Page 120 of Summer Heat
“Maybe.” Yup, words definitely slurring. Hiccup and a laugh. Did Jared look hot on the rooftop? Eh, maybe… “But Cash’s hot-hot.”
Beth nodded, eyes wide open. “Hm-huh. Cash’s hot.” She took a long sip of her drink. “So you and him, huh?”
“Past tense.” Nic worked hard to enunciate her words. Her lips tingled.
“I’m totally cool with sloppy sec—”
“Beth, you—” She threw a balled-up paper bag at her. “Off limits. You can’t have him.”
“Then I’ll take Roman.”
“Ew.” She wrinkled her nose.
“Jared’s too mean.”
Nicola agreed. “Amen to that. Who does he think he is?”
“You should talk to Cash. Tell him what you’re thinking, feeling.” Beth ditched her straw and swallowed the rest of her drink. “What will it hurt?”
Don’t say anything. Nicola repeated the thought two more times. It didn’t work. In wine—or at least vodka—there was truth. “He doesn’t know me anymore.”
“Get to know him again.”
“I don’t want to.”
“You never want to. What’s the deal, anyway? That tech guy was flirting with you a few weeks ago. But he was a no-go. I know for a fact that analyst Bill or Bob or whatever asked you out. And don’t forget your FBI bomb tech. He was—probably still is—completely obsessed with you. He’s inhaled too many fumes if you ask me.” She giggled. “I get paid to know these things.”
“All those men are boring. But Cash… that’s complicated.”
“Nope. It’s really easy. If it gets serious, I have a form you can fill out. Same form you filled out when dating your—”
Her phone buzzed. It was her roommate—talk about timing—and she sent the call to voicemail. “We were never serious, and I didn’t fill out paperwork.”
“It’s simple. It says I’m sleeping with what’s-his-name and promise not to divulge national secrets during pillow talk. Oh, and I give my handler permission to pillage through his personal life without him knowing.”
“I’ve worked so-o-o hard to get here.” Yup, too many Os in that so. Very professional. Oh well. “I want them to respect me.” Respect sounded funny. She mouthed the word a couple of times.
“Them?”
“All the men we work with.” She tried to mouth respect again. It still felt off.
Beth pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “They do respect you.”
“No, they don’t. They all think women at the Agency want to be saved by a man, whether we know it or not. That they’re supposed to be our superhero saviors, and I’m just waiting to see who gets to save me. Everything’s a game.” She shook her head, slurring her words together. “This is probably a game. You aren’t my best friend, but some analyst doing a psychological, behavioral workup on me right now. Shit, this will end up in my file.”
“Nope. Promise.”
She laughed, shaking a finger at her handler. “I don’t believe you, Miss Beth-the-Handler.”
“Pinky-swear. Nothing leaves these walls.” Nicola shot her a look. “Nothing’s transmitting from these walls. How about that?”
“Hmm, maybe a little better.”
“How about this? In January, I totally had a thing with Michael.”
“Oh my God. He’s our boss. He’s your boss. He’s like super-duper, everyone’s boss. And, have mercy, he is so hot.”
“Right?”
