes when I finally shut up.
“No, I’m not,” I deny way too quickly.
“You are, and you know it.”
“Maybe,” I admit, because I can’t lie to him. He knows me too well. “But it’s not going to happen today or tomorrow. I just want some more time.”
♦
Bodie and I ended up talking for another fifteen minutes. He encouraged me to fess up sooner rather than later, but with me going on extended travel here in a couple of days, I didn’t think it was wise to tell Jaime the truth now. I reasoned to myself it would be better to wait until I came back.
I head down to the second floor. On my way to my desk, I see Malik in Anna’s office, sitting beside her at her desk. He’d been in Montreal for the last few weeks, mostly recovering from his ordeal and spending time with his family. Now he’s back at Jameson, and I’m sure he’s ready to get back in the thick of things, although we both know that’s not going to happen right away.
Popping in, I wink at Anna and stick my hand out to Malik, who shakes it. “What’s up, Mr. Admin Man? Heard you’re riding a desk for a bit.”
“Just watching over Anna to make sure she does her job right,” he retorts with a grin. Anna gives him a quick jab in the ribs, and I laugh as he rubs the area.
“So what are you guys actually doing?” I ask as I plop into one of the guest chairs.
“Putting all past cases into Dozer’s new database,” Malik says.
“That dude is crazy smart,” I reply with a nod. Dozer has an IQ that I don’t even understand. Kynan actually stole him away from NASA. “That database is actually more along the lines of artificial intelligence. It will be able to learn the plans we enacted, where mistakes were made, and come to better solutions.”
Anna nods, and Malik flips through a memo. I think I’ve been dismissed so they can get back to work.
I should leave. Instead, I tell Anna, “So listen. Um… Jaime’s starting to think it’s weird she hasn’t met any of my friends or coworkers yet.”
Anna doesn’t look at me, but merely says, “Uh-huh.”
“And well, I’m taking her out to dinner tonight, but I