OOPS! I'M A SECRET AGENT (Romance) (5 page)

‘It fits perfectly,’ I said, admiring the sparkler.

‘We wouldn’t have given you a ring that didn’t fit,’ said
Alexavier.

‘I’m sure Neve meant that she’s surprised we knew her size,’
said Montpelier.

‘And I’m sure Neve can speak for herself,’ Alexavier
countered.

The atmosphere in the office sizzled with tension.

Alexavier opened the file on the desk. ‘I’ll go over this
brief with you, Neve, then you can read it again later but you cannot take
these documents outside of the department.’

‘Okay,’ I said, trying to sound unperturbed by the tension,
and that I had to pretend to be Montpelier’s fiancee.

‘You and Montpelier are engaged and due to be married within
two years, though you’ve yet to set a date. His cover is straightforward.  He’s
a businessman who makes his money from investments. You don’t need to know the
details of his business. You’ll be portraying the fiancee —’

‘Why wouldn’t I know the details of my fiance’s business?’

‘Because you’re the type of woman who is more concerned
about frivolous things.’

‘If that’s the role I’ve to play, then fine, but it’s not
terribly realistic. I’d definitely know what my future husband did to earn his
money.’

‘She’s right,’ said Montpelier. ‘I think Neve and I should
create a stronger bond and present a better image. I’d never associate with a
frivolous type of woman. No one, especially the chaps we’ll be dealing with,
would believe that for a moment, particularly as Neve looks...’

Looks what? Forgettable?

Alexavier’s blue eyes clashed with the pale grey of Montpelier’s.

‘I know I’m rather plain and it’s hard to believe that a man
as handsome and suave as Montpelier would be interested in me —’

Alexavier’s eyes flashed at me. ‘You’re not plain.
You’re...’

We waited for him to find the right word. One that wouldn’t
be too insulting I assumed.

‘Undervalued,’ said Alexavier. ‘With your confidence
bolstered, you’ll be a beauty on his arm.’ Then he added, ‘Rupert has a lot to answer
for.’

‘Rupert?’ It was so strange to hear him mention my ex.

‘Yes,’ said Alexavier. ‘He did nothing except undermine your
confidence according to our assessment of your background with him. I believe
you wouldn’t even be sitting here right now were it not for his snide attitude
and disbelief in you.’

How the hell did they know that?

‘We’re never far off the mark when it comes to our
assessments,’ said Alexavier, accurately reading my expression. Or was it my
thoughts? Either way he’d nailed me right. Perhaps I’d said more than I
intended during my initial job interviews.

‘Rupert was a prat,’ I said. ‘And it’s true that I applied
for this job so that I could thumb my nose at him, but I intend to make this
work.’

‘Fine,’ said Alexavier, sounding anything but fine. ‘Glean
some knowledge of Montpelier’s business if you wish. Your cover background is
that of a small, independent fashion designer. We thought you’d know enough
about fashion to get by. The men you’ll be in contact with, under your new
cover, know as much about women’s fashion as we do, and that’s precious
little.’

‘I beg to differ,’ said Montpelier. ‘I take an interest in
ladies fashion.’

Alexavier sunk him with a look, but Montpelier bobbed back
up to the surface. ‘They were going to make you some obscure knitwear designer
but I suggested you’d be better being a fashion boutique sort.’

‘Yes, I’d prefer that. And will I have a different name?’

‘No,’ said Alexavier. ‘No one that you’ll be dealing with
has any knowledge of you, so we thought it would be easier for you to keep your
own name. Montpelier has been abroad for several months, so he’s been off the
scene, and again the men you’ll be investigating don’t know him.’

‘Investigating?’ That sounded exciting.

‘It may sound exciting,’ said Alexavier, sussing my
thoughts, ‘but it’s mainly trawling through reams of paperwork, researching
data, information collected by other agents.’ He paused, then said, ‘You’ll
have to look like a couple.’

‘Do you miss Rupert?’ said Montpelier.

‘No. We’d drifted and I realised he wasn’t the man for me.’

‘But you’d loved him when you first got together?’ he added.

‘Yes, but he’d become a prat.’

Montpelier laughed. Alexavier didn’t.

‘Well, now you’ve got me,’ said Montpelier. ‘And thank you
for the compliments. Handsome and suave, eh?’ He said this while smiling
triumphantly at Alexavier.

Alexavier put a credit card down on the desk. ‘Use this to
buy yourself a suitable wardrobe of clothes.’

‘I’ll go shopping with you,’ said Montpelier. ‘I know the
type of men whose world we’ll be in. Government types.’

‘You’ve got a meeting this afternoon,’ Alexavier reminded
him. ‘I’ll accompany Neve shopping.’

‘I can go shopping on my own,’ I said.

‘No, I’ll go with you,’ said Alexavier. ‘This assignment if
too important to risk anything happening to you. You’ll both be attending a
dinner tonight. This will establish you as a couple within the social circles
you’ll be investigating.’

A credit card to go wild on the high street, shopping for
clothes, shoes...everything. And a diamond ring sparkling on my finger. I liked
this assignment. And I liked Montpelier. Would I be required to kiss him? As
his faux fiancee, how far was I to go when it came to romance?

As we left the office Alexavier said, ‘You won’t be required
to make excessive physical contact or displays of tactile affection with Montpelier.’

‘Oh, you’re no fun,’ Montpelier said to him.

My thoughts exactly.

‘You’ll be living in a hotel with Montpelier for the next month,’ said Alexavier. ‘Separate rooms. I’m staying there too. But
if anyone asks, Montpelier is down here from Edinburgh on business and he’s
brought you with him.’

We were in a fashion shop. I was trying to decide whether to
buy the silver evening shoes or the sparkling bronze.

I held up one of each type. ‘What ones should I buy?’

He frowned. ‘Buy both pairs.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes, really. And we need to hurry up. It’s almost five. The
dinner party is being held at one of the hotels in Glasgow. You’ll need to be
ready.’ He glanced at my hair. I’d washed it that morning in London.

‘I’ll sort my hair,’ I assured him.

‘Your hair looks lovely. It’s got a natural shine. Wear it
like that. Don’t appear false.’

While the shop assistant rang my purchases through the till,
Alexavier disappeared over to where the evening bags were on display. He
selected four and gave them to the assistant to be included.

‘Thanks,’ I said to him. He’d chosen a black one, a gold,
silver and sparkly bronze. I couldn’t have chosen better. ‘They’re lovely.’

He checked the time. ‘We’ll have to go. There are other
things we need to brief you on before the party.’

‘What things?’

We left the shop and headed to his car. ‘We suspect three
men of being the informant. We need to find out what they’ve been up to
recently.’

‘How will I do that?’

‘You just need to accompany Montpelier. He’s the one who
will deal with them. You’re part of his cover.’

‘Why was I chosen for this assignment? Surely there are
women at the department who are trained for this.’

‘Circumstances forced our hand. We’ve been working on this
for a few months. Our first agent, a woman, well experienced, wasn’t Scottish
and her accent or lack of it and failure to create an authentic voice almost
blew her cover. We had to pull her out before anything bad happened to her.’

I gulped. Somehow the shopping and light heartedness of
everything so far had made me forget that this could be dangerous work.

‘Our second agent managed to achieve the required accent,
but she didn’t fit the part she needed to portray. She was too clever. She’d
worked for five years with us in intelligence, and found it hard to pretend
that she wasn’t. So we had to find someone else.’

‘Someone dimmer?’

‘Someone less intelligent.’

I accepted that I wasn’t the sharpest bauble on the
Christmas tree, though I was bright enough.

‘You’re Scottish, from Glasgow, and you look...’

‘Completely forgettable?’

‘You heard?’

I nodded.

He looked at me, and I felt myself melt. It was probably
just as well that I had to be Montpelier’s fiancee and not his, for I doubted
that I could resist him even if it was against the rules of the assignment.

His voice was deep and smooth. ‘This assignment is vital to
our security. We need a woman who seems reasonably intelligent who will fly
below the radar and not alert their suspicions. No offence, Neve, but you fit
that mould ideally. You’re fresh to the agency. You don’t sound like one of us.
It’s more likely they’ll trust you. That’s what we need.’ He hesitated and then
said, ‘but know this...you’ll never be forgettable to me.’

We looked at each other for a long moment.

We’d arrived outside the hotel and he’d parked in the hotel
car park.

He got out of the car and collected the shopping bags from
the boot. I stepped out. The air was freezing and I pulled my coat around me.

‘Your suitcases from London are in your hotel room. I’ll
help you in with these shopping bags, and then you’ll be with Montpelier.’

‘Why don’t you like each other?’

He blinked, taken aback. ‘He was in love with a woman a few
years ago. Although I had no relationship with her, we’d met socially and she
decided she wanted to be with me instead of him. He thought I’d stolen her
behind his back. To this day I don’t think he believes that I never had
anything to do with her.’

‘But you still work together?’

‘Yes, and we’d back each other to the hilt. No question
about that.’

‘He must have really loved her.’

‘He did. She lives abroad now and has nothing to do with
him.’

‘It must be difficult to have a relationship in your line of
work. All that secrecy and travelling away on assignments.’

‘It takes a special type of woman to understand that she
can’t be privy to that part of my life.’

‘Maybe one day you’ll find someone who understands.’

‘I live in hope that she’s out there somewhere.’ He sounded
as if he had no hope of ever finding her.

We went into the hotel. Our rooms were on the third floor.

Montpelier’s belongings and my suitcases were already in the
room. Alexavier came into the room with me and checked that I had everything I
needed. ‘Call me if you need anything urgently. Montpelier will be here soon.
He’s in the adjoining room. I’m further along the corridor. I suggest you get
dressed.’

‘Will you be there tonight? At the party?’

‘Yes, in the background. Make no contact with me. We do not
know each other. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, I do.’

‘I’ll leave you to get dressed,’ he said and headed out of
the room.

I looked around. The bed was sumptuous, the room upmarket,
en suite bathroom, and a great view of the city. I unpacked some of my things,
hung them in the wardrobe and snipped the tags from the black evening dress I
planned to wear.

I glanced at myself in the mirror. The diamante straps of
the full length, figure skimming dress sparkled in the light. I’d need no
jewellery other than the diamond ring on my engagement finger. A flicker of
panic threatened to overwhelm me as I realised where I was and what I’d ended
up getting involved in. And I thought about Rupert. I didn’t miss him, but I
missed the familiarity and comfort we’d had.

Come on, you can do this, I urged myself. I brushed my hair,
taking Alexavier’s advice to wear it down, silky smooth, touching my shoulders.
The black evening bag he’d chosen was perfect. Black high heeled shoes
completed the look, though I should’ve bought a coat, something a bit more
special than the black coat I’d been wearing to go shopping. It was fashionable
and warm, but an evening coat would’ve been ideal.

Montpelier arrived. ‘Are you decent?’

‘Yes, come in.’

He entered through the adjoining room, already dressed in an
immaculate dinner suit.

‘You look beautiful, Neve.’

He had a large bag with him. ‘I took the liberty of buying
you a coat. I wasn’t sure whether you’d brought one with you.’

How tactful. My coat wasn’t up to the mark. Not in the black
tie environment we were about to step into.

He took the coat out of the bag. It was a gorgeous black
coat, warm, long, with a collar that I could pull up against the cold. I tried
it on. ‘It’s lovely, thank you.’

We both knew he’d bought this for me from his own pocket,
though neither of us mentioned this. He was pleased I liked it. That’s what
mattered.

He held his arm out for me to take. ‘Shall we go?’

I linked my arm through his and we headed out into the
night, driving to the hotel where the party was being held.