Tyler Snell - Suspicious Activities

“Thank you for the ride,” Nikki said before opening her door. “If you want to use the gym during the call, feel free.”

Jackson raised his brow at her before glancing in the backseat at his duffel bag. He’d already planned on hitting the gym after he dropped her off. She opened the door and turned back, throwing out a wink. “What I lack in passion I make up for in keen observation skills.”

The way she said it, voice dipping low, coupled with her playful wink and matching smirk, momentarily kept Jackson still in his seat. He was starting to think that maybe having Nikki Waters as his boss might be harder than any client or case they threw his way.

Jackson grabbed his bag, taking her up on her offer, and followed her in. He wasn’t about to touch the jab about his jab about passion and how she might need more of it in her life. Somehow he thought it might be a harder task to apologize to the woman. If he didn’t do it the right way, then he’d do more damage than good.

A woman with short blond hair and a small baby bump met them in the lobby. When she saw Jackson, she gave him a big smile with a fun laugh tacked on.

“Jonathan wasn’t sure you’d get here in one piece,” she greeted, confirming it was Kelli. “Glad you survived.”

Nikki let out a particularly loud sigh.

“Of course it was Jonathan,” she muttered. “Where is he?”

“Already in the conference room, talking to Oliver on the phone. He said he has everything set up for the meeting.”

“Good.” Nikki turned to Jackson and motioned to Kelli. “Jackson, this is Kelli Tranton. Word to the wise, if you leave any food in the break room refrigerator, this one right here will most likely eat it.”

The two women laughed together while Kelli pointed to her stomach in defense.

“Blame Mark Tranton for that,” she said, motioning to her pregnant belly. “Just be grateful I’m not eating your chocolates.”

“My what?” Nikki asked, playful mood on pause.

Kelli’s face lit up and she moved behind the secretary’s desk.

“I almost forgot! These were on the doorstep in a box this morning with your name on them.” Kelli produced a heart-shaped box of chocolates with a ribbon tied around it. “There’s no name aside from yours on it. Must be a secret admirer. Just be thankful I got it before the heat did.”

Jealousy, swift and pungent, moved through Jackson. It caught him by surprise. Why should he care that his boss had an admirer? He’d only met the woman yesterday afternoon.

“Oh, and it came with this, too. I didn’t open it.” Kelli handed over what looked like a blank white envelope. It wasn’t even sealed. Jackson watched as Nikki uncertainly took out an equally plain sheet of printer paper and unfolded it.

And just like that, Nikki’s body language completely changed. Her good mood evaporated. The shift was so quick that it put Jackson on alert.

“What is it?” Kelli asked, not missing the change, either.

Nikki rescanned whatever was written on it before answering.

“It’s nothing,” she said, voice a little too harsh. She readjusted her mood, adding a smile to her lips and folding the paper back up. “Just some nonsense of a man trying too hard.”

Jackson might not have known the beautiful woman next to him, but he knew in that moment, without a doubt, that she was telling a lie.

A big one at that.

Nikki made a beeline for her office and was back out and into the conference room before Jackson had even walked into the bathroom to change. He threw on a pair of slick black athletic shorts that cut off at the tops of his knees and a loose tank top. It had the silhouette of a wolf drinking a beer as a logo superimposed against the blue cotton. He looked down at the obnoxious shirt and realized it might be time to buy new workout clothes. At the gym he frequented near his place, often he’d lose the shirt halfway through his routine, but Jackson thought that, considering how he’d started off with the boss, keeping said shirt on might be best.

His thoughts on his apparel drifted as he left the bathroom and headed to the gym. Starting with the weights lining the back wall, he tried to keep his mind away from his boss. Less than two days on the new job and he was already having to distract himself.

* * *

“WAS IT JUST me or did he talk way more than he needed to?”

Oliver Quinn’s voice floated up from the middle of the table on the conference phone’s speaker. He seemed to be picking up on exactly what Nikki was feeling. Jonathan nodded from the seat next to her.

“He sure seemed to like the sound of his voice,” Jonathan added. “We should have let him run the meeting.”

Oliver snorted.

“Nik is nice but not that nice,” he said.

“You best remember that,” she responded, pinching the bridge of her nose. A headache had planted itself between her eyes while their now confirmed client chattered on endlessly. “I’ll tell you, though, nice, professional or otherwise, I’m starting to get tired of the wealthier clients.” She looked down at her notes and the name that lined the top.

Oliver, ever the encouraging one, jumped in before she could continue. “Hey, remember, occasionally we need to work with the rich to help the not-so-rich. We’re like—”

“Robin Hood,” Nikki and Jonathan finished at the same time. Oliver laughed.

“I guess I say that a lot,” he ventured.

Nikki nodded to the phone. “Every time we don’t like one of the snobby clients.” But as she said it, she realized that it was something she liked to be reminded of from time to time. Orion worked on a mostly pro bono basis, giving security to those who really needed it despite their financial status. However, good intentions couldn’t always pay the bills for them to keep the business going. That meant that once in a while they had to take on a much wealthier client to keep Orion’s doors from closing. In a month she would dispatch a team to protect Grant Riley, something of a technology guru with little tact and a lot of attitude. Nikki sighed, already knowing that it would be an interesting contract.

“Well, boys, there’s something I need to take care of really quickly, so can you two give Mark a call and loop him into what’s going on?” Nikki looked down at her cell phone’s clock. “He should be on break now.”

Oliver said, “Aye aye, captain,” while Jonathan saluted. If her thoughts hadn’t already turned back to the chocolates and accompanying letter, she would have smiled or laughed. As it was, she left the conference room and swiftly went to reception.

There, she addressed Kelli with more force than she’d intended. “I need your car for a bit.”

* * *

JACKSON WATCHED THROUGH the Plexiglas windows of the gym as Nikki walked to the front of the building with the pinched expression of someone deep in thought. He stopped his workout and decided it was time to take a break, too. Getting some water from the cooler just outside the door, he waited for Jonathan to follow. When he didn’t come out, Jackson moved closer to the door.

He heard voices on the other side.

Jackson moved down the hall toward reception and peeked through the cracked door. Kelli was on the phone. He craned his head around without notice from the woman and scanned the rest of the room.

No Nikki.

Jackson downed the rest of his water and decided to make a bad decision.

Thirty seconds later his cup was in the trash and he was standing in Nikki’s office, the door closed behind him. He wasn’t surprised that it hadn’t been locked. Nikki seemed to trust everyone in Orion without issue. Well, maybe not him. Not yet anyway. And, well, maybe not if she caught him now.

But I’m trying to help, he reasoned with himself.