"I screwed up Jenny…" She texted her sister as she sat outside the field office in her car.
"What are you talking about Abbie?" She saw her sister write back as she uncontrollably typed a response back.
"Last night…. I kissed Crane." She typed, hesitantly hitting the send button.
"And Danny walked in on us." She added to her text. Hoping her sister could actually provide some sensible advice instead of her normal sarcastic riddled way with words.
" .God. I knew it!" She saw flash across her screen and instantly regretted her confession.
"What are you going to do?"
Abbie laughed frantically as she looked down at her phone.
"That's kind of why I was texting you. Danny texted me as soon as I got home last night asking me to meet him at his office at 6:00am before the other agents arrive. And now it's 5:55 and I can't bring myself to go inside."
She looked up at Agent Reynold's office and didn't see a light on, which meant he probably hadn't arrived yet. And admittedly, her first instinct was to turn on her heels and head back home. Except for the fact that what waited for her there was no less traumatic.
She heard her phone beep and looked down.
"Well A) You can't sit in your car for the rest of your life. You have to get out eventually. And B) Things between you and Danny are over, right? So what if he caught you and Crane in a full makeout session (was there tongue?) It doesn't make you any less of a good agent. And as your boss, he shouldn't let anything personal get in the way of the amazing work you do, Abbie."
She smiled and closed her eyes. She often criticized Jenny for her outlook on life and the world, but her sister was always her biggest support system.
She had just begun typing "Thanks" when she heard a knock at her window and saw Agent Reynolds eyeing her suspiciously as she slowly rolled it down to greet him.
"Morning, sir." She said, not knowing how long he had been watching her sit in her car like a 16 year old girl texting on her phone.
"Morning, Agent Mills." He said as he looked up at the building. "Are you going to join me upstairs or continue texting love notes on your phone?"
She sighed and opened her mouth to speak when he curtly walked away from her car and headed towards the building.
Oh yeah, she thought to herself. Today was going to be a doozy.
…..
"So I'm sure you're wondering why I called you in so early this morning, especially given our late night at the party."
He said as he eyed her guardedly.
"I am, sir." She said softly.
"You impressed the right people last night, Mills. I got a phone call from the director as soon as he left the party saying as much."
Abbie stared at him, her eyes growing bigger with his statement. Whatever she thought this meeting was about… she was dead wrong.
"They want to offer you a new regional chief position that just opened up out West." He said slowly. "Oregon to be exact. You'd be overseeing quite a large chunk of area and offices, Mills."
She opened her mouth to speak, unable to hide her shock and surprise at the words that were coming out of his mouth. Never did she expect this. Not so soon, anyway.
"Wow." She said, her mouth turning up into a large grin. "I don't even know what to say."
"Say yes, Abbie. It's the only logical thing to say. I already have."
Her brow creased as she stared at him. "What do you mean?"
"Well, they seem to think we work well together. And that splitting us up might not be in the Bureau's best interests. So they offered me the Assistant Director position for the same area."
He watched as she slowly understood, shaking her head. "Wow, Danny. That's just… wow." She said as his face flashed a million dollar smile. "So you'd still be my boss?"
"Why do you say that as if it's a bad thing, Abbs? This is exactly what we always wanted. To rise up together, look out for each other. No one, Abbie, no one has done what we have done so quick in their careers."
"I know, Danny. I just…"
He cut her off. "Please don't tell me this has anything to do with Crane."
She sighed, looking down at her lap. "You don't understand…"
"Well, help me understand, Abbie. Please. Because from my vantage point, all this dude is doing is keeping you down and stopping you from growing into the agent you've always dreamed of being."
"He is not holding me back…"
"Well he sure was holding you in an inappropriate way last night."
Her eyes shot up, cutting through the distance between them like a knife.
"Not fair, Danny. That was… that was a first." She said softly, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead in stress.
"So make it a last." He said roughly. Watching her eyes as his words sunk in. "Don't say no to this, Mills. I'm not sure when an opportunity like this will come up again. For either of us."
She nodded, slowly rising out of her chair.
"When do they want a decision?"
He sighed. "End of today."
Her lips pursed as she looked into his eyes, nodding her head in agreement, as she walked out of his office and back out to her car.
Danny was right. This promotion was what she had always wanted for herself. And yet, she was hesitant.
And as much as she wouldn't admit it was because of Crane, it was.