Page 54 of Dreaux: The Corporate Assassin

“Good.” He glanced up from his computer and spoke dryly. “You?”

“Wonderful.” I giggled and kept moving. I don’t know what his problem was, but I hate it for him. He wasn’t going to make me feel bad for not wanting to date his ass.

Andre and I have been getting closer these past few weeks, and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I saw him in a new light the day he defended my daughter at the park. Speaking of Bri, she loves herself some Andre. The way those two are with each other, you would think they were best friends. Every time I’ve wanted to come clean, their growing relationship is what stopped me. I never want to break the bond those two share. I would feel awful.

Stepping into my office, I powered on the lights and electronics before placing my briefcase on my desk. Opening the expensive leather case, I found the folder with the information I’d gathered on Dre and his family. I’d added very little to the file because somewhere within my investigation, I stopped asking the questions I needed to ask. While I was not convinced he and his family were law-abiding citizens, I no longer cared. Underneath the many layers Dre possesses, his kindness and loyalty shined through the most to me. He’s a no-nonsense type of man, and my best guess is that he used bullets to ensure no one did wrong by the Boudreaux family. He is good to my daughter and me, and that’s all that matters now.

After shredding everything, I logged into my email and groaned at the hundreds of messages waiting for me. Of the ones marked important, there was a link about Nate’s case.

“Guilty on all counts.” I blew out a deep breath. Seeing him get life without parole wasn’t shocking to me at all. The man was diabolical in the streets of California. I read over the court transcripts and felt proud of myself. While I had agreed to stop using my looks and gender to entrap criminal men, I still accepted this outcome with Nate as a win. I had worked tirelessly to gather all the evidence needed to indict him. “Good job, Denim.”

As I continued to scroll through emails, a sea of congratulations were flooding my inbox. I knew it was about Nate, and I made a mental note to thank them all later. Hearing my phone vibrate, I groaned at seeing Bryce’s name. Seeing as though it was his week with Bri, I knew I had to answer.

“Atkins here,” I answered as I placed the phone to my ear. “Is everything okay?”

“I see you decided to return to work instead of being a hoe. Good for you.” I could see his smug expression through the phone, thinking his words had affected me. I rolled my eyes as he continued, “I can’t believe you’ve had that man around my daughter.”

“Bryce, what do you want?” I was already tired of the conversation. “The last thing you need to do is be worried about me and what I have going on. Where is my child?”

This is the first time he’s been able to get Bri since I beat his wife’s ass, and while I didn’t want to let her go, my parents reminded me it was important to let him be a part of her life. He and I sat down and had a serious talk about my wishes when it came to his spouse being around my child. I wasn’t sure if he heard anything I said because the whole time, he wore a mixture of lust and disgust on his face. I relented anyway and let him take Briley for their time together.

“Briley is fine.” I could hear the frown in his voice. “We’re headed to breakfast before I take her to the zoo. She’s going to have a fun week with just the two of us. Ain’t that right, baby?”

Hearing her say, “Yes, sir,” so sweetly caused me to smile. She and I also talked, and I made sure she was okay with going to her father’s apartment for a week. Assuring me that she was okay as long as Rebecca and her brothers weren’t around, she was more than happy to spend a long week of fun with him. I was still skeptical, so I made she had all her devices so I could keep up with her while gone.

Briley nor her father knew about the necklace I had gifted her a couple of weeks ago. It was embedded with a tracking device, and I made sure she knew not to take it off under any circumstance. Rebecca is his wife; I’m not naive to think she would never be around my child. Nevertheless, I needed to know where my baby was at all times when she wasn’t with me. She had her iPad and can call me at any time, but if there’s a time I can’t get in touch with her or her father, I’m pulling up.

“If there’s nothing else, I need to go.” I looked up to the sound of a knock at my door. Senior Special Agent Roberts stood, waiting for my nod to enter. He had a smile on his face that I couldn’t read. “Tell my daughter to call me, and don’t forget what I told you, Bryce.”

“You don’t need to worry about me or my wife. You should be kissing her feet for not calling the cops on you!” He gritted through clenched teeth, likely trying to keep his voice hidden from Briley. “You’re so concerned about her and who’s around my daughter when you know nothing of the man you’re fucking. I can’t wait to see when your perfect little love affair blows up in your face.”

Not in the mood to go back and forth with him, I disconnected the call and gave my attention to Agent Roberts. Since I’ve been on leave, he hasn’t tried to contact me outside of the email wishing me well. Now that he was here, it was time for a long overdue conversation.

“Good morning, Agent Roberts.” I stood from my desk and extended my hand, which he happily accepted. “How are you doing today?”

“I’m good… thank you.” He nodded and took a seat. “Did you enjoy your leave? How are you feeling?” Agent Roberts didn’t play about mental health. He was a hard ass, but he cared about his team’s well-being. While we didn’t agree on a lot, I did like his leadership skills.

I smiled. “I’m feeling great—refreshed. The time away did me some good and made me think about some things I wanted to discuss with you.” Taking a deep breath, I looked at him intently as I continued, “First, I want to say thank you for all of the opportunities you’ve given me. I know you may think I don’t deserve my position within this division, but?—”

“I never once said you didn’t deserve anything.” He frowned and leaned up in his seat. “I hate the fact that you think your greatest asset to this team is using your body as bait. Yes, you’re beautiful, and at times, these men are weak enough to fall for your traps, but that’s not all you are. You’re smart, and you can do so much better. The amount of time you invest into meeting these men and luring them into giving you information can be used in the office, making phone calls and connecting dots to get the same information without taking your clothes off.”

Leaning back in my seat, I cracked my knuckles because I felt like I was having another conversation with my dad. “That’s what I wanted to speak with you about, sir. I love my job and what I do. Being a field agent is one of my greatest accomplishments in life outside of my daughter. I take pride in knowing I’m here because of my hard work and dedication—nothing else. I will be submitting a formal request soon to be no longer selected for undercover assignments. I no longer desire to be in the field if I’m there as bait. I would like to sharpen my skills as an investigator in the office—I hope you understand, sir.”

He said nothing as he looked at me. I wasn’t nervous about this decision affecting my job security. However, his response would set the tone for if I was still going to be on his team in this division.

“That’s all right with me.” He stood from his seat, causing me to do the same. “I’m sure you also want to speak about being more local instead of traveling…”

“Actually, yes—” I frowned slightly, pulling my hand back from him. “Wait, how did you know?”

“Oh, come on.” He chuckled as he stuffed his hand in his slacks. “It’s only logical with your new life change. I admit, you had me fooled.” He smiled and wagged his finger at me. “I thought you really had a hard-on for the Boudreaux family, especially Andre. This whole time, you were looking into this man because you wanted to be sure you were making the right choice.”

Words could not describe how confused I was by what he was implying. Andre and I did have a sexual relationship, but I wouldn’t say it was life-changing. Seeing me dumbfounded, he continued to chuckle as he pulled out his phone and began to type. Before long, he was handing it to me. What I saw made my jaw drop.

“Congratulations on your nuptials, Agent Boudreaux. I wish you a lifetime of happiness.”

Clear as day, an email was sent to my superiors and human resources saying I’d married Andre Boudreaux. As I scanned the email, I clicked an attachment displaying a marriage license I’d signed.

“I-I…” I stammered as I handed him his phone. “I don’t know what to say.”

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