Excerpt: The Gorgonzola Affair

The shadow inside the office was rooting through the desk, much like she’d been doing in Jerry’s desk minutes ago. She could tell the person, whomever it was, knew what they were looking for.

A bank of security lights turned on suddenly, bringing Zenda, the cubicles around her, and the person in the office into bright illumination. She quickly hid her gun at the small of her back and straightened up, letting her facial features relax into a casual look.

“Spencer, how good to see you again.”

Spencer Brewster, ex-Agency, her ex-fiancé, walked out of the office with a wide smile on his face. “Zenda, it has been too long.”

“I didn’t expect to see anyone in the office today,” she said, matching his tone, standing firm when he closed the distance between them. “Working hard over the holiday weekend?”

“Some jobs don’t allow for holiday weekends. You should know that.” His face had changed in the years since she’d seen him last. New scars on his left cheek and neck had not been there before. His eyes had lost the playfulness she remembered, and were now cold and hard.

“Of course. I’m working today too. Actually needed to come into the office, which is rare for me.”

“Right, you’re one of the many telecommuters here at Greene, Lorenzo and Freeman. We work for such a progressive company.” He smiled, one of his cold smiles that never reached his eyes that she remembered so well. “Would you care for some coffee? I was just going to get me some.”

“Coffee sounds lovely,” she replied, playing along. “Black. No cream or sugar.”

“I remember how you take your coffee. Bland and tasteless.”

“Sugar is best reserved for other situations, Spencer.” She smiled back, refusing to take his bait and adopting the innocent face she’d used when they’d first met.

He let out a bark of laughter. “Sure, Zenda. I remember. I’ll go get that coffee now.”

“You do that. I’ll be over in the vacant cube by Jerry Fitzgerald’s office.”

“Don’t work too hard.”

“That won’t be a problem,” she answered. “Don’t work too hard either. It is a holiday, after all.”

As he walked away, she looked at the now brightly lit office she’d found him in. The placard declared it to belong to Tyler Busch, head of Mergers and Acquisitions.