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It pissed her off that they were standing there talking about her like she wasn’t even there.

“Am I being charged with anything?”

“Not yet, ma’am. You’re just being detained.”

“Good, then you won’t mind if I make a few phone calls.” Carrie wriggled her wrists to show that they should remove the cuffs.

She wasn’t a threat. They would let her go, just not before they completely ruined her day. Her last Red Bull was wearing off and she could feel the lack of sleep taking its toll. Right then, the cold linoleum floor was looking like the perfect spot for a nap.

“You may want to call an attorney, ma’am.” The second unnamed agent unlocked her handcuffs. Both men exited and left her alone with her phone and purse, which they’d searched thoroughly when they first caught her snooping. That they let her keep her belongings told her they didn’t actually think she was a threat. They were just posturing.

Carrie sat in one of the two chairs in the small office. Aside from a plain wooden desk, there was nothing else in the room. She felt herself nodding off, so she rummaged through her purse in search of a caffeine pill. There was none to be found, so she pulled out a compact mirror to put a little blush on her cheeks.

A gasp of horror left her mouth as she flipped the mirror up.

“Oh shit. I forgot to wash my face.” Her voice echoed in the sparsely furnished room, adding to her embarrassment. There on her eyelids was bright purple glitter eye shadow to match the wig she’d worn last night. Her face heated, and the blush was no longer necessary.

Burying her hands in her face, she willed herself not to cry. This day was not going as planned at all. With a huff, she drummed her forehead on the table before digging through her purse once more. This time she was more successful and came up with a handful of crumpled tissues, which she spit on and tried to wipe the purple glitter off her face. It was pointless, though. The eyeshadow wasn’t coming off without makeup remover. Damn Olivia and her good quality products.

Her phone rang as she tossed the tissue back in her purse. The name on her screen made her wince. It was Tom. She had hoped to get out of here before her boss heard what happened.

Accepting the call, she answered as brightly as she could manage.

“Hi Tom. Funny you should call right now.”

“Cut the shit, Carrie. I distinctly remember telling younotto make waves. Care to tell me why the Secret Service is calling to inform me they’ve detained one of my journalists—for trespassing, of all things?

Carrie winced. “Sorry, Tom. I didn’t think they would fucking arrest me.”

“Jesus Carrie, whatwereyou thinking?”

“I was thinking I wanted to get a feel for his work environment. Maybe talk to people who work closest with him.”

Tom growled in frustration and the line was quiet for a minute. “And your brilliant idea was to sneak out of a press event and into a restricted area of CIA Headquarters? You’re smarter than this, Carrie. You need to fucking sleep.”

It was Carrie’s turn to be frustrated. She was sick of people being on her case about her sleep and her caffeine. These had been her habits for years. Though being fair, it was pretty stupid to try to get into a restricted access area of a building full of super spies.

“I’m sorry, Tom. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Clearly. I’m working it out. They should release you soon. But you damn well better stay in the lines, Carrie, or I’m pulling you off this.”

“You got it, boss. I’m just gonna go home and take a nap and then I’ll clean this up.” Her voice wavered as she realized just how much she had fucked up.

Tom’s tone became kinder. “Let me clean this up and you go take much more than a nap. I don’t want to see you back in the office until noon tomorrow. And I want you to make an appointment with the therapist or I’m making one for you.”

She knew he was right about her needing to talk to someone, but she didn’t trust the company therapists to have her best interests at heart. But she would tell Tom what he wanted to hear.

“OK. I’ll call this afternoon. So, what do you want me to do now?”

“Just sit there and think about what you’ve done.” He was mocking her now. That meant he wasn’t too mad.

“If it makes you feel any better, I embarrassed myself by forgetting to take off the glitter eyeshadow before I got here.”

Tom groaned. “Why would that make me feel better?”

“I don’t know. Just trying to help.”

“I’m hanging up before I fire my best journalist.”

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