“Oh, come on, Charlie,” she smirked. “Stop being so serious about everything. It’s not like we’re doing anything wrong. I specifically checked, and there’s nothing in our handbook specifically forbidding fraternizing, so chill.”
That was a concern, but the professional aspect was only part of it. The truth was that I still wasn’t completely over Esther. In fact, I wasn’t sure where my relationship with Esther was right now.
The bar Esther had been working at on the weekends had offered to bring her on full time. She’d be making significantly more than she was at the job she was currently working, and that wasn’t including any tips she’d make. She’d taken the offer, and at first, everything had been great. I’d been happy for her, and we’d celebrated her new job. However, the busier she got, the less and less we saw of each other. It probably didn’t help that she was meeting dozens of new people every night at work.
Esther had actually been the one to suggest that we should take a break. Even though I’d seen the writing on the wall and sensed that our relationship was beginning to fizzle, I was still crushed. I was surprised by how much it hurt, and in a way, it had reaffirmed my stance on relationships. Esther had been the first woman I’d allowed myself to get close to in years, primarily because my first major relationship had ended so disastrously. Having Esther pull away from me had left me feeling hollow, and at times I wished I’d never started dating her. That was one of the reasons that it had been so easy to start seeing Miranda, who was easygoing and didn’t seem to look too deeply into what we were doing.
We’d been assigned to take on a mission together about two months ago, around the same time that Esther had put our relationship on pause. Junior had come down with a bad flu, and Miranda had taken his place. It was a pretty simple case that didn’t require international travel, but we did need to head to New York to follow up on a lead. A drug-smuggling cartel was importing goods through the ports in New York City, and we were called to collaborate with the MBLIS branch there. While we were on that mission, Miranda and I had ended up spending a lot of time together. One thing led to another, and we’d been meeting each other in secret every few days since. She and Naomi had just come back from an international mission the night before, and she’d come straight to my apartment from the airport.
I would have said that being in a relationship with Miranda was easier than being in one with Esther, but I wasn’t sure if I could even call it that. If anything, we were more like friends with benefits. Except we weren’t always on friendly terms with each other. In fact, more often than not, we were butting heads and arguing, both in and out of the office. Still, being with her was fun and exciting in the same way going on a mission was. It was challenging, stressful, and sometimes a little dangerous.
“Well, let me know what you decide,” Miranda teased as she opened the bedroom door. “Don’t be late for work.” She smiled and closed the door behind her as she left.
I threw the blankets off of myself and got out of bed. As I headed into the ensuite bathroom to shower, I wondered if I should call Esther. She and Miranda were polar opposites, and I felt conflicted about what I should do. Esther was kind and soft-spoken, while Miranda was boisterous, loud, and incredibly seductive when she wanted to be. It would be impossible to compare them because they were both so different and fun to be with in different ways.
I pushed my turbulent thoughts away as I stepped into the shower and turned the water on as hot as it would go. The scorching spray felt good against my muscles and helped me ease my tension. I felt more relaxed as I stepped back out of the shower, and I moved around my room slowly as I decided what I would wear that morning. Usually, I would have to rush since I tended to sleep for as long as I could before having to go to work, but today Miranda had woken me up with over an hour to spare.
It was June now, and Las Vegas was engulfed with a painfully dry heat. The temperatures had just peaked at a hundred degrees, and I was never sure what I should wear. I’d spent most of my youth in the snowy Northeast and having to move from place to place had put me in the habit of wearing several layers. Doing so right now would probably land me in the hospital with heatstroke. I’d been sticking to polo shirts ever since the temperature began to rise, but I hated how I looked in them, like an overgrown school kid. Miranda had remarked that she liked the way they looked on me, though, so I’d continued to wear them ever since.
I decided that I’d take advantage of the early morning to grab some breakfast in the city. After I finished getting dressed and taming my hair, I headed out the door.
3
Naomi
I glanced at the small clock on my dashboard. I was now twelve minutes late for work, which was incredibly unusual for me. I hated deviating from my schedule, and I hated inconveniencing others by failing to appear or deliver work on time. Normally, I’d be the first one in the office or second after Nelson. Unfortunately, last night there’d been a power outage in my building after I had already gone to bed. My phone had been low on battery as it was, so it failed to charge during the night, and therefore my alarm hadn’t gone off that
