“I thought it would be presumptuous.”
He still wasn’t saying anything. She added, “So is it okay though, if I stay here until Friday?”
“Sure.” He shrugged and reached for a pair of gym shoes. “Have you eaten dinner? Want to go for pizza?”
That was it? Sure. Sure, she could stay with him. She hadn’t asked him to water her plants for her, she had asked him if shecould live with him. For only three days, but still. This was a big deal.
This would push their relationship into a whole different realm. They would be sharing a bathroom, and all he could say was sure?
So much for being in control. She suddenly felt like she’d been dangled over a cliff and shaken hard.
But if Knight could do nonchalance, so could she. “A pizza? Sounds good. Just let me get my underwear.”
FORTY-FOUR
Derek was sweatinghis way through a meeting with Nordstrom on Wednesday. There was no one to save him. He was alone, on his own, soaking through his shirt to the jacket of the new black suit Reese had insisted he wear today.
Nordstrom looked ready to pop a vein in his temple and Derek’s knee was aching like hell. It was acting up from all the activity lately. Namely, too much sex. Who would have ever thought he would be saying that?
“So let me get this straight. Your girlfriend, who I was subjected to the sight of you PDA-ing in the elevator, now has a job at Delco Pharmaceutical as some kind of gopher for Ashton Chatterton?”
“Yes, sir.” He kept his mouth shut about the Public Display of Affection comment.
Nordstrom’s jaw worked back and forth. “You know, you’re a good agent.”
There was a big old fat-assbutcoming on the end of this, Derek just knew.
“But…you have an incredible talent for just sucking trouble right to you. Like dirt to a little kid. I’ve got Washington on my ass, I’ve got anti-trust chomping at the bit wondering when theycan take a look at our case, and what do I have? I have a bunch of papers that indicate possible patent-fixing and one meeting of execs acting like maybe they engage in dividing the drug market. I’ve got a nervous CW who is likely to bolt at any second, and an agent with a personal life that is suddenly spilling over onto the Bureau.” He shook his head. “I’m not a happy man.”
Derek wasn’t sure why making Nordstrom happy seemed to be his job, but he would give it his best shot. “We need to go to New Zealand, sir. We need that entire meeting on camera so we can see and hear everything. We need a surveillance guy to rig a conference room with the equipment. All we need on tape is some kind of verbal agreement from Chatterton and the guys at Stanfield and Ricould and we’ve got them. Together with all the documents we have, the antitrust prosecutors will be happy.”
“Nothing makes those guys happy.” Nordstrom snorted. “But okay, we’ll go to fucking New Zealand. The three case agents and Schwartz, who can set up the equipment. We’ll contact the New Zealand authorities and get permission and you need to try and find out the hotel this is happening in.”
Nordstrom leaned back in his chair, making it squeak. He tossed the pen he’d been twirling in his hand onto his desk. “How’s Markson holding up? Is he going to be able to handle this?”
Derek sure in the hell hoped so. “He’s okay so far.”
“And your girlfriend? Can you control her? She can’t be running around saying her boyfriend’s a Fed.”
Derek knew that his ability to control Reese was about as likely as the weatherman ordering sunny skies and seventy degrees. “She’s a smart woman. She understands and won’t slip up.”
His boss’s eyebrow rose. “Man, you’re completely whipped, aren’t you?”
Derek knew he should protest, but he wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t, in fact, whipped. It certainly seemed like Reese managed to get her way the majority of the time.
“Nice suit, by the way. I’m guessing Girlfriend picked it out for you.” Nordstrom gave a crack of laughter.
“She had nothing to do with the suit. I picked it out.” With his sister. And was wearing it at Reese’s request.
Shit. He was whipped.
Nordstrom shook his head and picked up his coffee mug. “Anyway, I can’t believe this case is dragging on like this. New Zealand. Hell, you’re going halfway around the damn world. Let’s hope they say something worth getting on tape.”
Derek had surpassed hoping and had gone to praying. This was it. Make or break time.
Reese was bored to tears.Ashton Chatterton had no meetings scheduled for Wednesday, only phone calls and some afternoon golf. Jennifer didn’t seem to know what to do with her.
“Is there anything I could file, or make copies of, or call caterers or something?”