Page 2 of Skin In the Game (The BlackWater)

‘EUROPEAN AHOLE IS IN THE BUILDING.’

Burke’s message flashed up on her monitor and Maddie shook her head before quickly deleting it.

‘Was that really the best you could come up with?’ She messaged back.

‘I was under pressure boss.’

‘You had two hours’ notice…’

‘Okay smarty pants what would you have called him?’

‘Ginger Ninja Alert??’ She sent before she could stop herself and she heard Burke’s snigger from across the room. She caught his eye and grinned. Burke had been almost an instant friend from day one. He’d helped show her around, not just the office but the politics as well. And god were there politics. She was grateful he had given her the heads up on some of it, before she’d put her foot in her mouth and ruined any chance of a fresh start.

Her phone rang just as the doors to their office opened and she quickly picked it up without thinking.

“Cooper.” She said.

“Heads up Cooper, Cole Black is here…”

“Who?” Maddie asked.

“Seriously?” Rab half drawled down the phone and she rolled her eyes. The man thought he was god’s gift to all the women in the office because he was second in command and he’d somehow made a beeline for Maddie since day one, dropping not so subtle hints about how she could fit in better with his team.

“Cole Black, CEO of Black Industries as in BlackWater…” Rab said.

She narrowed her eyes then. She knew BlackWater. Everyone did. They were the leading Global Private Security firm with a reputation for doing anything necessary to get the job done. She’d come across some of their guys in the past and though she hated to admit it they knew exactly what they were doing and had pretty much everyone’s respect.

“Why is he here?” She asked glancing up and seeing a group of men in expensive suits all congregating around Burke’s corner and clearly putting him through his paces.

“Your guess is as good as mine sweet cheeks but be a good girl and charm him for us.” He replied.

“Urgh. Go fuck yourself.” She snapped slamming the phone down and then realising half the office had heard. She stared at her screen then, fighting the annoyance that she couldn’t just get up right now and punch Rab in his stupid sexist face but then she realised they were all staring at her now. All the men in suits. She groaned internally and took a swig of her now cold coffee forcing it down because spitting it back out clearly wasn’t an option.

“Cooper is our other Team Lead…” Burke said loudly and she gritted her teeth before getting up to join them all. Play nice Maddie, she thought, as she walked over.

“Nice to meet you.” She said to no one in particular and hoping that she looked like she wasn’t as seething as she felt. This day was going from great to shit in less than it took to drink a coffee, she thought. And speaking of coffee, god did she need a fresh one right now.

“How old are you?” One of the men asked and she raised an eyebrow.

“Why you want to see my ID?” She snapped back before she could stop herself and Burke and a few others snickered.

“No offense miss, you just look a little young to be a Team Lead that’s all.” He said quickly.

“This isn’t the first team I’ve led so I’m not exactly inexperienced and I’m not miss, I’m Cooper, you know my name so call me by it just like you would anyone else.” She looked at Curtis then and Holden stood beside him. Shit, she thought, she didn’t often speak out of turn but right now was not the moment for it. Neither of them said anything but she almost detected a smirk from Holden though she couldn’t be sure.

“Cooper is very experienced. She ran a very successful op in China. She brought in Ming Xie almost single handedly.” Holden stated and she saw a few raised eyebrows. Clearly that impressed them.

“That was you?” Cole Black said and she looked at him then. He was tall, just like all of them but his presence stood out. His suit was more tailored, more expensive, his shoes were obviously Italian and his hair cut must have cost more than her entire weekly food bill. It was hard not to be intimidated by him, he looked like a man that got everything he wanted without having to try but he also looked like a man that could best you with barely any effort either.

She nodded and narrowed her eyes slightly. It felt like he was staring her down, or at least trying too. She gritted her teeth and looked away, not because she was intimidated, not because she was afraid of him but because if she held his stare much longer it felt like she might melt under the intensity of it.

“Cooper is a highly commended Agent Mr. Black and both she and Burke run exemplary teams.”

“What ops are you on right now?” Cole asked her ignoring Holden’s comments.

“I’m not at liberty to disclose that.” She said and he smirked before looking her up and down like he was sizing her up for a fight.

“You do know who I am?”

“Yes but it doesn’t make any difference. My clients like their privacy. It’s part of our contract with them and I’m not going to breech that by disclosing information to someone who should not be privy to it.” She replied and she saw his face harden. Clearly he wasn’t used to anyone saying no to him.

“Let’s move on.” Curtis said holding his hand out to direct the suits away from the Serious Crime Office. Maddie leant against Burke’s desk and he let out a low whistle.

“Are you mad?” He said quietly and she frowned.

“What?”

“That was Cole Black, he can make or break your career.”

“So I should have just laid it all out for him on a plate?” She muttered and he shook his head.

“Careful Maddie, he looks like he’s marked you.” Burke replied and she glanced back over at them, at the suits as they were leaving. Cole Black was looking right back at her, his eyes honed right in on her. If she were any less brave she would have flinched under that gaze but she stared right back, almost daring him to say something.

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