Take a Breath (Take #1) - Jaimie Roberts Page 0,100

can be intimidating at times, but boy, he really shocked the hell outta me.”

I nod in agreement. “Welcome to my world.”

Her eyes bulge. “He’s like that all the time with you?”

Did she really not realize this before? “Yes, Jessie. All. The. Time.”

She glances up, noticing that there’s something different. “What’s with all the Feds around here?” I tell her what happened and why they’re here. At the end of my explanation, she looks shocked. “You don’t really think it’s one of our guys, do you?”

I shake my head in protest. “No, of course not, but they believe it must be someone I know. All this is just following the process of elimination. Nothing to worry about.” Jessie nods her head. “So when are we seeing Jerry again?”

She simply beams at the thought. “Tonight. He’s taking me to a restaurant he knows in Richmond. In fact, I wanted to get a minute with Jake so I could ask him for a day off tomorrow. He wants to book us a hotel room, so we won’t have to come back until the morning.”

I look over to Jake’s door. “He has an agent in there with him at the moment, but I’m sure he will be finished soon. He’s been in there a while.”

With that said, the door swings open, and Agent Marcos’s head pops out. He’s looking right in my direction. “Ana, would you come into the office for a moment, please?” I dutifully get up, looking at Jessie. I shrug my shoulders in response to her questioning expression.

Inside the office, Jake’s sitting at his desk and motioning for me to sit opposite. Agent Marcos sits in the seat next to me and glances my way. “As you know, we’re going through individuals this morning one by one, and we are taking their DNA. We have most of the people from the party here, so we will obviously go through them first. The only one not here is a … Tony Andrews.” He looks at an earlier page in his notebook before flipping it back.

“He wasn’t well yesterday,” I offer.

“I’ve already told Agent Marcos that Tony is out sick today,” Jake elaborates. “I told Tony what’s been happening, so he knows. He will try to come in tomorrow to do his part and give a sample.”

I nod, and Jake smiles at me. “Is that everything?” I look towards Agent Marcos, and he nods back at me. “I guess I’d better get back to work then.” I pick myself up and head for the door. Once there, I swing around, having remembered Jessie. “Jake, Jessie wants to see you about taking tomorrow off.”

“Okay. That’s fine,” he nods. “Just tell her to submit a leave form, and I’ll sign it. She can have the day off.”

I smile—happy to know that Jessie will be pleased—and walk back to my desk. Once there, I tap Jessie on the shoulder, and she swings her seat around. “Guess who has tomorrow off?”

“Seriously?” Jessie beams.

I nod. “You just have to submit the leave form. He’ll sign it for you.”

She stands up and gives me a big hug, obviously excited about the news. “Thank you. This is great! I guess having a best friend who’s giving a little something-something to the boss every night helps.” She winks at me, and I nudge her. “So tell me. What did Jake and that agent want in there anyway?”

I pull my hair back behind me, and before I’m able to speak, Jessie gasps. “Where did you get that?” she asks, eyes bulging.

I notice she’s pointing to my wrist. “Jake gave it to me last night.” I smile, feeling all giddy again.

Her mouth is practically dropping to the floor. “Shit, girl, do you realize how much a watch like that costs? It’s Cartier. Each one is worth at least three thousand dollars. Did you know that?” It’s my turn to be stunned. I had no idea. I was thinking maybe a few hundred dollars. Certainly not that much. “You realize what this means, don’t you? A man doesn’t buy a woman a watch like that if he isn’t serious about her. He loves you, girl. Looks like you’ve found your one.”

I’m still stunned by what Jessie has just said. I remain speechless. “You bitch. I hate you. Jerry and I are nowhere near where you and Jake are at the moment. This is like would-you-marry-me stuff.”

I quickly manage to find my voice. “Jessie, no. We haven’t even discussed us yet. I don’t even know