Hello. Thanks for the reviews of the first chapter of Forrest and Slade: The Popeye Doyle Mission. I hope I kept true to the characters. Granted, one of them is an original creation. But in the case of Alex Forrest, I thought there had to be something in her past that would have had a profound impact on how she behaved now. However, unlike Chuck and Sarah, I wanted to make it something more recent, yet still difficult.
Hopefully I'll keep everybody in character, although you have to admit, outside of my stories, the first part of this chapter would never happen. Still hope you like it.
There's still a little bit of pushing the "T" rating in this chapter, but it's not as much as Chapter 1. I'm guessing I won't be able to keep this story to under 10,000 words, since I've gone over 13,000 with two chapters to go after this. As always, please leave reviews. Thanks!
Echo Park
November 6, 2010
1:15 PM PDT
Sarah Walker was picking up some items in the living room area of their apartment to get it straightened up in anticipation of their dinner tonight with Ellie and Devon. Since Chuck had gotten into cooking more, courtesy of study and his new Intersect, more than a few people have stopped by to sample the cuisine. He cooked for Casey the most number of times, mainly because Chuck and Sarah wanted to break him of his unhealthy candy-bar-and-scotch dinners that seemed to dominate his life. More than once were they tempted to track down Ilsa Trinchina in Europe just for the sake of having her straighten him out. Morgan never turned down an invite, and he was never shy about giving his opinions of the dinner, both good and bad. Sarah curtailed the amount of videogame playing those two did following a dinner. Boys will be boys, she acknowledged, but there had to be limits.
She was about to head to the store, but she needed to ask Chuck a question or two first.
"Sweetie, were you still making steak tonight?"
"Yes I was," Chuck called from the kitchen. "Got them marinating as we speak. I hope they take one of these home. We've got one less tonight with Jimmy not being here."
"Do you want me to get a Merlot or a Cabernet Sauvignon?"
"Cabernet. Get a couple of bottles. You know how Ellie is about wine."
Sarah smiled. One of the benefits of CIA training was knowing how to pick a good wine at almost any price range. Ellie always appreciated Sarah's tastes. Sarah loved having Devon and her over. Ellie and she were beyond close at this point.
Sarah's iPhone began to ring. She didn't recognize the number with the 202 area code.
"Hello?"
"Agent Walker, this is Alex Forrest."
Sarah was surprised, to say the least. Prior to six weeks ago, she would have had more than a few choice words for the cold-blooded agent. However, a bit of a thawing out between them following their last assignment had taken place.
"Yes, Alex?"
"I'm sorry to bother you at home, but I imagine by now you know Jimmy Slade won't be out there today."
"Yes, he called Chuck a few hours ago."
"I have to apologize, Agent Walker…"
"Sarah is fine."
"Thank you. Like I said, I have to apologize for that happening. We have an important assignment on the East Coast, and I put in a request to General Beckman to have him work with me on it."
Sarah playfully wondered whether Forrest requested Jimmy for his field skills or for getting her hot. Probably both. "I understand, Alex. He's very reliable under pressure."
"Actually, Sarah, I wanted to ask you some questions about him. Do you have a few minutes to talk?"
Sarah glanced at the kitchen. She wasn't sure if Forrest wanted her to divulge any of this to Chuck, so she decided to play it safe. "Give me one moment, Alex."
"Of course," Forrest pleasantly replied. Sarah muted her phone.
"Chuck," Sarah called into the kitchen. "I'm going to pick up the wine. Do we need anything else?"
Chuck came sprinting in from the kitchen with a short list. "Could you also get these things, baby?"
Sarah glanced at the list. "No problem. Be back in a little while. Love you."
Chuck kissed her. "Love you, too."
Sarah exited the apartment and got in her Porsche. She put her phone on the passenger seat and turned on the speaker. She pulled out of her parking spot and headed to the store.
"Sorry for the delay, Alex. I just needed to get myself alone."
"No problem. General Beckman provided me with a more detailed file on Jimmy. He has a very impressive list of skills for a new agent. Is there anything that sticks out in your mind about him?"
Sarah smiled. "First and foremost, don't let him pull that crap where he talks negatively about himself. I didn't get on him about that right away when we first met, and I've been regretting it ever since. I don't even know why he does it."
That last sentence was a lie. Sarah knew exactly why Jimmy did that. However, she didn't want to get into a long explanation of Jimmy's horrible past. Keeping him moving forward was far more important.
"I'll make sure I do that. How is he in combat? I only got a glimpse of it in Las Vegas."
"He's greatly improved since the first time we worked with him, although he wasn't bad back then. He's probably on par with me, with the added bonus he's very well built."
That much is certain, Alex thought with a bit of a raunchy smirk. "How about in rescuing someone? Obviously, all of you were great when you rescued me. Anything that I don't know?"
Sarah thought about it for a moment. "That's where it gets a bit tougher. That's when he tends to improvise. I think he still has difficulty putting his life in the hands of others. He has no problem saving someone else's life. But there is no way he will ever let someone risk their life for him. He just won't allow it. If you ever get into a situation where only one of you can live, I guarantee right now that person will be you, Alex."
Alex shook her head. Sometimes she came across people like this in her line of work. They could be more dangerous than someone who stabbed you in the back. "Hero complex?"
"I don't know if it's that bad. He acts as if he has to prove himself worthy to others every waking moment. It's hard to convince him he really is that talented or brave. He's not as bad as he used to be, though. He's come a long way."
"That's a lot of good information, Sarah. I really appreciate all of your help. Now I owe you guys two dinners."
Sarah gave a little laugh. "Any other questions?"
Alex hesitated for a moment. She had more than a few questions left. However, all of them were of a far more personal nature. She mulled it over in her head. Sarah might still be the best source for this.
"Uh, I had one or two, but they're not really of an Agency nature. They're more…um…"
Sarah was surprised to hear the stoic Alex Forrest hem and haw concerning a question. Suddenly she figured out why, and it made her grin. "Are the questions more of the 'just between us ladies' variety?"
Alex laughed. "Yes, exactly. I'm sorry. I don't mean to put you on the spot like that about one of your friends."
Sarah gave a little laugh, too. "I figured you might call me someday and ask questions about what I thought of Jimmy as…well, not an agent."
"You did?"
Now it was Sarah's turn to hesitate. "OK, it's confession time. We had to go back up to Jimmy's room in Las Vegas because Chuck dropped something. And…"
Alex's eyes widened. "Oh, my God. You didn't…"
"It was a little hard not to hear you. Either Jimmy is really good in bed, or you don't realize how loud you are when you have sex."
Alex was turning beet red. "That is so embarrassing."
"Why is that so embarrassing? You had sex. In spite of our prior feelings about you before Las Vegas, we didn't think you were a robot."
That tingling feeling Alex had earlier while reading Jimmy's file returned with a vengeance. "Well, let me tell you. It was definitely the former. That was an amazing Monday in the hotel. It felt like I made up for three years without non-mission sex in one afternoon."
Sarah started laughing hysterically. Alex pulled the phone away from her ear in surprise. "Why is that funny?"
Sarah calmed down. "I'm sorry. It's not that. It's just…I can't tell you. He'd kill me."
"What?"
"OK, but you have to PROMISE nobody finds out. Not Chuck, not Casey, and especially not Jimmy. This is just between you and me."
"I promise, Sarah. What is it?"
"You'll absolutely freak out. But Jimmy's first time probably could be described in the same way you just described that Monday afternoon. I mean, the EXACT same way. Do you know what I am saying?"
Alex's eyes threatened to bulge out of her head, and her jaw was scraping the floor. She was certain she could actually feel Sarah's huge grin bouncing off of cell towers across the country all the way from Burbank. "No way!"
"It was. You were the first to plant your flag on Mount Slade."
"That Monday in Vegas was his first time? Oh, my God. There's no way I would have known that if you didn't tell me. He performed like he had the entire Kama Sutra memorized!"
Sarah's grin was permanently set in stone. "He could very well have. From what we could tell, it certainly sounded like you two went all out."
"I know! I didn't just deflower him. I de-gardened him! I've been through more than my share of crazy things in the bedroom. Getting laryngitis from screaming too much was never one of them."
Sarah laughed. Yet another person discovered the benefits of Jimmy's services, albeit from a completely different department. "Well, we've gotten used to him pulling rabbits out of his hat. Anything he can do doesn't surprise us anymore. It sounds like you're quite smitten with him. You're lucky."
Alex stammered at that thought. "What? No, I can't get into a relationship with him. It's impossible."
"Why not? He's handsome, intelligent, courageous, funny, and apparently he's great in bed. No offense, Alex, but don't you think your standards are a bit too high if you don't think Jimmy's a great catch?"
Alex was starting to feel a bit of a cold shiver. "It's not that. I just can't…It's a personal thing. I can't have a relationship with anybody. I can't have anybody be that close."
"OK, I'll respect your wishes. But I should warn you he's the worst person to work with if you want to keep your distance. He'll get in. Worst of all, he won't even know he's gotten in. He just does. That's what happened to me."
"With Chuck?"
"Jimmy, too."
"Wait. Do you mean…"
"I don't mean with Jimmy in the romantic sense. But there is something about the guy. Let me ask you this. Have you ever treated an asset as if they were your partner?"
"Never. It would be too dangerous. It's crazy."
"I thought that, too. Jimmy didn't work well as an asset. He was very knowledgeable, like Chuck. But when I started treating him like a partner instead, it made all of the difference. He kept getting better and better, and this was before he trained even one day. Other than Chuck and Casey, I've never worked with anybody so valiant. He'll go the grave for you. You better be prepared for him. He'll get you when you least expect it."
Alex sat back on the couch. Suddenly she realized Beckman was right to be concerned about the two working together. But Alex figured it was simply a clash of styles that concerned Beckman. She had to proceed carefully. She would lay out the ground rules with him. Most agents appreciated candor from their partners, and she hoped Jimmy would be the same way.
"Thank you for all of your help, Sarah. I'll try to return him nice and clean with a full tank of gas when I'm done with him."
Sarah laughed. "Not a problem, Alex. Good luck to you."
"And you too, Sarah. Goodbye."
Alex checked the time. 4:30 PM. She decided to go online and check the weather in Chicago and New York. She wanted to get a better idea of what time Jimmy would arrive tonight. No doubt he would be a bit tired from the flight, so she decided to hold off talking business until tomorrow. Other activities would take place tonight. She smiled at the thought, and that tingling sensation returned.
Ritz-Carlton Hotel
November 7, 2010
7:00 AM EST
Alex stirred in the bed. She was having one extremely dirty dream right now. At least she thought she was. Whatever was going on, it was about to send her over the edge. She opened her eyes, and her breathing continued to come fast and intensely. She wasn't dreaming; she really was about to go over the edge. Either she was having a panic attack, or…
She glanced under the sheets. Suddenly she wished it was a panic attack. As much as she appreciated what he was doing…and she was mere seconds away from really appreciating it…this was an awkward moment that had to be stopped right now.
She closed her thighs gently, in spite of her entire body protesting that action, and she pulled him up to her.
"What were you doing, Roger?" she breathlessly whispered, now wishing she hadn't stopped him.
He gave her an annoyed expression. "Checking if the sheets were Egyptian cotton. What do you think I was doing?"
Her breathing returned to normal. "Not that that wasn't good. It was amazing. But Roger, we have to establish the ground rules on how this works. Doing that to me first thing in the morning to wake me up implies intimacy. We don't have that, and I don't want that. We can have only two types of relationships: professional and sexual. I requested to work with you because you're very talented in the field. And obviously you're damn good in the bedroom, too."
Roger propped himself up on his arm and started counting something on his hand. Alex was confused.
"What are you doing?"
"Counting the number of times I've seen this on some lame-ass sitcom," Roger replied with more than a little sarcasm.
"I'm serious! That's all we are. I don't want a relationship beyond that. We help each other out, and we get each other off. That's it."
"Fine." This time, Roger tried to keep the acidity out of his response, but Alex knew he wasn't 100% pleased with it. Truthfully, neither was she.
"Thank you." She glanced at the clock on the nightstand next to her. "OK, it's 8 AM. Let's shower and get dressed. And I mean shower separately, so don't get any ideas."
"It's 7 AM."
Alex bolted up slightly in the bed. "7 AM?" She checked the time on her mobile phone. "You're right. Why is the clock radio wrong?"
"Daylight savings time ended last night."
"Oh, I forgot. Well, if we have an extra hour…."
Her eyes flickered at him with a serious come hither expression that could get men who were 200 miles away erect. She pulled him on top of her. She then pushed down gently on his shoulders and spread her legs as far apart as she could.
"Don't forget my breasts on the way down. I love what your lips do to them. And licking along my inner thigh drives me wild, but you already know that."
He didn't budge, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She was a little confused.
"What? You're next. I promise."
"Somehow I feel like I'm getting the short end of the stick here."
Alex smiled. She got close to his face and flitted the tip of her tongue against his lips.
"First of all," she whispered huskily, sliding her hand down his body. "No one would ever use the terms 'short' or 'stick' when describing you. Second of all, you know I'm good at that. You can't argue that point. You've been the benefactor several times of my ministrations. We both know you enjoy that."
Jimmy gave a playful growl. "Betrayed by biology again."
Alex gave a triumphant grin. "And that's one of the best things about being a woman. We can fake it, and you can't."
She took his face in her hands and started guiding it to her breasts. He looked at her with a slightly hurt expression. Alex pulled his face back so it was level with hers.
"If I had faked it with you, would I want you doing this right now?"
Jimmy smiled. "Good point."
"Exactly." She gave him a teasing kiss, tickling his tongue and pulled his face to her breasts. She lay back down in the bed to enjoy this last hour to the fullest before the work day started.
Ritz-Carlton Hotel
November 7, 2010
8:10 AM EST
If nothing else, Jimmy had manners. He allowed Alex to shower first. It was the one location where Alex Forrest could relax…assuming someone didn't try to attack her in there. It was a good place to collect her thoughts, plan her day, or get a bad mission off of her mind. Admittedly, this was as relaxed as she had been in a while. She had tried the many methods of relaxation the CIA preached to its agents: massages, yoga, Pilates, running, and swimming. They worked to varying degrees of success, and they certainly kept her well-toned. She was a few years on the wrong side of 30, although her body looked better now than it did at 21. But in the end, a good roll in the sack with someone hot that knew what they were doing and satisfied her desires was still the best way to relieve stress. That was certainly the case last night.
She still couldn't believe what Sarah told her yesterday. She was the one to take Jimmy's virginity. He never acted awkward or overly eager about it. He gave no indication whatsoever on that Monday in Las Vegas that he never had sex before. If anything, he acted like he had sex almost every day. How in the hell did he make it all the way to 40 without getting any? Her first sexual encounter was incredibly awkward. Both of them were 16 and they really liked each other. They did it in the back of his father's minivan. It hurt like hell, and he rushed through it like every awkward teenager story ever written. She never told her father, who would have almost certainly gone insane, as any policeman father would. Fortunately, none of the boy's body parts were ever shot off.
There was no question last night was a lot of fun, perhaps even more fun than Las Vegas, because the unfamiliarity was gone, and each of them knew what the other liked. Her tastes, naturally, were a bit more varied than his because of the experience factor, but he did anything she wanted. And he did it well. She could get used to someone like him. Sarah was right: empirically, Jimmy was quite a catch.
She closed her eyes as she rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, and the hot water on her shoulders and back accentuated the feeling on her body her thoughts were giving her right now. Her hands involuntarily slid down her body, savoring the sensations of being in bed with Jimmy, their bodies fused together as each tried to heighten the pleasure for the other with their lips, their touch, their entire being. It was something she was beginning to crave. She felt a fire burning inside her she hadn't felt since…
"Son of a bitch!" Alex practically screamed the curse in rage and threw the hotel-provided bottle of conditioner against the far wall of the shower.
"Dammit! Get it together, Alex!" She berated herself in that shower, not even caring if Jimmy heard it outside. "Don't let him get in your kitchen. Walker warned you about this. He's just another guy. You work with him. You fuck him. But that's all. OK? He's just a toy to play with. You let him inside your body, but you don't let him inside your head, and you sure as hell don't let him inside your heart!"
She quickly exited the shower and dried herself off. Throwing a robe on, she returned to the bedroom. Jimmy had a look of concern on his face.
"Everything OK? I thought I heard some shouting in there."
Forrest was grateful she was excellent at putting on an impassive expression. She wore it now. "Everything is good. The shower is all yours."
He gave a slight smile as he went past her into the bathroom. She put her clothes on a bit more forcefully than she normally did. She hated these feelings that kept coming up. She had the love of her life already. 19 terrorists took that away from her, along with 3,000 other people and a feeling of security in this country. She wasn't entitled to another love. Her life now was to make sure it never happened again to someone else. It was time to move on.
She turned on her laptop and opened the file folders near the desk in the suite. She would go over planning with Jimmy for how to get into Williams & Lowe, LLC. Although Jimmy would be primarily responsible for hacking their systems and getting the information, she would almost certainly be needed to help him get inside. That would be the hard part.
Fifteen minutes had passed. Jimmy walked to the desk behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. She recoiled at the touch.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you didn't like that. Which would be a little odd given, well…you know…"
Forrest glared at him for a moment but then relaxed her posture. He didn't mean any harm. But a little reminder of the ground rules was necessary.
"OK, Roger. It's work time now. That means no more sex. No more kissing, no more groping, we wear clothing in bed, and if we're holding hands, it better be because you're trying to prevent me from plummeting to my death."
Jimmy put his hands up in surrender. "I got that the first 10 times you said it."
Alex exhaled deeply. She was sniping at him without good cause. Was it his fault she didn't want to get close to anybody? Was it his fault that she requested him without realizing her feelings for him were starting to go beyond just great sex? She needed the cold-hearted bitch back that helped her survive up until now, but she also needed to temper that with the fact that she couldn't work alone on this.
Let him do his job, Alex. That's what he's here for. You draw the main plans, and he'll cover the details. You have to work together. That's the only way you're going to stop this potential attack.
She stood up and gestured for him to sit at the laptop. "The file next to the laptop will contain some basic information about Williams and Lowe, LLC. Addresses, corporate structure, major clients, and so on. Dig in and see what else you can get off of their systems from here. If we can't get the information we need, perhaps we can use the computers at the CIA office in North Jersey. But we'd have to wait a couple of hours before we could get in. I'm going to call downstairs and have them send up some breakfast. Is there anything you want in particular?"
"Some juice is fine. If they have some bread and jam, and an apple or pear. That sort of thing."
Alex smiled. A guy built like a pro football player eating that kind of breakfast? Then again, it's probably how he got that build in the first place. Perhaps Jimmy was a former junk food junkie who learned the error of his ways. "That actually sounds good. They might have a continental breakfast tray. I'll order it."
"Thank you."
Alex called room service while Jimmy started his research on the computer. She decided to hang back for a few minutes and give him some breathing room. She could see his shoulders hunch up, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Jimmy was all business now. She sometimes got the same posture when working absorbedly at a computer. It was clear he wanted to get all of the information here while they were still in the hotel. That would be easier to deal with, as local CIA offices didn't appreciate non-local agents on their turf.
There was a knock on the door. Alex checked the peephole while holding her gun behind her back. She checked the server against the list of pictures in a small booklet and verified he was legitimate. She opened the door and pulled the cart in herself. Signing the register, she took the tray, pushed the cart back to him, and quickly closed the door so the server wouldn't get a good view of the room, although the server took more than a long glance at her. She looked at her attire and didn't see anything that would warrant such a lascivious glance.
She put the tray down on the bed and grabbed an apple off of it. "Even dressed down on a Sunday morning, I get leered at. That's crazy."
Jimmy didn't look up from the computer. "Well, you do realize you're quite the head-turner, right?"
"Yeah, I guess. The other girls in high school used to hate me because I looked like this and still managed to be a tomboy. I was all-city in soccer and basketball."
This time, Jimmy looked up from the computer, raising an eyebrow. "You'll forgive me if I don't act surprised."
Alex smiled. What was the opposite of a backhanded compliment? A kind insult? She handed him the apple. "And if I were to guess, I would say you played football in high school. Based on your size, you were probably a lineman. And most likely a damn good one."
She noticed Jimmy turn back to the computer quickly, and his bemused expression disappeared in a heartbeat, replaced with something a bit more sullen. "Uh, yeah. 4 years."
"You don't like talking about your past."
"Not especially, no."
That explains a few things, Alex thought. The supposedly complete file on Jimmy that General Beckman gave her only indicated where he went to school and his actual age. After that, all of his information was only one year old, starting around the same time he ran into Bartowski, Walker, and Casey. The irony was not lost on her that she was someone who only wanted to remember those more innocent times back in high school and college, while Jimmy only started to live his life 12 months ago.
Even without the file, a clearer picture of Slade began to form in Alex's mind. Sarah told her about his negative self-image, and she recalled the talk they had in the hotel in Las Vegas that Monday, when he confessed that he had been alone for most of his life. Like her, there must have been something that happened in his past. Perhaps it was one event or a series of events. It was a common theme among many field agents. But it was clear that the Jimmy she knew must have been someone who had worked very hard to put his life back together from whatever tore it apart in the first place. Given what she's seen of him on the job, she had to admire that.
Behind Jimmy, Alex inwardly cursed herself. Clearly Sarah knew Jimmy very well. He was getting under her skin, and he wasn't even doing anything to make that happen. Alex had to get those thoughts out of her mind and get back on the case.
Fortunately for her, Jimmy would assist in that.
"OK, I've pulled up the personnel records, schematics of their network systems, and a very basic sketch of their corporate infrastructure."
"Good. Can we access any client accounts?"
"Unfortunately, not from here or the CIA office. All we'd get are encrypted files that would take at least two days to decipher. We'll have to get that information at the brokerage firm."
Forrest started reading the screen over Jimmy's shoulder. "According to the file, they have two permanent IT people on site, and they outsource the rest to a company on Water Street. We'll find where one of them lives, tranq them tonight, and go in as replacement IT people tomorrow."
Jimmy gave her a nervous look. "And what happens when he wakes up? The first thing he does is call the police. Plus, the two IT people have perfect attendance records. If one of them is missing, that'll raise a red flag right away."
Alex was getting a little annoyed about Jimmy trying to countermand her plan. "Do you have a better idea?"
Jimmy started looking over the surveillance footage of the office. The brokerage firm occupied the 30th, 31st, and 32nd floors of Chase Manhattan Plaza. He noticed something in one of the shots.
"Who's the redhead mistaking the office for a nightclub?"
Alex looked at the same image. "Obviously someone who doesn't follow strict business attire."
Jimmy checked her image against the personnel database. "She's not listed in their records."
"A temp, maybe? They wouldn't follow dress regulations so closely."
"Ah, good point." Jimmy checked the records of the temp agency Williams and Lowe used. "Right. Here she is. Kylie Scott. Born 1/15/87, Brooklyn, New York. Dropped out of high school. Went back two years later to get her G.E.D., and is currently taking night school classes to get a degree."
Jimmy cross-checked her file against databases from Homeland, the NSA, and the IRS. "Whew, bit of a party animal. Credit cards get swiped at certain clubs on Saturday and Sunday nights. Probably hangs out with industry people on Sundays to get the really good drink deals at the bars. I think we have our way in."
Alex gave him a weird look. "She's your way to get into the office?"
"Nope. She's your way to get into the office."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll replace her as a temp from the same agency. You get into the office, where you'll find someone's computer and drop a virus into the system. Their IT department will call for some extra hands, and I can sneak into their systems almost undetected while they try to restore everything. A little diversion will make it easier for me to poke around."
"And how do you plan to get her out of the office?"
"She'll be the one who gets the tranquilizer. I'll go to the bar tonight, get her to pick me up, and go back to her place. Once she's asleep, I'll knock her out for the rest of the day, drain the battery on her mobile phone, and kill the power on her clock radio. When she wakes up at the end of the day tomorrow, she'll just think she had too much fun the night before and it was bad luck she didn't charge her phone. She's probably not the type that is really helpful in an office environment until around midday Tuesdays, anyway."
Alex went over Jimmy's idea in her head. It was a far more complicated plan, but it also left fewer loose ends. Usually it was better to keep plans simple. However, she knew she could do what Jimmy suggested, and he had certainly proven himself capable enough to be granted some leeway. A little part of her was also curious to see Jimmy try to hit on someone in a bar.
"OK, we'll try it. We'll set up a camera and microphone on you, and I'll monitor you and give you any guidance if you need it."
"Uh, actually, I'll need you in the bar."
"What for?"
"Your job tonight will be to make sure I have no competition."
"And how do I do that?"
Jimmy's eyes widened a bit in surprise. He looked up and down her body and then gestured to it. "Really? Do you actually not know or are you just fishing for compliments?"
Alex looked up to the ceiling, a little annoyed with herself. She then smiled at Jimmy.
"Oh, right. I can take care of that easily for you. Of course, if you still want to throw a few compliments my way, I certainly won't stop you."
Jimmy raised an impish eyebrow. "Didn't I compliment you enough last night and this morning?"
Alex returned the expression in kind. "This is true. You complimented me until I couldn't take it anymore."
Alex walked back to the tray to pour some juice. Out of Jimmy's vision, she gritted her teeth, upset for letting the banter go on too long. Not only was she flirting with him, he was doing it right back to her.
Professional, Alex. Keep it professional. You don't flirt with him, and he'll stop as well. He's a decent guy. He'll respect your boundaries if you set them. Work and sex, and that's it.
She glanced back at him. He was typing away at the computer, looking for more information.
Work and sex, work and sex, work and sex.
She kept chanting that mantra in her mind. Hopefully, she could convince herself into believing that's all they'll have.