Of Stilettos, Suits, and Secrets

—FROM THE BOOK—

Through the twinkling lights of the party I saw my mother standing next to a far wall. I wanted to smile and wave, but Tiffany St. James didn't know that beautiful woman. And something made me stand up straighter, listen harder, and wish we'd already covered lip-reading in CoveOps, because even though two dozen dancing couples stood between us, both the spy and the girl in me knew my mom was worried about something

"Isn't that right, Tiffany?" Mr. Mosckowitz asked, and it took me half a second to remember that he was talking to me.

"I wonder, Mr. Secretary," Zach was saying to Mr. Mosckowitz, "would you mind if I borrowed Tiffany for a moment?"

"Not at all," Mr. Mosckowitz replied, even though Tiffany… I mean, I… might have minded a great deal.

"They're playing our song." Zach put his drink on a passing tray, took my arm smoothly, and pulled me onto the floor.

The bad part about being in deep cover is that you have to like what your legend likes, eat what she eats. Since Tiffany St. James did, in fact, like dancing, there was no room to argue. I had to dance with Zach (after all, a Gallagher Girl always has to be prepared to sacrifice for her country).

In my (very uncomfortable) heels, my eyes reached Zach at about neck level. His hand felt very broad on my back and he smelled, well, different from Doctor Steve. (But in a really good way.)

"So tell me, Tiffany St. James," Zach said. "What does a girl like you do for fun?"

"I didn't tell you my name was Tiffany St. James," I said, hoping to catch him in a mistake. "How did you know?"

"Oh," he said, cocking an eyebrow, sounding exactly like the charming and debonair international art thief he was supposed to be. "I always make it a point to know the names of" —he cinched me tighter— "beautiful women."

And then he dipped me. Yes—actual dippage. And he winked. Yes—actual winkage.

"Come on, Gallagher Girl" —he spun me out and smoothly back— "relax a little."

From the side of the room, Madame Dabney smiled and made a mark on her clipboard.

Zach's words from earlier echoed in my head again: If you're not enjoying this, you're in the wrong business, and I realized that he was right, —not that I would actually admit that to him— that if I was going to be a good spy, if I was going to survive, then I was going to have to relax, and embrace the thrills, secrets, and lies of my career.

So that's what I did— I relaxed, I smiled, I danced flawlessly, and, for a second time, I could feel myself really becoming Tiffany St. James. "Now that's dancing," Zach smirked as he twirled me around again, still staring straight into my eyes.

"You better believe it is," I said, flirting just a little bit as I tried to gracefully remove myself from his arms, with little success. "Thank you very much for the dance Mr.…?" I left the words hanging there for a moment, and when Zach didn't answer, I pressed, "What did you say your name was?"

He simply smiled secretively, and rearranged our hands as a waltz started to play. "I'll tell you my name, if you will dance the waltz with me."

Again, I didn't really have a choice, as Zach already had me pressed against his body, and we were twirling through the dancing couples. So I just played along, smiling coyly, and said, "I'll hold you to that."

Zach spun me under his arm then pulled me in close, leaned down and whispered, "You should probably check in with the undersecretary… make sure he doesn't say anything foolish." He dipped me again before spinning me out and away, where he let go of my hand for the first time since he had asked me to dance.

In the lesser part of my mind, I have to admit I was relieved that the dancing part of my evening was over, but the rest of my mind was on high alert. What had Zach meant "You should probably check in with the undersecretary… make sure he doesn't say anything foolish"??? He had seemed to be enjoying himself more than I was… oh, my, God, I was enjoying myself!! Cam, focus. Get back in character.

Check surroundings. Mr. Mosckowitz, check. Mr. Mosckowitz about to blow our covers… check!! He was talking to Mr. Solomon, I couldn't hear his exact words, but I could tell that he was talking about -or about to talk about- cracking high-security firearm codes because he was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. "Mr. Secretary," I said as smoothly as I could, sweeping two drinks from a passing waiter and handing one to Mr. Mosckowitz and keeping the other for myself- just for appearances, of course. Mr. Solomon had his own drink. "I hope I am not interrupting anything." I looked quizzically at Mr. Solomon.

"Not at all," he said, smiling. "I presume that you are Ms. St. James?"

"Yes, that would be correct," I smiled. "And you would be...?"

"Michael Gilbert, attorney general. Pleased to make your acquaintance," Mr. Solomon said.

"And you," I replied out of courtesy before turning to Mr. Mosckowitz. "Mr. Secretary, I believe that your boss is over by the drinks table. Now would be an excellent time to convince him you are ready for a promotion."

I fixed him with a meaningful stare until he got my message and said, with his fake British accent, "Ah, good call Ms. St. James. I really cannot miss this opportunity, so we will have to talk another time, Mr. Gilbert." With that he half skipped half walked across the room.

I used this time to quickly re-examine my surroundings before Mr. Solomon started talking to me. "So Ms. St. James, how have you found the party?"

I answered casually, my eyes still surveying the room. Where was Zach? "Oh, it has been marvelous, albeit rather uneventful."

Mr. Solomon's eyes twinkled as he asked, "Are you expecting some kind of... event?"

"Why, no. Should I be?" Then I spotted him, near the windows behind my CoveOps teacher dancing with Tina Walters, but he wasn't looking at her. He was, like me, scanning the room, until Tina grabbed his attention probably with some trivial and false piece of gossip.

All this I saw out of the corner of my eye, before focusing my attention back on Mr. Solomon as he said, "You should always expect some form of entertainment at this sort of gathering. There is bound to be some excitement, however petty." He smiled a little –and OH MY GOD he looked hot– and leaned back against the wall.

I had a feeling he wasn't going to move anytime soon, so I asked, "How have you found the party, Mr. Gilbert?"

Mr. Solomon pushed away from the wall and, looking me straight in the eye, he said, "I believe it is a little too toasty for my liking but otherwise it has been quite enjoyable," and he walked away.

I stood there for a brief second – a little too toasty. Hmm. What did Solomon mean? What was going to happen? What was going on? And WHERE was Zach? He wasn't with Tina any more... then I saw a dark, male figure slipping out the double doors at the front of the hall, and no one else noticed him. (Which is a very bad thing. Hello! This is a room full of seasoned agents and spies in training!)

Well, I thought, you're not the only one who can pull off a vanishing act, Zach. Two can play at that game.

And I disappeared through the doors, determined to find Zach before something went wrong.

A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first Fanfiction (I've been thinking about it for a while, and just got around to writing it)! Let me know if you love it or hate it! Let me know if you think I should continue, k?

And if you have any suggestions or requests for anything, I'll take them.

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