“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Nikki Waters turned away from the image on her computer screen and shook her head at the man standing across from her.
“When you said this one was a little rough around the edges, I thought you were warning me about—I don’t know—about his lack of tact or maybe his hair was a little too shaggy.” She motioned to the screen. “Not a rap sheet that was so long I had to scroll to read it all.”
The man in the doorway chuckled. He shrugged. “Does it help that his hair is a little too shaggy?”
Jonathan Carmichael was trying to be cute, trying to be funny, but Nikki didn’t have time for his playful mood. Not tonight.
Tonight she, for once, had plans.
“A few drunken fights when he was young and stupid,” he said. “Nothing to write home to Mom about.”
Nikki felt a headache brewing just behind her eyes. She loved her job and loved the tall, dark-haired man in front of her like a brother, but the stress of her plans combined with the man Jonathan was trying to sell her on was starting to create a monster headache.
“I trust you—you know that—but I run a security agency here,” she tried. “Our clients come to us for help, for protection, and hope—expect—that we do our due diligence with our agents. From what I can tell about this man based on your write-up, he is hotheaded, impulsive and, if I had to guess, your classic lone wolf. In other words, a questionable fit for Orion Security Group.”
Nikki laced her fingers together over the top of the desk. As she spoke, she felt the change in her demeanor from Nikki the friend to Nikki the boss. Jonathan, along with a handful of other Orion employees who doubled as her closest friends, often joked about that change. When Nikki was firm, it was hard to shake her resolve.
“Listen, you know how important this place is to me,” Jonathan said, sobering. “I wouldn’t personally be vouching for someone I didn’t think would benefit Orion and its clients. He has a past, yeah, but you read what happened to him. What happened when he was young.” He paused so she had time to recall what he was talking about.
The stall wasn’t needed. As soon as she’d read the small yet monumental line about his past, she’d known she wouldn’t forget it. Probably couldn’t if she’d tried. Nikki looked back at the man on the screen.
Jonathan must have taken that as a sign to drive his point home. “He’s rough around the edges, but after what he’s been through, after all the excuses he could use—what happened, how people have most likely treated him up until this point—he didn’t once make any excuse or try to sell me a sob story.”
Jonathan gave her a small smile. “You asked me to vet potential recruits and I vetted the hell out of him. He’s a man with drive, focus and raw talent. He can deal out a punch and he can take one, too. I’m not saying we throw him into fieldwork next week, but with time and training I think he could be one of the best.”
Nikki was surprised at that opinion. When she’d started Orion five years ago, Jonathan and his team of Oliver Quinn and Mark Tranton were her first bodyguards as well as first-anything employees. Even though Orion had expanded in the years that followed, hiring more agents and staff, Jonathan and his team were still the best. So, for the most quiet of the three to be standing in front of her now, vouching for a man who was potentially better... Well, that made her pause. She looked at the once-bodyguard, now full-time trainer in front of her. Jonathan was tall, lean and undoubtedly in shape. His hair was dark and short and his face was open and calm. Of the original three, he was the most responsible. Not to mention he was also fiercely loyal to Orion. Maybe, at times, even more so than Nikki.
Orion was his family. One they had all created when they needed one most.
He’d never jeopardize that.
Nikki let out a long, pointed breath. “When did he say he could start?”
Jonathan cracked a smile.
“Today,” he said. “In fact, he’s still in the training room.”
Nikki felt Boss Nikki switch gears to Friend Nikki. She laughed.
“And if I’d said no?” she asked.
“Then this would have been really awkward.”
“Well, I’m glad we can avoid that, then. Now go forth and impart to him all of your unending wisdom and experience,” Nikki said with a flourish. “And I’ll be in there with a contract after I’m done getting ready.”
Jonathan nodded and started to leave.
“But, Mr. Carmichael? If he makes one wrong move, I will exercise my right to terminate him.”
Jonathan didn’t break his stride. “I wouldn’t have expected anything less.”
She watched the trainer walk out of her office and into the heart of Orion. While they’d had continuing success in the last few years, Nikki had decided to keep the main office in Dallas, Texas, the only office. It was important to her to have one fixed place to come back home to. Not just for her, but for all the agents.
There was only one exception, and that was the freelance division, headed by Oliver Quinn out of his and his wife’s home in Maine, but they operated through conference calls and video chats almost daily. Everything else that made up Orion—and Nikki’s life—was within the brick walls of the one-story building. It was within that building, within her office, that she now stared at a bag in the corner. Thoughts of the new recruit, his questionable past and how handsome his picture had been, fizzled out. Instead they were replaced by a nervousness she didn’t often feel.
I hope I don’t blow it tonight.
* * *
JACKSON FIELDS WAS DRENCHED. From head to toe, his clothes were soaked in sweat. They were cold against skin that burned from exertion. His muscles vibrated still, even after they’d taken a break. What had gone from a job offer to talking about the basics had turned into a sparring match with a man surprisingly well experienced.
“You’re fast,” Jonathan said, refilling his cup at the water fountain just outside the training room. “Not as fast as me, but that’ll take some time.”
The man smirked as he said it, cueing Jackson in not to take offense. He was joking with him, something he wasn’t used to from relative strangers.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” Jackson admitted. “Definitely have some potential.”
Jonathan laughed. “I’m glad you think so.” They both finished their water and refilled. Jackson hadn’t worked that hard in a while. Not with a partner at least. It was a welcome feeling.
“So, what happens now?” he asked, wiping the sweat off his brow. “Another round?”
Jonathan looked at the watch on his wrist. “As much as I like your enthusiasm not only to stay late on a Friday night but to keep working, I’m going to have to pass. I promised the lady a home-cooked meal and a night of binge-watching The Blacklist.” His eyes narrowed. “And believe me, you don’t want to anger Kate. She’s got resources.”
There was no ring on his finger, but Jackson didn’t miss the obvious affection in Jonathan’s words.
“Let me go