Page 1 of Stand By Me

CHAPTER ONE

Clay Jackson paused on the other side of the street from his new place of work to take it all in.

KRK Security headquarters were situated in Downtown DC, an easy metro ride away from his apartment—or as easy as it could get around here, at least. The building was huge for a relatively small company, but Clay guessed it was about status as well, since the company's clientele was predominantly rich and powerful.

On the outside, the headquarters resembled any other office building, glass and sharp lines everywhere, but he knew that inside, especially in the parts the clients didn't get an access to, it was cozier and more laid-back. He'd gotten a tour of the entire place during his orientation, from the communication center to all the training spaces, and he liked what he saw.

Still, what he appreciated even the most the opportunity to work with a team again. He'd missed that more than he'd been willing to admit.

He looked around, cataloging the space out of habit. Alongside several office buildings there were the requisite coffee shops and a bistro further down the street. Everyone was sharply dressed and seemed to be in a hurry, most with a coffee or a phone in hand.

Clay glanced down at his own suit, somewhat hidden under his coat.

Yeah, he hadn't missed this.

He was likely to go out on a new assignment today, though, so he needed to look the part. The only time the KRK Security employees were allowed to dress casually at the office was when they were certain they wouldn't be interacting with any clients. The dress code was hardly a surprise, of course, simply something Clay needed to get used to, again. It had been over a decade since his job required him to wear a suit on a daily basis.

When yet another car turned into the underground parking of the firm, Clay decided it was time to get moving.

He crossed the street and entered the building, fighting the unease that made his stomach roll. He was a grown-ass man, not a school boy getting jitters over his first day at a new school. He knew what he was doing and he was damn good at it, too. He was going to be fine.

He greeted the man at the front desk as he scanned his security card at the entrance gates.

"Please, wait here." The guy motioned to the bench near the elevators. "Victor will be right there with you."

Clay nodded. "Of course, thank you."

He assumed that Victor meant Victor Arendall, the assistant to Kalei Lee, the big boss. Clay had met him briefly the first time he'd been here, but he hadn't expected him to be the welcoming committee today.

The elevator door opened and Victor walked out. He was a head shorter than Clay and all smiles.

"Good morning. I'm not sure if you remember me—"

"I remember. You prefer Vic, right?"

That earned him an even bigger smile.

"Right. Kalei wanted to greet you personally on your first day, but he's stuck on a call, so you get me for the time being. Welcome to KRK Security. Hopefully, you'll feel right at home."

I hope so, too, Clay thought but didn't say as he followed Vic into the elevator.

Soon after they exited on the third floor, where the field team offices were situated, Clay noted a couple of people leaving what he remembered was a kitchen. Each of them was holding a big mug in their hands.

"Can I bore you with some paperwork before you go get your fix?" Vic asked.

"Sure. I don't drink coffee anyway." At the familiar look of surprise, Clay added, "I hate the taste."

Vic shook his head with a comically disbelieving expression on his face.

"That's the scariest thing I've ever heard and I work with people who handle guns."

"I do that, too," Clay reminded him, amused.

"Scary," Vic muttered as he led him in the other direction, towards a small empty conference room. "Theresa, our HR manager, is out sick or else she'd be handling these." He took a seat at the table and motioned for Clay to do the same before handing him a dark blue folder with a gray KRK logo and a post-it with Clay's name on it. "Since you've already signed the most important things, these are just some forms that you couldn't fill out earlier and additional information about the insurance. I can most likely answer all your questions, but you are of course welcome to wait until Theresa's here if you want to."

Clay didn't. He started reading through everything quickly and signing where indicated.

Halfway through the process, Kalei came in. He was average height and build, but he possessed the kind of intensity that had made Clay pay attention to him from the first moment they'd met, right before the job interview. It was clear the man had what was needed to lead a large team of former service members.

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