Chapter One
There were a few things that made the list of what Maggie Bell detested the most – and being stuck in an insane traffic jam just about topped the list. Thankfully she'd already dropped the twins off at school so now all that Maggie had to worry about was being late to her first day working for the FBI field house in Manhattan. Glancing at the clock in her SUV's dash, Maggie lets out a soft groan before sending a text to Dana Mosier, her new boss. I'm running a bit behind. Stuck in the worst traffic jam EVER. Pressing send, Maggie sets her phone on her right thigh.
Within nanoseconds Dana's response comes buzzing through to Maggie's cell phone and the brunette turns the phone's screen back up, nearly laughing aloud at the text. Take your time. I'll explain why you're going to be late or I can send Jubal on foot to get you.
Which one is Jubal? Maggie types quickly back. I forgot.
At the field house Dana snaps a quick photo of Jubal in profile then sends the photo to Maggie. Jubal looks up just then, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion & curiosity. "Did you just take a photo of me?"
"Curiosity killed the cat, Agent Valentine," Dana responds with a mysterious smile.
"You know I've always been more of a dog person, Dana," Jubal says with a slight frown. "Now who'd you send the photo to?"
"That's for me to know and you to figure out – on your own," Dana replies, the mysterious smirk still evident on her face as she grabs his FBI jacket and tosses it in his direction. "I need a favor. Maggie Bell, the new female agent I hired, is stuck in traffic."
Jubal, after catching his jacket in one hand, groans. "You owe me for this, Dana," he says before heading out to go find Maggie.
Kristen Chazal, the team's analyst, looks at Dana. "You're totally trying to set them up!"
"Maybe, maybe not," Dana replies. "Jubal needs a good woman after his & Samantha's divorce became finalized."
"And Maggie? What do you think she needs?" Kristen asks.
"A man that would make her smile & laugh again," Dana replies.
Kristen nods. "I hope you can make it happen," she tells the agent in charge.
Dana smiles in response before they get back to work on the latest case. Meanwhile Maggie hums to herself as she drums on her car's steering wheel before yelping in fright when the front passenger door whips open. Jubal smiles to calmly reassure her before pointing to first her car keys and then the duffel bag in the front seat. "My SUV is around the corner, we'll take it back," he tells her.
"What about mine?" Maggie asks, her earlier smile creasing into a frown.
"I'll come back for it in that parking garage over there," Jubal says, pointing to the said garage past her left shoulder.
Maggie turns to look where he's pointing, nods, and honks her way through to get into the parking garage. Which is relatively empty, thankfully, as Jubal follows behind her car on foot. After locking her car once Jubal has the duffel bag, Maggie hurries along beside him as they walk out of the garage. Outside, Maggie pauses. "You're Jordan's father," she observes.
"How do you know Jordan?" Jubal asks, turning to her in surprise when she mentioned his son's name.
"You and I have met before, when we were both called to the elementary school," Maggie tells him.
"Oh right, you're the mom of those adorable little girls. What are their names again?" Jubal asks her.
"Mattie & Jillian," Maggie replies, the pride evident in her facial expression.
"Right, and Jordan protected Mattie from the school bully," Jubal says, smiling softly at the nod Maggie gives him.
"And both girls got a friend in your daughter Abigail because of that," Maggie mentions. "Which leads to my next question. Can we keep all of that away from work?"
"Of course," Jubal replies as he helps her into his dark gray SUV, placing the duffel bag at her feet. Maggie closes the door herself then waits until Jubal has gotten into the driver's seat to buckle herself in and settles back for the short drive.
After arriving Maggie follows behind Jubal and nods when he indicates where to take her duffel bag. She returns a few minutes later and is immediately cornered by Dana. "So…"
"So…nothing. He did what you asked and I'm here," Maggie says, walking to the group gathered around a computer and discussing their latest case. When one of them brings up having to go undercover, Maggie jumps in. "I'll do it."
The group stare at her in shock before Dana gestures for Maggie to follow herself & Jubal to Jubal's shared office with Dana. Maggie does so, standing silent as Dana leans against the desk on the palms of her hands. "You haven't even been here for an hour, Maggie. Are you sure about this?"
"Not that my opinion matters, but I believe that she's ready for this, Dana," Jubal pipes in to say before Maggie gets a chance to speak up. "And I'll take the assignment with her."
Dana nods. "Okay, let's get things rolling."
They return to the others before heading down to the wardrobe department. While Dana walks in there with the rest of the group, Maggie pulls Jubal aside. "You didn't have to take this assignment with me. I could've gone by myself."
"And miss the opportunity?" Jubal asks, feigning shock as he places one hand over his heart. "I'm wounded."
"I mean it. Like Dana said, it's my first day and already I'm wanting to prove myself for her," Maggie tells him.
"Then let's work together. I can be your coach & guide during your first undercover op," Jubal says, bending down slightly to make her look him in the eye.
"Oh well, I guess that'd be alright," Maggie replies, the palms of her hands laying flat against his chest. As if they belonged there, Jubal's heart begins to race faster & faster at her simple touch. She jerks both hands away as if his heart racing had caused some kind of burn before turning to walk through the wardrobe department's door to join the others.
Jubal sighs to himself.
How had he already managed to screw up?