Undeceived Read Free

the side and let the gruff man standing behind her through the door. “It’s Elizabeth…Bennet, right?”
    “Good memory, again.”
    “Why are you skulking around human resources on a fine day like this?”
    “Got my badge this morning.” She smiled and showed him her picture, proud as a new parent. “I’m official.” She turned it back toward her, thinking she might seem a bit overeager, like a kindergartener at Show and Tell.
    “Oh.” He turned his head to look at the badge from her viewpoint. “The photographer did you justice. Nothing like mine.”
    She glanced at his badge and tossed him a dubious look. His own picture showed off his Hollywood-handsome face to perfection. “Yeah, right.”
    “Look, I’ve got about a half hour to kill before I go to a meeting upstairs. Let me buy you a cup of coffee or something. A congratulatory cuppa joe for the new girl.”
    “Oh, you don’t have to do that, Mr. Wickham.”
    “Please, I insist. And call me George.”
    She hesitated.
    “It would be my pleasure.”
    “I’m not exactly sure…”
    He jerked his head toward the corridor. “Come on. I’ll show you a shortcut to the cafeteria.”
    He led her past three hallways and made two left turns before they found the elevator. He pressed the down button and turned to smile at her, making her cheeks pink up, a telltale sign of emotion. A failing indeed.
    “So have you got an assignment yet?”
    “I think I’ll be at the State Department.”
    “Here in DC?”
    She nodded and stepped in as the doors opened. “Isn’t that where we all start out?”
    He grinned. “Not all of us.”
    “Guess I’m not a hotshot rising star like you and the other guy who spoke to our class that last month.”
    “Uh-oh, who was that guy? How did I compare?”
    “Favorably. He was Uber-CIA Man, William Darcy.”
    George’s smile dimmed. “Don’t put me in the same category with ‘the London Fog.’”
    “Geez, do people really call him that? I thought maybe it was a joke.”
    The handsome grin returned full force. He leaned in and lowered his voice to a dramatic whisper. “He comes and goes almost before dawn, cloaked in a mysterious shroud of secrecy, protecting the ignorantly blissful citizenry from the machinations of the Evil Empire. If you be a Commie, be afraid, be very afraid.”
    Elizabeth stifled a snicker.
    “Unfortunately, being ‘the Fog,’ he’s also dull and gray.” He paused and tossed her a mischievous look. “And cold and clammy, according to the ladies.”
    Her eyes widened even while she laughed. “You’re bad, you are.”
    “I am. You’ve discovered my fatal flaw. I’m bad to the bone.”
    The elevator door opened, and they stepped into the cacophony of the employee cafeteria.
    “Go grab us a table, and I’ll get the coffee.” He turned and pointed at her. “I’m getting a doughnut too. You want?”
    “Um…”
    “All new personnel need to be baptized with bad coffee and a greasy doughnut.”
    “You talked me into it.”
    She sat down at a chipped Formica two-top and turned to look for George. As he approached with a plate balanced on two coffee cups, she stood and reached out. “Here, let me get those before you drop the whole mess.”
    “Thanks.” As he sat, he fished in his shirt pocket and drew out some sealed creamer cups. “Didn’t know how you took it, so I brought these.”
    “Great.” She dumped in sugar from the glass canister on the table.
    “Oh man, I forgot a spoon. I take mine black, so I don’t think about that stuff.”
    “I’ll get it.” She stood and felt his eyes on her as she walked away. He was interested, she could tell, but she also knew she’d shut him down pretty quick. It wouldn’t do to let him turn her head, but neither would it do to be rude to a colleague, and a possible contact.
    “So,” she said as she sat across from him. “Big meeting today?”
    He waved his hand. “Boring counterintelligence departmental stuff.”
    “I’ll bet