Hard Tackle: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (36 page)

There was only one way to find out.

N
o sooner had
I put my phone back in my purse than it started ringing.

“Lois?” I asked as I answered the phone. I didn’t recognize the number, but being a senior FBI agent meant Lois had access to a number of different phones.

I’d just left a message on her office phone and had assumed she was calling me straight back. She wasn’t.

“No, it’s Denton. Denton Russell.”  

Shit. I just gave the target of the investigation my boss’s name. I’d be keeping that little slip up to myself. No need to report everything back to Lois.

“Oh, hi, Denton,” I replied. “Did I leave something at the office?”  

“I’ve changed my mind. You can have the job.”  

“I can?”  

“Yeah. You start tomorrow morning. Any questions?”

“No, none.”  

I wanted to ask him why he changed his mind, but that seemed too personal. A real PA would just be grateful for the offer and accept it. Discretion was important so asking him to explain himself wasn’t a good idea.

“See you tomorrow.”

He hung up.  

I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d lived to fight another day.  

The phone rang again, but this time it was Lois and she was returning the call from her office number. I was giddy with excitement and nerves, so my hand shook uncontrollably as I answered it.

“Hi, Lois.”

I ducked down a side street to get some privacy for the call.  

“Hi Chloe. I take it from the message you left me that the interview didn’t go well.”

“It went just fine,” I replied. “He offered me the job.”

“Oh. You sounded kind of downbeat in the message. Anyway, that’s excellent news. We all knew you’d do it. When do you start?”

“Tomorrow. Should I come into the office to prepare?”

“No, don’t worry about any of that. Just treat it like the first day of a normal job.”

“What about… you know, listening devices and that kind of thing.”

“None of that on the first day,” Lois replied. “I expect Denton will keep everything above board, but he may be keeping an eye out for bugs. Gain his trust first, then we can worry about getting the evidence. This is a part of a long operation. I’ve been trying to take down the Russells for most of my career. We’re not going to blow it for the sake of a few weeks or months.”

“Understood. I’ll take my time.”

“You’re going to do just fine. Let’s arrange a catch up meeting in a week though. It’ll have to be somewhere discreet in case you’re followed. I’ll send an email to your private account.”

“Thanks Lois.”  

I had to get back home as soon as possible. Only a few hours had passed from when I had sat outside Denton’s office waiting for the interview. In that time, I’d interviewed for a job working for a renowned gangster while undercover as an FBI agent, been rejected for that job and wallowed in self-pity, and then been told I did in fact have the job and would start tomorrow.

As mornings went, that one was fairly stressful.

I tried to take Lois’ advice on board, by treating this like a normal job. The second I was home, I checked my wardrobe and laid out my clothes ready for tomorrow. The Bureau had provided me with five or six outfits that were considered appropriate attire for someone on a PA’s salary.

Lois had warned me not to dress too extravagantly because it would arouse suspicion. She must not have student debt anymore, because if she thought I had the money to wear expensive clothes and jewelery then she was very much mistaken.

The clothes might not have been expensive, but they were certainly sexy. Someone at the agency had gone to a lot of trouble to find clothes that fit me perfectly and hugged my figure. There was even a box full of underwear--the bras fit better than the ones I bought myself.  

Lois and I had only briefly discussed what to do if Denton made a move on me. It was a distinct possibility. Denton had a reputation as a ladies’ man, and I had been given a makeover specifically to look like a women we knew he was attracted to.  

Part of the job was to gain Denton’s trust, and if I had to do that by being easy on the eyes and flashing him a cheeky smile once every now and again then so be it. But what if he wanted more than that?

I didn’t have to do anything, but if I didn’t refuse him delicately the operation might collapse. And I
would
refuse him. I had to. My job was important to me, but I couldn’t sleep with someone on the off chance that it might lead to a conviction.  

Did that still matter if I was also attracted to him? What if he was someone I would have slept with if it weren’t for the case?

Denton wasn’t my type, but I couldn’t deny being distracted by his looks the entire time I was in there. The blood on his knuckles didn’t disgust me, it aroused me. That was… unusual to say the least.  

I usually found fighting to be oafish and distinctly unattractive. In this case, it should have been even more repulsive because he wasn’t just a drunk in a brawl, he was a criminal and part of a huge gang that controlled half the city.

There was little point dwelling on what I might or might not do should he hit on me. He wouldn’t. I’d seen the women he’d been with. I’d seen Kara. I might look a bit like her, but I had none of her sex appeal. She was like the female version of Denton; photogenic and sexy, even when not making any effort.

I hated women like that.  

When I lay in bed that night, I kept reciting my fake background in my head until I fell asleep. I was Chloe Tamworth. I used to work for a Fortune 500 company in New York, and for a fashion magazine. I hate the police, because they killed my father.  

That was the lie I struggled with most of all. The police didn’t kill my father. Not even close.

L
ois needn’t have worried too
much about security here. After arriving at nine on the dot, the human resources team quickly took my picture and issued me an ID. I logged onto the computer system and was ready to go in less than an hour.  

Denton hadn’t even arrived for work yet. Did he always come in late? Perhaps his routine involved doing the rounds and beating people up first thing in the morning to get the blood pumping before a day of office work. Some people went to the gym, others beat the living shit out of people. I’d stick to the treadmill.

I already had access to his calendar, but most of the entries were suitably cryptic. There was rarely an address, just the name of a person to “meet for lunch” or an even more generic “sales call.”  

Goosebumps appeared on the back of my neck before spreading down my spine as I imagined just what those meetings would entail. Even worse, I would be helping him keep track of them.  

Don’t forget your four o’clock beating of the O’Leary twins, sir. You’ll want to take your golf clubs for this one. Oh, and at nine o’clock tonight you need to be waiting outside the country club to kidnap Mrs. White for her husband’s failure to repay his debts. Would you like a coffee?

I told myself that most of the people on the receiving end of these beatings were likely criminals as well, but not all of them would be. Some of them just got in over their heads and couldn’t think of a way out. I knew that from personal experience.

My desk was just outside Denton’s office, so I would always be in yelling distance, ready to answer to any of his demands the second he called. Other than that, I couldn’t complain too much. Unlike at the Bureau, no one could walk behind my desk which meant I had a decent amount of privacy should I want to spend a few minutes browsing the Internet instead of working.  

I also had two large flatscreen computer monitors that put the FBI equipment to shame. If that’s what I had as a PA, I dreaded to think what the important people had access to.

Suddenly a hush descended over the office, and the tapping of my fingers on the keyboard became pronounced instead of just adding to the background noise.  

Denton was here.

Everyone said good morning to him as he walked past, but they were tense, and nervous greetings, as opposed to heartfelt messages. He returned a few mumbled replies, but looked like he’d rather just ignore everyone.

I reminded myself that not all the employees here were guilty of any fraudulent behavior. A few of them had to be involved in helping cook the books, but most people were just going about their jobs, clueless to the bigger picture.

I now realized why no one had batted an eyelid at Denton’s bloody knuckles yesterday. Denton scared people. You didn’t ask questions of someone like Denton; you kept your head down and hoped he didn’t notice you. That wouldn’t be possible for me.

Denton headed straight towards his office, looking straight above my head as if I weren’t there. My heart rate increased the closer he got. I wasn’t scared of him. I didn’t feel in any immediate physical danger, although if he found out I worked for the FBI….

Denton walked straight passed me and into his office. I’d been holding my breath without even realizing it, but now I could relax slightly.  

“Chloe?” Denton yelled out impatiently from his office.

I grabbed a pen and paper, ready to take my first set of instructions. Apparently assistants never went anywhere without a pen and paper, because you never knew when you were going to have to get a random demand from the boss.

“Good morning, Mr. Russell,” I said, with highly exaggerated enthusiasm as I walked into his office.  

He looked up at me and for a brief second he looked like he’d seen a ghost. He was thinking of Kara.

“Morning,” he muttered. “Call me Denton. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together, so there you won’t be able to keep up the formalities forever.”

“Okay, Denton.”

“We need to do ‘first day’ stuff.”  

“I’ve already had a tour of the building from human resources,” I replied. “I’m all set up with email, and I already have access to your calendar.”

“That’s not what I meant. Close the door.”  

I closed the door and took a seat when he motioned for me to sit down. The second the door was closed, the room felt more intimate, as if we were about to do something we shouldn’t. For the second time in the space of a few minutes, my heart rate sped up, but this time I was excited, not scared. I was going to get confidential information; perhaps not now, but at some point soon I would get the information we needed to put his father behind bars.  

And Denton would join him. For some reason, that didn’t excite me as much. He deserved to be in prison as well. I knew that. I’d read the file. But he seemed too… charming. Even with his moody demeanor, and a day’s worth of rough stubble around his face, he still looked too smooth to be a master criminal. I suppose that was the point. He had the perfect disguise.

“Always close the door when you come into my office,” Denton explained slowly. “I entrust you with a lot of confidential information--more than I would like to be honest--but that doesn’t mean I want everyone in the office hearing about it.”

“Of course,” I replied, trying to sound casual, as if I didn’t really care about the juicy secrets behind a large criminal organization.

“First of all, I should explain that you will have to work a lot of hours. I’ll often require you to stay late in the office and you’ll even accompany to meetings after hours. You’ll be paid double for all overtime. Triple for hours worked on weekends.”

“That’s very generous,” I replied honestly. That money would all go straight back to the FBI, and they wouldn’t bother with any common courtesy like paying me extra for the overtime I would need to do as part of this operation.

“You might not think that after a few eighty-hour weeks, but I appreciate the enthusiasm. Now then, we need to talk about confidentiality.”

“I don’t have a problem keeping secrets,” I said straight away. “Unless you expressly say otherwise, I’ll keep everything between the two of us.”  

Just me, you, and a few hundred people at the FBI.

“Don’t make that promise lightly,” Denton said seriously. “This isn’t a normal job, like the one you had at the Fortune 500 company. You won’t just be keeping secrets about the company’s financials and new products.”

“All secrets are the same to me. I don’t try to decide which ones are important and which ones aren’t.”

“Good.” Denton leaned back in his chair and stared at me, just like he had in the interview. Was he thinking of Kara again? That was the plan, but for some reason I wanted him to see me for me now.  

Denton didn’t seem perturbed by the silence, but it freaked me out. There’d never been a lot of silence in my house as a child--although I would have preferred that to my parents arguing--so I didn’t know how to handle it.

“Is there anything I can do for you now?” I asked. “Would you like a coffee?”

“No.” Another silence fell between us, but this time Denton eventually broke it. “What do you know about the businesses I run?”  

“I’ve read the information on the website,” I replied. “So I know some of the companies you work for, but that’s about it.”  

I’d also studied the accounts, and my computer at home had PowerPoint slides with charts showing all the companies under the control of Denton and his father. In total, they owned about fifteen, and most of them were conveniently small enough to not require audited accounts.  

“I own companies other than this one,” Denton said. I tried to look mildly surprised. “We have some nightclubs and restaurants in the portfolio.”  

Places that deal in cash. How surprising.

“That sounds fun,” I said innocently.

“They’re hard work. The entertainment space is competitive. We have to do everything possible to stay one step ahead of the competition. Things can get… violent. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I nodded. I had to walk a fine line between appearing accepting of Denton’s business practices, and being too nonchalant about it. He might get suspicious if the sweet looking young lady opposite him showed a complete disregard for violence.

“Will I be put in any danger?” I asked. That seemed like the question an assistant would ask in these circumstances, but I was curious anyway. I wanted danger. Danger meant dodgy dealings which meant evidence. I needed the danger.