The next morning, Amanda arrived at work promptly at 9 o'clock. As she entered the bullpen, she caught sight of Lee and Mr. Melrose deep in conversation in the latter's office. She watched them through the open blinds as she sat down at her desk and put away her purse. They seemed to be arguing.
She was so absorbed in observing them that the sound of the phone ringing caught her off guard. She jumped, then quickly reached down and picked it up.
"Hello," she answered.
"Is this Victoria Greenwich?" a familiar man's voice asked.
"Yes, this is she." In spite of herself, a smile crept across her face.
"The beautiful Victoria Greenwich who made such an impression on me last night at the party?" he continued.
She shot a glance in Lee's direction. So much for Delano not remembering her. "Well, I ... yes," she answered.
"The Victoria Greenwich who is going to have dinner with me tonight?"
"Oh," she said in surprise.
"I know this is short notice," Delano said in a persuasive tone, "but I really would love to see you again."
"Can I call you back in half an hour?" Amanda asked. "I need to see if I can rearrange my social calendar."
"Of course," he said graciously. "I'll be anxiously awaiting your call."
She jotted down his number and stared at it as she hung up the phone.
***
"There has got to be another way."
"Well, if you come up with something else, let me know." Billy sat down at his desk and opened a file folder. "In the meantime, we're going to use Amanda."
"She's got no training in this sort of thing," Lee continued to protest. "I just don't think this is going to work."
"She doesn't need training. Delano takes her out for dinner, she keeps him occupied for a few hours, and we sweep his house. We'll put a wire on her, so we'll know where he is the entire time. It's simple."
"Simple. Right." Lee paced the length of Billy's office, distractedly running his hand through his hair. "So, what if he doesn't call her, huh? Then this whole thing's a moot point, right?" he asked hopefully.
"You did say that Delano seemed quite taken with her," his section chief mused. "We could arrange for her to bump into him again."
"What?" Lee asked incredulously. "Look, even if she does, we can't force the guy to ask her out. I still think we have to come up with an alternative."
At the sound of a knock on the door, they both turned. Lee opened it to find Amanda standing there.
"Good morning, sir, Lee," she greeted them in turn as she walked into the office. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked.
"Not at all, Amanda," Billy replied with a smile. "In fact we were just talking about you. You did some fine work last night."
"Thank you, sir." She sat down, shooting a quick glance at Lee, who remained silent. "I just went with my instincts."
"We were discussing what to do when Delano calls you," Billy continued.
"If he calls you," Lee broke in smoothly, laying particular emphasis on the first word.
"Fine," Billy acquiesced with a roll of his eyes. Lee folded his arms across his chest and propped himself against the doorframe. "Okay, Amanda, IF he calls, would you mind going out with him? Maybe you could give him a hint, mention a restaurant you've been wanting to go to. We need to get inside his house, make a quick sweep, and see if we can figure out what exactly is going on."
Lee broke in, "We need to have a back-up plan, though. That is, if he doesn't call you within the next few days. Don't worry about it though; it's no big deal. I mean he's a busy man, he "
"... called me ten minutes ago," she segued, looking back to see his reaction.
"What?" Lee asked incredulously, pushing himself off the doorjamb and straightening up.
Billy shook his head. "Doesn't surprise me a bit. So, what did you tell him?"
She tried to keep even a trace of smugness out of her voice as she answered. "He's waiting for me to call him back and let him know if I'll have dinner with him tonight."
"Tonight?" Lee's powers of speech seemed to have shrunk to single word sentences.
"Is that enough time for you to set things up?" Amanda turned back to Billy. "I could tell him another night would be better."
"No, we should be able to manage. But we'll have to get busy with a scenario team. Lee, can you take Amanda down to level six and put things in motion?"
"Sure," he said, not looking at all happy as he held the door open for Amanda and followed her out.
***
"Amanda? Are you ready?"
"Just give me another couple of minutes, Lee," Amanda called from the dressing room adjoining 'her' bedroom. She stood there clad in slip and stockings, wondering for the tenth time in as many minutes if she had picked the right outfit for the evening.
"Fine," Lee replied. "I've brought you your jewellery for tonight, including a brooch complete with microphone."
"I can't believe how quickly you managed to arrange all of this." She continued the conversation through the closed door.
"It's not like we haven't done this sort of thing before. Besides, we've been compiling data on Delano ever since we realized he was involved with the East Germans." He cleared his throat and hesitantly plunged on, apparently finding it easier to say the words when she wasn't in the room. "Amanda, about what I said last night and this morning ... about Delano not calling you again ..."
"Yes?" Her voice sounded a bit muffled as she slipped the ruffled blouse over her head. Maybe she should have waited to put her hair up until after she had dressed.
"I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I guess I was caught off guard by this whole thing. I didn't realize that ... I never thought that ... Look, are you sure you really want to get involved in all this? Being out in the field is a very different thing than working at your desk in the bullpen."
"Lee, I'm aware of that. And I know I haven't had any training or experience. But Mr. Melrose wouldn't have asked me to do this if he didn't think I could handle it." She eased into the floor-length skirt and adjusted its folds around herself.
"I have no doubt you can. It's just ..."
"It's just what?" she asked, opening the door.
He looked up as she entered the room, at first just a quick glance, then a prolonged scrutiny.
"What?" she asked self consciously, looking down quickly. "Is there something wrong? Do I look all right?"
"You look spectacular," he said in an awed tone.
Amanda could feel the colour rise in her cheeks. "It's the outfit. I feel like I'm ten years old and playing dress-up again. Only with much nicer clothes." She ran a hand over her blouse, smoothing the ruffled fabric over the skirt. "Anyone can look good if they have enough money. I would never be able to afford a quarter of the dresses in this closet."
Lee got up and walked over to her. "No, it's not the clothes. It's you."
"Thank you." She reached out and took his hand in one of hers. "Now, what were you going to say?" she prompted him. "It's just what?"
"It's just I feel responsible for getting you into all of this." He looked down at their hands, absently running his thumb over the back of her fingers. "First giving you the package at the train station and now dragging you to that reception. I wouldn't want to see anything happen to you. This ..." he looked at her again, using his free hand to make a sweeping gesture, "might all seem like a game, but it's very real, Amanda. The stakes could get very high."
"I know, and I appreciate your concern. But Lee, this is something I want to do." She tightened her fingers around his for a moment and spoke with quiet resolution. "I'm not doing this because of you. I'm doing this because I want to."
Letting go of his hand, she sat down at the dressing table and began to tuck in wayward strands of hair. "I'm just worried that I'll make a mistake. There are so many details to keep straight. All that travel and houses and consulates all over the world. It's like being someone in a fantasy you have when you're a kid."
"Well, you know what happens to some of those fantasies, don't you? You grow up and you find out how lousy things really are." Lee sat down on the bed again, picked up the brooch and began to make adjustments. He frowned as he worked the tiny microphone into place.
"I know. It's just I've never been anyone like Victoria before. She's led such a fascinating life, no wonder Delano wants to go out with her."
Lee glanced up and their eyes met in the mirror over her dressing table. "He can have Victoria Greenwich," he said. "It's Amanda King I'm interested in."
She smiled as she clipped her earrings in place. The heavy golden drops brushed against her cheeks as she reached down and lifted the matching necklace from its box.
"Here, let me," Lee offered, getting up and walking over to her. He set the brooch on the table and took the ends of the necklace from her. The pendant dangled in front of her face as he brought the strands together at the back.
His fingers grazed against the nape of her neck as he struggled with the tiny clasp, finally getting it to fasten. "There," he said, again meeting her gaze in the mirror. "It's perfect."
"Thank you."
Instead of moving away, he slid his fingers along the back of her neck, rubbing gently as he traced patterns against her skin.
"Mmmm ... that feels nice," she sighed.
"I was hoping for a little more enthusiastic response than 'nice'," he murmured.
Tiny prickles of electricity ran up and down her spine as his fingertips slowly caressed her. With a subtle increase in pressure, he began to massage the base of her neck with his thumbs. Amanda closed her eyes and sighed again, basking in his touch. His hands were warm against her skin, the movements of his fingers strong and deliberate. She could feel her body tremble as sensations and images from the night in his apartment came rushing back.
Lee leaned down and brushed his lips against her skin. He gently nuzzled her hair, displacing the tiny curls that had escaped the pins. His hands slowly moved over her shoulders, his fingers slipping beneath the collar of her blouse.
"You know, I used to have fantasies about secret agents," she confessed.
"Really?" he asked, his voice little more than a sigh, his breath tickling the hairs at the base of her neck. "Care to share any details?" He laughed, a low throaty sound that made her pulse jump. He pressed against her once more, his lips seeking her skin to plant another soft kiss.
His next words were a bare hint of breath in her ear. "You know, this exact neck rub once caused a member of a certain royal family to make me a rather indiscreet offer."
Involuntarily, her eyes flew open at his words, and her body tensed. Lee drew back a step as she quickly swivelled in the chair to face him.
"Amanda, what's wrong?" he asked, clearly puzzled.
"You've actually dated royalty," she said slowly. "Sometimes I forget just how different our lives really are."
"Would it help if I told you it was a small country?" he offered with a smile.
She refused to be sidetracked by his attempt at humour. "Lee, I'm serious. It's not like you've ever had fantasies about suburban moms, have you?" she asked quietly as if daring him to contradict her.
"Amanda, why is that important?" She just sat there looking intently at him until he shook his head, finally conceding, "No, I can't say that I ever did."
She twisted her hands in her lap nervously. "I didn't think so."
He knelt beside her, reaching out to cover her hands with his. "Amanda," he said quietly. He tightened his fingers around hers until she finally looked up and met his eyes. "You're right. I haven't had fantasies about suburban moms." Slowly reaching up with one hand, he cupped her face. "Until recently, that is. And I had no idea what I was missing," he murmured, brushing his lips against hers, tantalizing her with his touch.
Amanda leaned in ever so slightly, just enough to close the minuscule gap between them. She marvelled again at the feel of his mouth against hers, soft yet possessive, seeking, yet moving with a sense of certainty. She pushed back against him, crushing her lips against his, wanting to let him know that she returned a hundredfold the desire she'd seen in his eyes.
Lee slowly stood up, pulling Amanda to her feet. His hands moved from her face to her shoulders then slipped around her back as he drew her even closer to him. She could feel the heat rising from his body through the thin fabric of his shirt as she slipped her hands beneath his jacket. Her actions mirrored his as she ran her fingers down his spine, gently pulling his body towards her.
"Mr. Stetson. Are you in there?"
A knock at the door, as abrupt as a gunshot, caused them to jump away from each other.
"Um ... yes, I'm here," Lee replied, smoothing down his jacket. "I was helping Mrs. King with her wire."
"Well, they called from the surveillance team outside Delano's estate." Amanda recognized the voice of the agent who was posing as her maid. "His limo left a few minutes ago, so he should be here shortly."
"Fine, thanks, we'll, uh, be down in a few minutes."
They stood, silently looking at each other, until her footsteps receded down the hall.
"You know, we really should get that wire on you." Lee gestured towards the brooch still lying on the dressing table.
Amanda quickly fixed a few errant strands of hair. "Yes, I can't exactly go on this date without it," she replied.
"Okay, so here's how you need to pin it ..."
***
TBC
She was so absorbed in observing them that the sound of the phone ringing caught her off guard. She jumped, then quickly reached down and picked it up.
"Hello," she answered.
"Is this Victoria Greenwich?" a familiar man's voice asked.
"Yes, this is she." In spite of herself, a smile crept across her face.
"The beautiful Victoria Greenwich who made such an impression on me last night at the party?" he continued.
She shot a glance in Lee's direction. So much for Delano not remembering her. "Well, I ... yes," she answered.
"The Victoria Greenwich who is going to have dinner with me tonight?"
"Oh," she said in surprise.
"I know this is short notice," Delano said in a persuasive tone, "but I really would love to see you again."
"Can I call you back in half an hour?" Amanda asked. "I need to see if I can rearrange my social calendar."
"Of course," he said graciously. "I'll be anxiously awaiting your call."
She jotted down his number and stared at it as she hung up the phone.
***
"There has got to be another way."
"Well, if you come up with something else, let me know." Billy sat down at his desk and opened a file folder. "In the meantime, we're going to use Amanda."
"She's got no training in this sort of thing," Lee continued to protest. "I just don't think this is going to work."
"She doesn't need training. Delano takes her out for dinner, she keeps him occupied for a few hours, and we sweep his house. We'll put a wire on her, so we'll know where he is the entire time. It's simple."
"Simple. Right." Lee paced the length of Billy's office, distractedly running his hand through his hair. "So, what if he doesn't call her, huh? Then this whole thing's a moot point, right?" he asked hopefully.
"You did say that Delano seemed quite taken with her," his section chief mused. "We could arrange for her to bump into him again."
"What?" Lee asked incredulously. "Look, even if she does, we can't force the guy to ask her out. I still think we have to come up with an alternative."
At the sound of a knock on the door, they both turned. Lee opened it to find Amanda standing there.
"Good morning, sir, Lee," she greeted them in turn as she walked into the office. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked.
"Not at all, Amanda," Billy replied with a smile. "In fact we were just talking about you. You did some fine work last night."
"Thank you, sir." She sat down, shooting a quick glance at Lee, who remained silent. "I just went with my instincts."
"We were discussing what to do when Delano calls you," Billy continued.
"If he calls you," Lee broke in smoothly, laying particular emphasis on the first word.
"Fine," Billy acquiesced with a roll of his eyes. Lee folded his arms across his chest and propped himself against the doorframe. "Okay, Amanda, IF he calls, would you mind going out with him? Maybe you could give him a hint, mention a restaurant you've been wanting to go to. We need to get inside his house, make a quick sweep, and see if we can figure out what exactly is going on."
Lee broke in, "We need to have a back-up plan, though. That is, if he doesn't call you within the next few days. Don't worry about it though; it's no big deal. I mean he's a busy man, he "
"... called me ten minutes ago," she segued, looking back to see his reaction.
"What?" Lee asked incredulously, pushing himself off the doorjamb and straightening up.
Billy shook his head. "Doesn't surprise me a bit. So, what did you tell him?"
She tried to keep even a trace of smugness out of her voice as she answered. "He's waiting for me to call him back and let him know if I'll have dinner with him tonight."
"Tonight?" Lee's powers of speech seemed to have shrunk to single word sentences.
"Is that enough time for you to set things up?" Amanda turned back to Billy. "I could tell him another night would be better."
"No, we should be able to manage. But we'll have to get busy with a scenario team. Lee, can you take Amanda down to level six and put things in motion?"
"Sure," he said, not looking at all happy as he held the door open for Amanda and followed her out.
***
"Amanda? Are you ready?"
"Just give me another couple of minutes, Lee," Amanda called from the dressing room adjoining 'her' bedroom. She stood there clad in slip and stockings, wondering for the tenth time in as many minutes if she had picked the right outfit for the evening.
"Fine," Lee replied. "I've brought you your jewellery for tonight, including a brooch complete with microphone."
"I can't believe how quickly you managed to arrange all of this." She continued the conversation through the closed door.
"It's not like we haven't done this sort of thing before. Besides, we've been compiling data on Delano ever since we realized he was involved with the East Germans." He cleared his throat and hesitantly plunged on, apparently finding it easier to say the words when she wasn't in the room. "Amanda, about what I said last night and this morning ... about Delano not calling you again ..."
"Yes?" Her voice sounded a bit muffled as she slipped the ruffled blouse over her head. Maybe she should have waited to put her hair up until after she had dressed.
"I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I guess I was caught off guard by this whole thing. I didn't realize that ... I never thought that ... Look, are you sure you really want to get involved in all this? Being out in the field is a very different thing than working at your desk in the bullpen."
"Lee, I'm aware of that. And I know I haven't had any training or experience. But Mr. Melrose wouldn't have asked me to do this if he didn't think I could handle it." She eased into the floor-length skirt and adjusted its folds around herself.
"I have no doubt you can. It's just ..."
"It's just what?" she asked, opening the door.
He looked up as she entered the room, at first just a quick glance, then a prolonged scrutiny.
"What?" she asked self consciously, looking down quickly. "Is there something wrong? Do I look all right?"
"You look spectacular," he said in an awed tone.
Amanda could feel the colour rise in her cheeks. "It's the outfit. I feel like I'm ten years old and playing dress-up again. Only with much nicer clothes." She ran a hand over her blouse, smoothing the ruffled fabric over the skirt. "Anyone can look good if they have enough money. I would never be able to afford a quarter of the dresses in this closet."
Lee got up and walked over to her. "No, it's not the clothes. It's you."
"Thank you." She reached out and took his hand in one of hers. "Now, what were you going to say?" she prompted him. "It's just what?"
"It's just I feel responsible for getting you into all of this." He looked down at their hands, absently running his thumb over the back of her fingers. "First giving you the package at the train station and now dragging you to that reception. I wouldn't want to see anything happen to you. This ..." he looked at her again, using his free hand to make a sweeping gesture, "might all seem like a game, but it's very real, Amanda. The stakes could get very high."
"I know, and I appreciate your concern. But Lee, this is something I want to do." She tightened her fingers around his for a moment and spoke with quiet resolution. "I'm not doing this because of you. I'm doing this because I want to."
Letting go of his hand, she sat down at the dressing table and began to tuck in wayward strands of hair. "I'm just worried that I'll make a mistake. There are so many details to keep straight. All that travel and houses and consulates all over the world. It's like being someone in a fantasy you have when you're a kid."
"Well, you know what happens to some of those fantasies, don't you? You grow up and you find out how lousy things really are." Lee sat down on the bed again, picked up the brooch and began to make adjustments. He frowned as he worked the tiny microphone into place.
"I know. It's just I've never been anyone like Victoria before. She's led such a fascinating life, no wonder Delano wants to go out with her."
Lee glanced up and their eyes met in the mirror over her dressing table. "He can have Victoria Greenwich," he said. "It's Amanda King I'm interested in."
She smiled as she clipped her earrings in place. The heavy golden drops brushed against her cheeks as she reached down and lifted the matching necklace from its box.
"Here, let me," Lee offered, getting up and walking over to her. He set the brooch on the table and took the ends of the necklace from her. The pendant dangled in front of her face as he brought the strands together at the back.
His fingers grazed against the nape of her neck as he struggled with the tiny clasp, finally getting it to fasten. "There," he said, again meeting her gaze in the mirror. "It's perfect."
"Thank you."
Instead of moving away, he slid his fingers along the back of her neck, rubbing gently as he traced patterns against her skin.
"Mmmm ... that feels nice," she sighed.
"I was hoping for a little more enthusiastic response than 'nice'," he murmured.
Tiny prickles of electricity ran up and down her spine as his fingertips slowly caressed her. With a subtle increase in pressure, he began to massage the base of her neck with his thumbs. Amanda closed her eyes and sighed again, basking in his touch. His hands were warm against her skin, the movements of his fingers strong and deliberate. She could feel her body tremble as sensations and images from the night in his apartment came rushing back.
Lee leaned down and brushed his lips against her skin. He gently nuzzled her hair, displacing the tiny curls that had escaped the pins. His hands slowly moved over her shoulders, his fingers slipping beneath the collar of her blouse.
"You know, I used to have fantasies about secret agents," she confessed.
"Really?" he asked, his voice little more than a sigh, his breath tickling the hairs at the base of her neck. "Care to share any details?" He laughed, a low throaty sound that made her pulse jump. He pressed against her once more, his lips seeking her skin to plant another soft kiss.
His next words were a bare hint of breath in her ear. "You know, this exact neck rub once caused a member of a certain royal family to make me a rather indiscreet offer."
Involuntarily, her eyes flew open at his words, and her body tensed. Lee drew back a step as she quickly swivelled in the chair to face him.
"Amanda, what's wrong?" he asked, clearly puzzled.
"You've actually dated royalty," she said slowly. "Sometimes I forget just how different our lives really are."
"Would it help if I told you it was a small country?" he offered with a smile.
She refused to be sidetracked by his attempt at humour. "Lee, I'm serious. It's not like you've ever had fantasies about suburban moms, have you?" she asked quietly as if daring him to contradict her.
"Amanda, why is that important?" She just sat there looking intently at him until he shook his head, finally conceding, "No, I can't say that I ever did."
She twisted her hands in her lap nervously. "I didn't think so."
He knelt beside her, reaching out to cover her hands with his. "Amanda," he said quietly. He tightened his fingers around hers until she finally looked up and met his eyes. "You're right. I haven't had fantasies about suburban moms." Slowly reaching up with one hand, he cupped her face. "Until recently, that is. And I had no idea what I was missing," he murmured, brushing his lips against hers, tantalizing her with his touch.
Amanda leaned in ever so slightly, just enough to close the minuscule gap between them. She marvelled again at the feel of his mouth against hers, soft yet possessive, seeking, yet moving with a sense of certainty. She pushed back against him, crushing her lips against his, wanting to let him know that she returned a hundredfold the desire she'd seen in his eyes.
Lee slowly stood up, pulling Amanda to her feet. His hands moved from her face to her shoulders then slipped around her back as he drew her even closer to him. She could feel the heat rising from his body through the thin fabric of his shirt as she slipped her hands beneath his jacket. Her actions mirrored his as she ran her fingers down his spine, gently pulling his body towards her.
"Mr. Stetson. Are you in there?"
A knock at the door, as abrupt as a gunshot, caused them to jump away from each other.
"Um ... yes, I'm here," Lee replied, smoothing down his jacket. "I was helping Mrs. King with her wire."
"Well, they called from the surveillance team outside Delano's estate." Amanda recognized the voice of the agent who was posing as her maid. "His limo left a few minutes ago, so he should be here shortly."
"Fine, thanks, we'll, uh, be down in a few minutes."
They stood, silently looking at each other, until her footsteps receded down the hall.
"You know, we really should get that wire on you." Lee gestured towards the brooch still lying on the dressing table.
Amanda quickly fixed a few errant strands of hair. "Yes, I can't exactly go on this date without it," she replied.
"Okay, so here's how you need to pin it ..."
***
TBC