Page 74 of Fear of Flames
They stepped through two sets of doors. Warm air swirled around them as Michelle unbuttoned her coat and stuffed her gloves into the pockets.
“This way,” Fletch said as he led her down a hallway and to what appeared to be an office. He knocked.
A young woman with brown hair wearing a lab coat opened the door. “Welcome, you must be Shelly.”
Michelle feigned a smile. “I am.”
“I’m Olivia.” Her smile bloomed as she peered up at Fletch. “Arrow’s told me a little about you. Please, come in.”
Olivia didn’t look like Michelle expected. She’d imagined spies like Angelina Jolie from Salt, Jennifer Lawrence from Red Sparrow, or maybe Charlize Theron from Atomic Blonde. Olivia looked more like a middle-school science teacher. The science teacher was probably because of the white lab coat. She was petite. Her olive skin, shiny brown hair, and hazel eyes gave her a Mediterranean appearance.
Despite the warmer interior, Michelle’s hands trembled. “You’re in the agency?” Michelle asked.
Olivia’s smile put Michelle at ease.
“I am,” Olivia said. She tilted her head toward Fletch. “Did he make it sound like the agency is filled with men like him, the kind that can break down a door as easily as pick the lock.”
“No, he said the agency needs brawn and brains.”
“Arrow has both. My strength is brains.”
Fletch reached for Michelle’s arm. “Are you all right? Olivia’s cool. She’ll help you figure things out.”
“I’ll be good,” Michelle answered, feeling slightly less nervous.
When Fletch walked away, Michelle watched, realizing that this was the first time in over a week that she’d been with someone else without his presence. For a woman who relished her independence, multiple traumatic events seemed to have a way of zapping her autonomy. Forcing a grin, she turned back to Olivia who was also watching Fletch leave.
There was a split second of something new in Michelle’s emotions. Jealousy. Proprietorship. The feeling hit her out of the blue. It was completely understandable that Olivia would find Fletch attractive. He was. More than attractive, he was handsome. And as Olivia said, he had both brains and brawn—a sexy combination.
Had the two of them dated?
Had they had sex?
Michelle didn’t have any right to wonder those questions, much less ask them. And as for what her and Fletch’s relationship was, she wasn’t certain. Maybe they were roommates with benefits. With Michelle’s world falling apart, she’d come to depend on him. She had feelings for him. There was like and lust. She didn’t trust herself to take it further. There were too many other matters at hand.
“Welcome to one of my caves,” Olivia said. “As I said, Arrow filled me in a little about you. I’m sorry about Denny. I never met him personally, but we collaborated on cases over the years.”
“Thank you.” The response was robotic. “How long have you been with the agency?”
“Going on ten years.”
Michelle’s eyebrows shot upward. “Did they recruit you when you were in high school?”
Olivia laughed. “I was in college. I’d started my master’s degree in computer engineering.” She shrugged. “I never knew a department like the agency existed. Needless to say, I never finished graduate school, but after ten years, I’m confident I could teach my professors a thing or two.”
“How does it work? Recruiting?”
“You’re here.”
Michelle sighed. “I’m relatively certain I didn’t take the most traveled path. My circumstances were unusual. I didn’t know the agency existed until Fletch told me. My parents did a great job of keeping it from me.” She wondered what else they’d kept from her.
“Fletch?” Olivia turned her head. “Do you mean Arrow?”
Olivia didn’t know Fletch’s real name. That gave Michelle a needed boost of self-confidence. “I do. He told me the name Fletch when we first met. Then he told me his name was Jason.” She laughed, trying not to give away his secret. “He probably has multiple aliases.”
“My work for the agency is all behind the scenes. If you’re as good at research as he said, yours will mainly be too. It’s not all cloak-and-dagger here. I’m sure Arrow and others have more exciting experiences. However, I think what we do is exciting, especially when we make a significant discovery.
“As for recruitment, I think each agent is recruited differently. There are more agents than you could imagine, considering the highly classified nature of what we do. I was recruited by one of my professors. She said she recognized my talent and well, the rest is history.” Olivia took Michelle to a computer setup in the middle of the room. “Arrow said your specialty is research.”
