Chapter 5
1845 Words
Anna pulled up to the Hardy building and glanced at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed from anger, and she noticed the gold ring around her left pupil was brighter than usual. She closed her eyes, shook her head, and looked in the mirror. The ring was regular, and she blew a long breath.
“That was weird. Alright. Let’s go see what this man has to say,” she sighed, fixed her hair, and exited her car.
She walked into the building, and the security guard smiled.
“Officer Simone. Is there something I can help you with?”
She shook her head and pointed toward Justin’s office. The man smiled, nodded, and let her pass. She quickly smiled and walked toward the large office.
********
.
Justin was at his desk, concentrating on paperwork, and Anna placed her hands on the desk and cleared her throat. He looked at the hands and arms and into sparkling blue eyes.
“Hi,” he said, grinning.
She could admit he was charming and quite handsome now. She looked into his green eyes and smiled shyly.
“Hi.”
There was a moment of complete, blissful silence between them as they stared into each other’s eyes and felt a spark rise. Anna shook her head, and her smile faded. He tilted his head, and she sighed.
“I’m sorry, Justin, but I need to talk to you about something,” she said, searching his eyes, and he straightened.
“Sure, anything,” he said.
His posture didn’t waver, and he looked concerned.
“A teenager was abducted this morning from the high school, and she was writing an article for her school paper on your company and Mavericks.”
He looked at her and sighed. He rubbed his face and blew a breath.
“Is the girl okay?” he asked.
Anna shrugged her shoulders and hung her head.
“I don’t know,” she said.
He reached out and touched her arm. His hands were warm and soft, and she looked at him. She gave him a look he had never seen before and raised an eyebrow.
“Justin, could you please be honest with me?” she asked.
The tone in her voice made him feel she needed him to be there for her, and he felt a tingling sensation in his heart. He searched her eyes, nodded, and gently rubbed his thumb back and forth.
“Yes, gorgeous, I will be completely honest with you, always. If you want to know anything down to the digits in my bank account, the information is yours,” he said, and she snickered.
She wanted to trust him and noticed his and Xander’s roles had switched. She hoped Justin was being genuine, and if he weren’t, she would kick his ass for the rest of their lives.
She gave him an intrigued look and leaned closer. He pulled his hand back and rested it on the desk.
“What is Project A?” she asked, running her fingers gently across the back of his hand.
Her touch sent tingles up his spine, and he swallowed hard. She knew what she was doing, and he didn’t care. He wanted to be friends with her and not repeat their childhood rivalry. He thought momentarily and decided to tell her.
“Grab a seat, gorgeous.”
She pulled away, grabbed a chair, and sat beside him. He turned toward her and smiled, thinking how cute she looked.
“Project A is a prototype plan designed by the military to create the ultimate indestructible weapon. There is nothing more to the plan but an idea, and the military wanted my company to look into it and help fund it,” he explained.
Anna pressed her lips together, folded her hands, and looked at the floor.
“Did you fund it?”
Justin hooked his finger under her chin, lifted her head, looked into her eyes, and shook his head.
“Anna, I turned it down. Said I wasn’t interested. It sounds dangerous and unsafe. They wanted to test humans with some sort of mutation serum. ”
She studied him momentarily, searched his eyes, and saw he was telling the truth. It was pretty sad how she could trust her childhood bully but not her best friend. It felt odd, but she felt something other than hatred for the green-eyed man before her.
“Thank you,” she said meaningfully.
She felt at ease with him and could talk to him comfortably. He seemed to have a little glimmer in his eyes as he smiled at her, and he was surprised she hadn’t swatted his hand away.
“What is that look for?” she asked.
He smirked, gently rubbed her chin with his thumb, and pulled his hand away.
“Ah, it’s nothing. I don’t know if you would be interested,” he said, waving his hands, and she looked at him in question.
“Interested in what?”
“My date was canceled at the last minute for the Maverick Ball tomorrow night, and I could use a friend,” he explained.
The Maverick Ball? Wasn’t it at the Maverick building?
“Where is it?” she asked, not trying to sound excited, and he gave her a charming smile.
“At the main Maverick Inc. building in Charton.”
Anna smiled widely. She could do some digging but would have to devise a plan. Justin was her ticket inside, and then she was on her own.
While Anna trained with a sergeant buddy at the training facility, she learned how to slip into undetected places and hold her breath for a long time, computer skills, and spy skills.
She also learned much about expeditions and loved learning about old ruins, relics, and mythology. She knew that there was always some kind of truth hidden in myths. She wanted to travel the world and explore the legends one day.
Justin noticed her spacing out and touched her hand.
“Anna.”
She looked at him and blinked.
“So, is that a yes, gorgeous?” he asked, jarring her from her thoughts.
“Hmm. Yes, of course. It’s a date,” she said and walked toward the door.
She stopped, turned, and smiled shyly.
“See you tomorrow, Justin,” she said softly, and he grinned.
“See you tomorrow, Anna.”
She smiled and walked out the door. He watched her leave and picked up the file he was reading. It was the contract from the military about Project A, but it didn’t explain what the project was other than that it was to be tested on human subjects. Justin decided to call the general and talk more about it.
*******
“What did she want?” asked Victoria in a snotty tone.
Xander looked at her and brushed her hair behind her ear.
“A girl went missing. She was kidnapped from the school, and Anna is doing her job. I’m not sure how she found out about my father’s project,” He sighed, rubbing his face.
She looked at him thoughtfully and popped her mouth.
“Steer her in a different direction and put the blame on the Hardy guy she likes.”
His eyebrows shot down, and he frowned.
“She doesn’t like him!” he grumbled, and Victoria looked at him strangely.
“I thought that he was her high school boyfriend?”
Xander shook his head, and his expression softened.
“No, Anna beat up Hardy for being a bully.”
“So, now we must figure out what your father did and see what we can do to help.” she chirped, and Xander looked at her oddly.
“What are you talking about?”
She smiled and rubbed his shoulder.
“He has Project A up and running and would like us to be a part of it.”
Xander looked at her in shock and shook his head.
“When did you talk to my father?”
Victoria looked at him and realized she had blown her cover.
“You are working for my father, aren’t you!” he demanded, and she hung her head.
He scoffed and pushed her off his lap, and she ran out of the office crying. Xander yelled in frustration and knew he had to get to the bottom of this.
********
Anna smiled and sighed happily, pulling up to the station. She was beginning to like her old bully. He was a lot nicer than he was when they were kids. She entered the station and saw Paul and the sheriff standing at his desk.
“Simone, please tell me you have something,” said the sheriff, annoyed.
Anna looked at the other officers and wondered why everyone looked so frustrated. She smiled and tilted her head.
“Well, an opportunity fell into my lap to go to the Maverick Ball.”
Paul looked at her oddly and snorted.
“I thought that Xander had a fiance. Surely he would be taking her,” he said, and she smirked.
“Well, Xander does have a fiancé, and well, yes, he is taking her. So that just leaves boyfriend number two, as you would call him.”
He looked at her, and she noticed a pang of jealousy in his eyes.
“So you are friends with him now?”
Anna searched his eyes and didn’t understand why he acted like this.
“Paul, do you hear yourself talking right now? You sound like a jealous boyfriend,” said the sheriff, and Paul gave her a stay-out-of- this look.
She looked at him sternly and crossed her chubby arms.
“Woods, I think you might want to check that attitude.”
The other officers snickered, and he straightened. Anna grabbed his chin and shook his head.
“Paul, there is always a method to my madness. Remember that.”
He searched her eyes, pulled away, and rubbed his cheeks.
“We get s**t done, and we don’t involve our feelings,” she added.
Paul sighed and nodded.
“I’m sorry, Anna, I just don’t like the guy.”
She giggled and shook her head.
“You’re so cute when you get all protective,” she said, squeezing his cheeks with one hand.
He shook her off and laughed, and the sheriff smirked, shaking her head.
“Well, Simone, rumors of you being one step ahead of the game are turning out to be true,” she said.
Paul looked at the sheriff and then at Anna.
“Yeah, she is definitely unique, ma’am. And stubborn, and headstrong, and can be reckless at times.”
Anna laughed and shook her head.
“What am I going to do with you?”
Paul thought momentarily and gave her a thoughtful look.
“Love me till the end of time.”
They all laughed and went back to work. Anna was happy to have the friends she had. They made her life feel whole and complete.
- Writer
