Chapter Five
"Can I just shoot somebody instead?," Quinn asked.
Carrie laughed, "We're almost done." They'd already spent a half hour going through the play that Quinn was going to make to recruit Amani, and Carrie knew that was about 29 minutes more than what Quinn wanted to spend on it.
Quinn rolled his eyes and sighed yet again, "Carrie, I've fucked women before. In fact, I've fucked a lot of them. I swear I've got game. You can ask most of the members of the nursing association in Virginia."
"Nobody likes a bragger, Quinn," Carrie pointed out. "C'mon, this isn't about how to flirt. This is about the play you're going to make. If I recall correctly, you helped me do the same thing before I met Brody in that hotel bar."
"And we all know how well that worked out," Quinn scoffed.
"Yeah well, maybe if you had been a better coach, it would've gone better." Carrie took a quick drink of her coffee and jumped down off the table on which she had been perched. The office was long empty, as she and Quinn had stayed late to talk through the play with Amani.
"Okay, we know she likes to sneak into the disco at the Marriott on the weekends, so that makes sense as the place to approach her. Plus, she wouldn't be surprised to encounter an American there. So let's role play this." Carrie walked over to their tall work table and sat on the stool. She flipped her hair over, tilted her face down and looked up at Quinn through her eyelashes as she purred, "I'm Amani. Come and get me."
Quinn gave a small laugh as he walked over to her. He sat down on the stool next to Carrie and sipped his water.
After a minute, Carrie finally protested, "Ok, you can't just sit there drinking. You have to actually do something."
"Do I?," Quinn smirked. "This usually works nine out of ten times without me ever having to say a word."
"Arrogant bastard," Carrie muttered. She blew out a breath and then tried again, "Okay, pretend I'm the one time out of ten just to get this moving."
Quinn nodded and stood up. Then, he slid smoothly onto the stool next to Carrie, looking at her until she turned her head to look back. He gave her a sexy, half smile as he said, "Pardon me, is this seat taken?"
Carrie, caught off guard by the smile, fumbled her words the slightest bit as she responded, "Um, no. Go ahead." She started to turn her glass in her hands, as she felt Quinn's eyes on her.
"So," Quinn said. He leaned in closer until he was just a few inches away, "I don't think you're supposed to be here."
Carrie couldn't help but smile at his cocky approach, "What do you know about where I'm supposed to be?"
"Nothin'" Quinn said, putting up his hands up in mock protest. "All I know is a pretty, local girl in a disco full of untrustworthy, foreign men has bad news written all over it."
"Aw, I get it. Men like you, right?," Carrie teased.
"Me? No, I'm just here for the music. I won't allow myself to be corrupted by a woman like you," Quinn said with a sly smile.
Carrie laughed again. She had never really noticed his dimples before. Probably because he doesn't smile much, she thought.
"Well, what if I want to corrupt you?" Carrie flirted as she twisted around in her stool to face him more directly.
Quinn gave a small laugh and shook his head. He then turned to face her and leaned forward until his nose was just inches from hers. He held her gaze as his hand drifted to her knee. Carrie drew in a breath at the contact, but didn't look away. Quinn then slowly moved his hand up her thigh to where her hand was resting. He gently picked up her hand and began to stroke her fingers with his thumb. His eyes never left hers. "Trust me, sweetheart, you couldn't handle me."
Her breath was shallow and quick, but Carrie couldn't look away. Unconsciously, she licked her lips and just as she was about to speak, her cell phone rang. Carrie jumped as if she had been suddenly jolted back to reality and she jerked her hand away.
"Um, I should, uh, probably get that," she muttered as she slid off the stool and walked to the table where her bag was sitting. She fumbled around for a few seconds and then finally fished out her phone. She looked the number, frowned slightly and then pressed "ignore."
Quinn's eyes had followed her and he noticed her quick frown. He furrowed his brow as he asked, "Bad news?"
"Um no, it's just Maggie. She usually calls this time of day before she drops the baby at the daycare."
Quinn nodded, "Oh okay, take the call then."
"No," Carrie shook her head, "It's fine. " Noticing Quinn's quizzical look, she added, "I mean, she calls EVERY day."
"Well yeah, she has your daughter, Carrie. Don't you want to know what's going on with her every day?," Quinn pressed.
Carrie rolled her eyes and scoffed. "That is really none of your business."
Quinn shrugged. "I'm your friend so it is my business. I'm worried about how you're gonna feel when you realize you missed her childhood."
Carrie put her hands, "Wow. Now, that's REALLY none of your business." She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes.
"Carrie, I'm just concerned…"
She interrupted, her voice now filled with vitriol, "How about we talk about what concerns me, Quinn? I'm concerned that I have an agent on my team who isn't committed to the job. Aren't you the guy who's been saying for months you want to leave? I mean, tell me Quinn, why the fuck are you still here?"
Quinn stood up, picked up his jacket and turned to walk toward the door as he said, "We're done here."
Carrie followed him, her voice getting louder. "No really, I want to know. You're all morally superior with your concern about the impact of our work. Not to mention your judgment about what kind of mother I am. Since you think you're so much better than the rest of us, tell me, why are you here helping check names off a kill list rather than taking care of your own kid?"
Her last words stopped Quinn dead in his tracks. He spun around, his fists clenched at his side. He snapped back, "I'm here for you, you ungrateful, little shit."
He turned and walked back to the door, slamming it behind him as he left.
Carrie just stared at the door, her mouth agape and a confused look in her eyes.