Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
“The last seven years, I’ve done a lot of reflection on my prior career. I did a lot of things I wasn’t particularly proud of. I’m glad I did one thing right.”
“See, there’s that guilt. I know it well.” Charlotte straightened up. “Let’s take a tour. I’ll show you around the office and the daycare. We’ve expanded it in the last couple of years and share it with our downstairs neighbors.”
“With MDWM?” Miles-Dean, Weston, and Murdoch had been a start-up when she’d gone into hiding. Now it was a powerhouse of an investigative agency, and she knew the government would love to get its hands on some of Adam Miles and Chelsea Weston’s software.
Charlotte started to walk through the hall on the right side of the foyer, past the receptionist desk where a young woman sat. Her name plate read Yasmin Tahan, and she gave Charlotte a wave even as she spoke into her headset. She winked up at Roman, who was now on his uncle’s back, wrapped around him like they used to walk through the streets of Malta.
She followed Charlotte as she pointed out the amenities of the office. There was a lovely breakroom and several smaller conference rooms. There was a whole second floor that included the offices for the bodyguard unit and the men and women who provided home security plans and maintenance. The kids’ club was huge and sported lots of kids playing in the various spaces. She’d seen Roman’s eyes widen at the sight of all the books and toys.
The Taggarts had done well for themselves. She found herself walking by what Charlotte called the main conference room. It had glass walls, and she could see Beck sitting there with Ian, Alex McKay, and Liam O’Donnell. She didn’t let herself stare at him, but she noticed that Roman waved at his dad.
“This is lovely, Charlotte,” Ezra said. “It’s a nice place to work. And I thank you for my room at the club. It’s got everything I could need. And I deeply appreciate the bible. I had to leave mine behind.”
Charlotte gave him a warm smile. “If you need anything else, Father, please don’t hesitate to ask. I wish I could send you to church. I truly do, but it’s dangerous right now.”
“Don’t tell anyone because I might get fired for saying this, but God doesn’t need us to be in church to hear our prayers,” Ezra replied.
She would have to find some time to ask him about the club later on. Her level of curiosity was high given she was due to go to Sanctum in a few days.
“Well, that’s the basic tour. I’d like to talk to Solo for a couple of minutes before we join Beck in the conference room,” Charlotte said. “Roman, I think they’re about to have a midmorning snack in the kids’ club. And then they’re doing a pretty cool science experiment.”
“Really?” Roman asked.
Charlotte nodded. “Yes. I told the teachers that you love science, and they thought you might help them make volcanoes today.”
“I love volcanoes. Let’s go.” Roman dropped off his uncle’s back.
Ezra took his hand. “I’ll go sign him in and meet you back here.”
She kissed Roman’s forehead. “I’ll be here all day.”
Roman nodded and strode away without looking back.
“He’ll be fine,” Charlotte said, stepping into the hallway. “Come with me for a minute. I want to show you your office.”
That was a surprise. “I have an office?”
“Well, you didn’t think I was going to let you sit at home, did you? You’re Solo. I can use you here. I know you haven’t done Agency work in a long time, but I would bet your instincts are still good.”
“I do have some work to do on Levi.” It would be nice to have an office, to get out of the house every once in a while.
“Yes, I’m sure you’ll do that, but I’d like your thoughts on a couple of open cases we have.”
“I’m not a private eye.”
“No, you’re better,” Charlotte insisted. She stopped in front of an office. “This is you. Beck is across the hall. I don’t have an office with a window right now.”
She was used to working in the shadows. “I don’t need a window. Just a laptop and Internet access.”
Charlotte’s nose wrinkled. “Oh, we do better here. We’ll talk about redecorating to your specifications later. I recently did Beck’s office if you’d like to see it.”
Without waiting for an answer Charlotte opened the door, and she couldn’t contain her curiosity. She walked into the place where Beck had worked for the last seven years. It was funny because she’d never seen him in an office. He’d been in the field most of the time she’d known him. She would have said he would hate being stuck in an office, and any work space he had would be utilitarian because Beck liked the adrenaline of being out in the field. Even after he’d left the Agency, he’d taken the first dangerous job he could find—guarding the Lost Boys.