I licked my lips and looked up at him. He was tall, at least six-foot-two, and he smelled so good, not in an overpowering too-much-cologne way, but like fresh sandalwood soap.
I took a deep breath, and he held onto my hand for another moment.
“Good night, Kate. I look forward to seeing you again,” he said.
I blinked a few times. “You too,” I managed to squeak out, and then I fled, glad to have a reason to rush.
I’d probably never see Owen again, which was a blessing because this kind of distraction was not tenable for me. I supposed if everyone else learned to live with this kind of chaos in their brain, then I would have to learn too.
As I reached the hallway to go upstairs, I glanced back a final time, in case this was the last time I ever saw Owen.
He was sipping his wine, and he was staring straight at me.
Chapter Five
Owen
Now that Kate had left, I drank my merlot and let myself refocus on the activity around me. The dinner was winding down, and the man next to me engaged me in conversation. He was the grandson of the man who’d founded one of the major copper mines in Chile. Unless I’d read him completely wrong, he was guileless, obsessed with himself, and only interested in talking about his large game-hunting trips. He was not the kind of person Laurent would ever trust beyond a casual friendship.
On a happier note, I was going to ask Kate out. She was captivating, and I wanted her in a way I’d never wanted a woman. There was something sheltered about her, her innocence, even though she was educated. I wanted her in my arms. I wanted to feel her bare skin against mine.
And yes, I had ulterior motives. It was sinister, but that was part of the job. And the job came first, no matter what. I’d vowed to protect the USA at any cost, and that was what I would do.
The only obstacle was Laurent. How would he feel about his accountant getting friendly with his nanny? I knew one thing, he had better keep his damn hands off of her. Unless she was a better liar than I’d thought, she’d had genuine respect for Laurent and his vacant-eyed wife.
I’d have to talk to him about dating Kate. If he objected, then I’d have a problem. As the party wound down, and the guests got up to chat and mingle, they herded us once again to another room. This one they called the parlour.
Give me a break. This wasn’t eighteenth-century England. The pretentiousness of these people was exhausting. But I put on my best face. Most of the training at The Farm had been something I’d excelled at, except keeping my face blank. The other people in my group had learned to control their expressions much faster. Mine tended to show right away, but over the years, I’d gotten pretty good at it. I’d had to, to survive, especially around street thugs and drug dealers.
I made my way through the guests, trying to pinpoint and understand why each one was there. Most were vapid and useless, although there was one man that piqued my interest.
He was a professor at the University of Chile in Santiago, and he taught biochemistry and pharmacy.
Interesting. Unless they were from fabulously wealthy families, scholars didn’t generally hang out with Laurent’s crowd, so I made sure to get his name. I’d be adding his name to my growing list of people to investigate.
I’d made note of the professor Kate mentioned. Why would a social work professor be in contact with Laurent? I’d be finding out the truth behind that connection. Kate had assumed I’d know about the donations because I was the accountant, and that was a reasonable assumption. But the truth was that I didn’t have a clue that Laurent donated to a children's hospital. The only philanthropy I was aware of was all based in Chile and France.
Looked like I’d be setting up another visit with my fellow CIA agent. There was no way in hell I could do this kind of research from my apartment, which Laurent owned. I preferred to do my own research, but this time I’d have to rely on someone else. It wasn’t like I could use the public library without raising some flags too. I’d learned early on, that even in the States, you never knew when someone was watching.
Another hour passed in the gilded parlour or drawing room or whatever the hell it was, until finally only Laurent and his wife were left.
“Thank you again for coming, Owen,” Mrs. Laurent said. “I am grateful you kept our Kate entertained.”
Our Kate? She’d only been here for a month. What was this woman playing at?
“You’re welcome. I was happy to talk to her. She seems like a great young woman.”
“She is twenty-two,” Mrs. Laurent said. “And very much old enough to make her own choices.”
Was she trying to set us up? If so, then this could work in my favor. Or it could be a trap, but that was always a possibility.
“I’m glad to hear that,” I said. “I enjoyed her company.” It took everything I had not to roll my eyes at this banal back and forth.
Then Laurent showed up.
“You seemed quite taken with our nanny,” he commented in his oily voice.
Was that a note of possessiveness in his tone? I really looked forward to the day we busted this jackass.
“She was lovely,” I said, unwilling to say more. I didn’t want to come off like a creep. Laurent had enough of that by himself.
“Would you like to ask her on a date?” Mrs. Laurent asked.
Well, there it was. She was done beating around the bush.
“I would like that. I didn’t want to presume it would be welcome though.” Oh my God, the tedium of this job is making me speak like these weirdos.
“I think Kate would be interested, although you will have to ask her yourself,” Mrs. Laurent told me.
I looked at Laurent. In some of these rich power families, the wife called the shots, and in others, the husband wanted the last say. He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “If Kate is amenable, it is not a problem for me. As long as it does not interfere with your work, or with hers.”
“Understood,” I said. As if I needed that reminder.
Mrs. Laurent’s usually empty eyes lit up. “This is miraculous news. I love it when I can play cupid.”
It was a good thing I liked Kate. This whole situation would be monumentally more unpleasant if I had to date and pretend to like a woman I wasn’t interested in.
I knew, because I’d done it before. I’d had a particularly savage fling when I was on assignment in Panama. The woman had been a local business owner, which was a useful contact to have for that job. We spent two weeks hooking up, and I’d learned more from her than any dossier of files full of research could have ever told me.
I could admit to myself that fake dating someone for the benefit of the United States government seemed like a shitty thing to do. And morally, it probably was. I wouldn’t hurt anyone innocent though, and I wouldn’t allow the woman to be harmed. If we mutually used each other for a few weeks or months, then it worked out.
I usually found the liaisons fun, but Kate was in another category altogether. I wasn’t sure how I was going to balance my own interest with the good of the mission, but I’d figure it out. I always did.
Chapter Six
Kate
On the Monday after the dinner party, I was still thinking about Owen. Mrs. Laurent had been smiling at me more, which was odd.