Page 14 of Chaos has a Name (An FBI Romance/Thriller #66)

“Do you want integration and access for everyone throughout the building?” she asked. “I’m currently scanning the parameters, and I can give that access out.”

Absolutely not.

Not until she knew if it was needed, and MATE was back up to speed.

They didn’t need her learning bad habits. Then, they had to reteach her.

AGAIN.

“No, thank you, MATE. Just in our offices for now. Allow access to Vivian’s system so she can coordinate with you. She will be the only one outside of the agents and directors who are here from DC.”

The system chimed.

“Access given,” MATE said.

Then, the big screen on the wall of Ethan’s space came alive. On it, there was the FBI emblem with MATE’s hologram on the screen.

“I’ve integrated, Director. I can now move from screen to screen through the building to give you and your team access.”

That was good.

“Thank you, MATE,” Elizabeth said.

It looked as if they could keep this going.

“What’s next, Vivian?” she asked.

The woman crossed another thing off of her list before she walked away, her heels making sound on the floor.

“Follow me, Directors and Doctors.”

As they headed out, Ethan closed the door behind him, and caught up.

They were heading to a very familiar place.

The main offices.

Or what Elizabeth had called the Raven’s nest. It was where she and Ethan spent most of their time when they were first here.

Hopefully, it didn’t change too much.

“We had the conundrum of where to put your team, Director. Do you have a list of staff coming for the Violent Crimes Unit?”

She did.

“On my team, there will be six agents to work the Violent Crimes Unit—including me. I may have to pull from staffing to accommodate the cases that are sent here.”

Vivian was pleased that they had the office ready for Elizabeth and her team.

“Then this space should work for now,” she said, taking them to a conference room not far from what she assumed would be her office.

When Vivian opened the conference room door, they all saw that the massive table was gone, and instead, desks were put in, so that her team would be in the same room—much like they were back in DC.

That familiarity worked for her.

It was essential to how her people worked and talked through their cases when they were stuck.

In fact, seeing this, oddly, gave her comfort. As she was moving about, there weren’t angry stares, but more curious ones.

That she could deal with easily.

“This is perfect,” she said. “Thank you, Vivian. You’ve done a good job preparing all of this. I’m excited to see what else you’ve gotten ready for us.”

The woman smiled at her new boss.

Truth be told, she’d heard a lot about her, but so far, she seemed pretty calm. The rumors said she was difficult to work with, but as of yet, she hadn’t seen that.

Yesterday, Axelle Maverick had a meeting with all support staff turning over complete control of the office to the woman.

So she had to be good at what she did.

“How about we show you Director Whitefox’s space next, and then yours, Director?” she asked.

First, Elizabeth focused on Gene. This would be where he called home, even though she fully expected him to be in her office more often than not—where she would be working.

“Pick your desk, partner.”

Oh, he did.

He went to the one closest to the window so that he could have a view of the mountains, much like in Chris’ office. They were all on the same side of the building, and would reap the benefits of the view.

It was gorgeous.

At the desk, he put his messenger bag down there, and pulled out the little desk placard that had his name on it so he could claim his space.

“Home sweet home,” he said. “I can’t wait to get started,” he admitted.

And it was true.

Gene loved working on cases when they came in. It was always a nonstop adventure.

Elizabeth’s secretary was curious.

“We were updated as to your partnership with Special Agent Cantrell,” Vivian admitted. “Is this space suitable for him, or do you want us to give him his own office?” she asked.

Elizabeth was to the point.

“Gene is my field partner, so he’ll do a lot of his work out of my office. I don’t think giving him his own office is necessary,” she admitted.

That was a short trip to people screaming nepotism, and honestly, she didn’t want to deal with that.

“I’ll let you know when I see my office, and we’ll go from there,” she admitted. “I’m sure it’s not the same as when I was last here.”

No, it wasn’t.

“The director who took over for you, Elizabeth, had some changes made. We tried to return it to what it was, but there was some…hostility to change while he was here.”

Oh, she knew what she was talking about. It would have everything to do with her taking over here.

That had to piss some agents off.

No.

Doubt.

“Show us Callen’s office,” she stated, ignoring the rest since she didn’t want to get annoyed first thing.

Together, they went around the other way, and toward Director Whitefox’s office. They passed through the coffee lounge, that had once been their favorite place to meet to have some coffee and meetings.

Then, it hit her.

She knew what needed to be done.

“Who uses this space?” Elizabeth asked.

Vivian explained.

“Mostly the staff on this floor. Before your arrival, it was mostly for the two directors, their secretarial staff, and that’s about all. Now, it will be all of you, and then me. Is there a situation?”

Oh, there was.

She needed to find a home for her bodyguards. They spent a lot of time sitting around, waiting on them.

“I ride with a pack of Marines,” she admitted. “They need a space. Since the only ones using this lounge will be us, can we make some changes in here for them?”

Vivian flipped to a screen where she could make notes for the changes. Since she’d been told by Axelle to accommodate the deputy director, she could absolutely do that.

“Fire away, Director.”

Elizabeth did.

“I want two doors. One on each access point. Ivan, who you will be meeting at some point, is in charge of my safety. We have a rotating supply of security. They need a base, or they tend to pop out and make people nervous.”

Vivian was making notes as the woman talked. Elizabeth was walking around, surveying the space to make it as comfortable for them as possible.

She pointed.

“I need a full-size refrigerator put in here, and have it stocked. They eat a lot.”

Callen handed her a card. It was one of their credit cards. Then, he explained.

“Anything they need, or we need, please charge to this account. I’ll email you a list of coffee we favor, and things to stock in the fridge. We don’t use the taxpayers’ money for our necessities. We supply our own.”

Vivian took the black, metal card, and scanned it with the tablet before handing it back to him.

“It’s captured and added to the account. I’ll delete the FBI company card.”

She nodded.

“Yes, please do. We are accustomed to making sure the Marines are fed, and our needs are taken care of too. They like a comfortable couch and chairs. Keep the receipts for us.”

That worked for Vivian.

She was back to making notes to make sure she didn’t miss a thing.

“Oh, and if Doctor Leonard needs any equipment, we’ll clear it ourselves. We don’t use FBI money for those things either. He’s going to want to restock Autopsy One with the equipment he prefers.”

She made more notes.

“What else do you want in here?” she asked, drawing out a map of the room.

That was simple.

“A table they can eat or play cards at, a TV so they can keep up on the news—with satellite linkup to all news stations. Oh, and please ensure that MATE has access to the TV here. Ivan will need access.”

Vivian added it.

“And you want satellite hookup for news in here too? Not just your office?”

She nodded.

“Yes, please. It’s essential that all of us are up to date with issues in DC. Ivan updates me periodically when he knows I’m busy.”

Yeah, it wasn’t that.

It was because they were dealing with the Saint Michael of perpetual stress due to his ex-fiancé running his mouth in DC.

Unfortunately, news stories popped up every day about him.

Why?

Well, because Riley Cunningham couldn’t shut his pie hole.

“Because we work long hours, the men who are on protection duty tend to need a place to crash. Also, we’re big coffee drinkers. Stock it up. I survive on coffee and serial killers, apparently.”

Vivian would do just that. If that was what the boss wanted, that was what the boss would get.

“Yes, Elizabeth.”

Honestly, so far, Elizabeth wasn’t hating any of this. Vivian seemed efficient, pleasant, and as long as MATE found nothing tying her to a case, this might work out.

Her fingers were crossed.

“Now, we’ll see Callen’s space,” she suggested so everyone had their own space and could get acclimated.

“Follow me,” she offered.

Vivian led them toward the offices. Out in front of one, in the main area, was her desk. They saw Vivian’s name plate on the desk.

That basically meant the woman would be doing double and triple duty when it came to playing administrative assistant to all of them.

She wasn’t sure if the woman was brave, or a glutton for punishment.

Vivian pulled a keycard from her pocket.

“Your office is this one, Director Whitefox,” she offered, handing Callen the card to access it.

He tapped it, and headed in. It was once Elizabeth’s office when Ethan had been in charge here. It appeared they were just all shifting offices as some moved up and down the ladder.

Going in, it was almost the same as it once was for Elizabeth, except the color was different, and the bookshelves behind it were empty of family photos.

And mementos.

For now.

Oh, trust and believe that would change—but only once they figured out if they were staying or going.

It was still up in the air until Elizabeth could talk to Wyler.

“Welcome to your space,” Vivian said.

Callen looked around.

Oh, well, he’d take it and be more than happy to be in it. His office was literally right next to Elizabeth’s space, and he wanted to stick close.