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I turned slightly when I realized Verity was speaking to me using the alias assigned for the op. “Yes, love?”
“Bernard asked if we’d like him to open the wine.”
“We can do it a little later, perhaps?”
She nodded and raised a brow. I looked down and caught sight of her rubbing two fingers together.
“Right. Thanks, my good man,” I said, straining to reach into my pocket to pull out cash and wishing my, err, excitement wasn’t quite so obvious.
I managed to walk over and hand him a tip, but quickly turned my back to Verity once he’d thanked me.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
“That was rude,” Verity said after I heard the door close behind the man.
“Apologies, err, lost in thought.”
“You seem tongue-tied, Zep.”
Was it really necessary for her to use the word tongue? Or to swipe her lower lip with hers when I turned to face her?
“It appears this is the only room, other than the lavatory,” she commented.
“I can take the sofa,” I offered.
She flipped a switch, and powered blinds descended over the windows. “Bernard said that while we can see out, no one can see in, but if we feel uncomfortable, we can make use of these.”
“Right.”
“What’s going on, Zep? It didn’t appear Bernard put any more brandy in your hot cocoa than he did in mine, but your behavior is odd.”
I cleared my throat. “You should call me Jack, and I’ll refer to you as Elise for the duration of our time undercover.”
“Right,” she said like I had. I watched her remove her coat, place it on a peg near the door, then take her laptop from her satchel. “We should get to work.”
“Would you mind?” I asked, walking over to the switch she’d used to lower the blinds.
“Not at all. It’s a breathtaking view.” She sat at the table that created a division between the kitchen and sitting area. “Do you think Schön arranged for all this?”
I shook my head. “More likely, it was Nemesis.”
“She seems hellbent on making this as awkward as possible.”
“Where’s your ring?” I asked, noticing she wasn’t wearing it.
She pointed next to her computer. “It’s quite uncomfortable.”
“You still need to wear it.”
“Yes, sir.” Her sarcasm was accentuated by an eye roll.
“Verity—”
“Elise.”
“Right. Elise. You do recall we’re undercover in order to track human traffickers, yes?”
Her eyes widened. “Me?It’s you who seems to have drifted into an alternate universe. Wait.”