Chapter 16: Theo

Monday, June 8th

“Theodore Winstead, pleased to meet you,” I said to my reflection, practicing for later that morning.

As Theodore Winstead III, a scholarly sophomore at Stanford University and heir to the Winstead family fortune, I would be spending the next six to eight weeks building my resume for a future career in politics. As Theo Bennett, I was infiltrating the San Jose campaign office of the asshat responsible for Haley’s departure.

Having spent countless hours digging through Douglas’s e-mails and listening to his phone conversations for suspicious activity, I already had a fairly good idea of the inner workings of his campaign. Unfortunately, the scumbag was too clever to do anything truly incriminating over the phone or in e-mail. And, that was where my plan to go undercover came in.

To all outward appearances, Douglas was a picture-perfect politician, but I had a hunch that his record of success was due to more than just hard work and luck. But a hunch wasn’t enough to give us a legitimate shot at taking him down—we needed proof.

Glancing at my reflection once more, I straightened my red and navy striped tie and resisted the urge to run fingers through my now much shorter hair. I wasn’t a stranger to altering my appearance as necessary for an assignment, but this was more drastic than normal, requiring head-to-toe changes—haircut, colored contacts, and conservative clothing that covered my tattoos. Anything for Haley, I thought, wondering what she would think of my new look.

Frack. It was impossible to stop thinking about her, and I honestly expected that she would already be home by now. Her absence still had me on edge, but at least we knew why she left and, more importantly, where she was. The remote surveillance Knox and Jackson set up was reassuring, but every time it was my turn to monitor her, I could see the sadness she was carrying, and it weighed on me. Of course, it didn’t make me feel any better that one of her male co-workers was constantly hovering, most likely flirting his way into her good graces. Resisting the urge to peek in on her, I shoved my phone and keys in my pocket and headed downstairs.

Chase glanced up at the sound of my shoes on the stairs, then continued to stare as I approached. Amused by the incredulous look on his face, I hoped Knox’s reaction would be as gratifying.

“Morning,” I said cheerfully, heading for the kitchen where Knox was scrambling eggs.

With his back to me, Knox merely grunted in response. He had an unnatural ability to wake up fully and quickly, but that didn’t mean he was pleasant to be around, especially before he had his morning coffee. It was even worse since Haley left, and I noticed he often opted to run on the treadmill instead of outside.

Leaning against the counter, I peeled a banana, waiting patiently for Knox to notice me. When he finally turned, he stopped mid-stride and did a double take.

“Something wrong, brother?” I asked nonchalantly.

He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. “Damn, Theo. You look . . . different.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” I spun while he continued inspecting my appearance.

“Seriously, I almost didn’t even recognize you.”

“That was the point. And, that means Douglas shouldn’t recognize me either. Not that he’ll be there.” Considering Douglas singled me out in his threats to Haley, my presence at his office was a risk, but I knew that he rarely, if ever, visited the satellite location.

“Any questions on your cover story?” Knox asked. “Do you want to run through it?”

“Nope. Liam kept my alter ego simple, and there’s not much to remember.”

“Perfect. Just stick to the part and don’t get too friendly.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” I rolled my eyes.

“Seriously, Theo,” Knox said in his bossy-big-brother tone. “We can’t fuck this up. There’s too much riding on it.”

“Trust me, I know what’s at stake. And, besides, this was my plan.”

He nodded, satisfied at least for the moment.

I joined Knox and Chase at the table with my bowl of cereal. “What’s on the schedule for today?”

“We’re wrapping up the Wilbur mission, and Jax mentioned a new client,” Knox answered.

“Another one?” Chase whined. “I thought we were on ‘probation’?”

Knox chuckled. “You know better than that. Officially, we may be on probation, but Patrick will always trust us, and expect more from us, than any other team.”

“I know. I was just counting on a little break now that finals are over.”

“Gotta keep up appearances,” I teased. “Speaking of . . . how long do you guys think we’ll be able to maintain the story that Haley is on a ‘leave of absence for personal reasons’?”

Chase groaned. “I don’t know, but at least Melissa won’t be hounding us about her anymore.”

“Something happen to the office blabbermouth?” Knox asked.

“She’s leaving for a summer internship that she hopes will lead to her dream job. At least, that’s what Logan told me,” I said between spoonfuls of cereal.

“Logan tell you anything else?”

“No, but I’m pretty sure Kara’s suspicious of the whole Haley situation. Ethan leaving Jaguar was a useful distraction for the office gossips, but even that’s died down now.”

Realizing the time, I rinsed out my bowl and made the commute to Douglas’s campaign office. I was looking forward to finally doing something productive toward bringing Haley home. And, as much as I enjoyed being at Zenith, it was always nice to get out of the office, even if only to trade it for another one.

When the elevator doors opened, I strode toward the receptionist, who looked up at the sound of my entrance. “Good morning. Can I help you?”

“Good morning. I’m Theodore Winstead,” I introduced myself with a tight smile. I hated acting like a snob, but it was all part of the role I had to play.

“Welcome, Theodore.” She rose and shook my hand. “I’m Miranda and we’re thrilled to have you on board. I’ll give you a quick tour and then get you settled in.”

Curtailing my usual urge to chat, I nodded and remained silent. As Knox said, my goal was to blend in and keep my head down.

Miranda showed me how to log on to the computer system and asked if I had any questions before leaving me to complete my task. Fortunately, my first assignment was laughably easy, which would free up time for me to focus on the real reason I was there—getting the evidence we needed to take Douglas down for good. Between helping Chase move into the loft, searching for Haley, and taking on regular assignments with one less team member, we were all running ragged. The sooner we took Douglas down, the better, and I vowed that I would be instrumental in his demise.