UNDERCOVER The Secret of Luck Read Free Page B

should quit.” said Sheila. Deep inside her mind, she did not want him to quit. At the same time, she did not know what to do either.
    John knew that she was giving an honest opinion. When she joined his office as a receptionist, it was supposed to be a temp job. Over time, Russo ended up hiking her salary to much more than what a receptionist would be paid. She seemed to like the job, and Russo was not a bad person, once she got to know him better. Given her educational background, she would have no difficulty getting another job.
    “I don’t want to quit being a detective. I just want to quit working on these ridiculous divorce cases. It is the same drill every time. Pay a hacker to find out the email passwords. Pay the phone company to give us the phone records. Tail the cheating husband or wife. Tiny cameras that can capture high definition. The job is just too easy, and I am pretty good at it.” said Russo. He took another sip from his cup. The coffee was trying its best to cheer him up, but Sheila could tell that the coffee was failing miserably. John seemed to have forgotten about the coffee completely.
    “I really thought I was signing up for something else entirely. This is complete crap!” John shouted, losing it. He rammed the coffee across the hall. Fortunately, the cup was empty, and he hit the soft foam decoration on the wall on the other side of the office. Sheila turned to look at the dropped cup. She stood up to pick it up, but Russo asked her to be seated. He went up to the cup, picked it up, and threw it across the room, into the trashcan.
    “Should I get another cup of coffee?” she asked, a worried expression on her face.
    “No. Coffee is not going to help me today. I need to take a walk. If anyone calls, tell them I am sick. Take the rest of the day off, Sheila.” said Russo. He grabbed his coat off the hanger, stepped out of the office, and headed toward the elevator. Sheila noticed that he had left his cell phone behind. She gave a loud sigh, and proceeded to shut the office down. Her boss wants her to take the rest of the day off, and that is what she is going to do.
    John knew that he was going to regret shouting at the one good friend he had in his entire life. He still had his parents, but they wouldn’t count. I mean, parents would always be best friends, but there are a few times that one needed actual friends, not birth parents. He was angry with himself for everything. He knew that he should have seen the signs. When his largest paycheck came from a woman who was happy that she would finally get that separation from her six year old marriage, he should have guessed that something was not right. He knew it was not right, but he went with it. He was young, and the money was good. He was running so fast, he forgot to stop and smell the roses. Roses that were now nowhere to be found. He was lost in a garden filled with thorn-filled bushes.
    He had reached the elevator. He smashed hard on to the button and stood there. His entire body language screamed restlessness but even he knew that he could not just act crazy like that. As he was waiting, another person joined him in his wait for the elevator to come to his floor. He did not wish to see who it was. He did not care to see who it was. It could be the city mayor or a rock star, but it did not matter. Normally, he would have at least smiled at the person. Today was not one of those days. The elevator came and he got in. The other person also got in with him. John pressed the button for the ground floor lobby and took his place, leaning on one of the corners. The doors closed as the music kicked on.
    It was moving along smoothly for a few seconds, but then it jerked. It jerked again, and that snapped John out of his anger. He looked up at the now flashing lights, and the music that had suddenly stopped. The power went out and the elevator stopped. It was completely dark and then with a flip, the emergency lights turned themselves on. John