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A More Perfect Union by Carsen Taite (9)

Chapter Eight

 
 
 

What was she doing here? Zoey offered a polite smile, but her gut was churning at the sight of Rook standing in front of her looking like she owned the place. She didn’t have time to process her feelings before Major Dixon spoke up.

“I’m Major Dixon,” he said with his hand stuck out in greeting. “And this is Major Granger.”

Rook shook his hand, but her eyes were on Zoey the entire time. “Major Granger,” she said, her voice rising in question. “Nice to see you.”

Zoey nodded, acutely conscious of Dixon’s eyes on both of them, and she wished the floor would rise up and swallow him whole. He’d been annoying since the moment they met, feeling the constant need to explain the inner workings of the Pentagon in a way that was designed to make him look superior. Even Sharp, who’d accompanied them to make introductions, seemed to find his salacious manner a distraction. Zoey had already made a mental note to figure out a way to shake him.

They’d arrived a half hour earlier, and Zoey had concentrated on acting like it was no big deal to file in past the Marine guard and be escorted into the inner echelons of the West Wing. Funny, a couple of weeks ago, she’d checked into the possibility of a White House tour only to be told she would have to go through a member of Congress which could take several weeks to get approved, and the “tour” was only a self-guided walk-through of the East Wing. Deciding she’d probably seen more on TV than she’d see on the pseudo-tour, she’d abandoned the idea only to wind up here just a few yards from the Oval Office for an initial meeting with the president’s chief of staff, Julia Scott.

Julia had acknowledged her with a simple “nice to see you again,” and left them alone to go get “someone who would be assisting with the investigation.” Zoey had wanted to use the time to grill Sharp about why he’d assigned her to this job, but Dixon’s constant presence robbed her of the opportunity, and ultimately Sharp had left them to handle the rest of the meeting on their own. Now Julia was back with Rook in tow and Zoey had way more questions than answers.

“So, here’s how this will work,” Julia said, settling in at the head of the table. “I know you’ve been instructed to conduct a full investigation, but it’s imperative that we be kept in the loop, especially considering the link to General Bloomfield’s son. Ms. Daniels and her team will need complete access to conduct interviews, review documents, whatever she deems necessary. You will consider her an arm of the White House for this internal investigation. Understood?”

“Yes,” Zoey answered before Dixon could jump in. “Our orders are unequivocal. We’re to cooperate with whoever the president designates.”

Rook smiled. “Well, that would be me.” Her expression turned serious. “The first thing I want to do is interview everyone in uniform that has any connection to…” She glanced through the folder in front of her. “Lorraine Darcy Inc.” She looked over at Julia. “Who uses their own name to run an escort service?”

Julia shrugged. “Who knows? Someone who’s really proud of her work, maybe?”

Zoey watched as they shared a laugh. The joke was funny, but she didn’t dare join in lest she send the wrong message to Dixon. There was plenty of misogyny to go around already.

“What’s the process here?” Rook asked, her gaze trained on Zoey. “I mean, do your guys all lawyer up or are we free to question them without counsel?”

Dixon started to answer, but Zoey cut him off. “Everyone under our command will cooperate with you. We’ll want to be present, of course, and anyone you interview will have the right to have a JAG officer present as well.” After Nine Tech, the procedures were etched in her mind.

“Fair enough. I have a few things to take care of, but I can be at your office this afternoon to get started.”

Zoey felt Dixon twitch beside her. She didn’t want Rook to show up so quickly either, but she wasn’t about to tell her no after they’d just promised her complete access. “Perfect. We’ll have interviews lined up. Is there anything else we can do for you?”

Rook raised her eyebrows slightly, and Zoey braced for a personal remark, but all Rook said was, “Not at the moment, but I reserve the right to let you know if something else comes up.”

Rook’s comment was easily interpreted as professional, but Zoey knew it was more complicated than that. “Would you like to discuss anything further right now?”

Rook looked at Julia before turning back to her. “Actually, no. I’d like to go into the interviews without a lot of preconceptions about what they’re going to say.”

“Then I suppose we’re done here,” Zoey said, grasping for some control. She stood and Dixon stood alongside her. “We’ll make the arrangements and have an escort meet you at the main entrance at fourteen hundred.” Remembering not everyone spoke military time, she added, “That’s two o’clock in civilian terms.”

Rook grinned. “Got it. I look forward to seeing you, Major Granger.” She paused for a few beats. “And you too, Major Dixon.”

Zoey walked to the door feigning confidence she didn’t feel. Nothing about the meeting had given her any sense of control. For a second, she wanted to bolt from her newfound responsibilities, but she dug deep for fortitude and injected a confident and commanding tone into her voice as they followed an intern down one of the long and confusing corridors back to the entrance. “Make sure Ms. Daniels and her team are cleared to enter the building when they arrive this afternoon. Have at least two of the students from McNair ready to be interviewed today, and we’ll get to the others in the next few days. If they’ve been assigned JAG counsel, get them here too because I don’t want to have to toss these interviews because we didn’t follow regs. We’ll need a conference room. See if Lieutenant Louden can arrange something.”

Dixon’s head bobbed, but Zoey read conflict in his eyes. She got it. They might be the same rank, but she had seniority and Sharp had made it clear she was in charge. Was he jealous of her command and access or was this his usual demeanor? She didn’t have the time or energy to figure it out and she wasn’t sure she cared either way. If she cared more about making friends than doing her duty, she never would have come forward about Nine Tech. Determined to focus on the task ahead instead of worrying about whether she was liked, she picked up her pace, but the sound of a voice calling her name thwarted her plan for a quick getaway.

 

* * *

 

Rook was beginning to wonder if power walking was a requirement for everyone in uniform, but she finally caught up to Zoey and her surly fellow officer. “Major Granger, could I speak to you for a moment?”

“Of course.” Zoey’s clipped voice conveyed the exact opposite.

Rook took a breath and shot a look at Dixon who was looking between them with way too much curiosity. “If you could come with me, please. Major Dixon, we’ll only be a moment.” She spun around without waiting for a response and walked back to Julia’s office.

As they crossed the threshold, Zoey asked, “Did Ms. Scott need to see me about something else?”

“Julia’s in the Oval. I’m the one who wanted to see you about something else.”

“What can I do for you?”

Rook studied Zoey’s stoic expression and wondered if it was a natural extension of her personality or the result of years of training. Either way, she desperately wanted to pry beneath the stone and find the soft side she’d witnessed at Meridian Park. “We’ll be working together for the foreseeable future, do you really plan to act like you don’t know me the entire time?”

Zoey’s breath hitched slightly, a tiny fissure, so small it might have gone unnoticed, but Rook caught it before Zoey replied “But I don’t know you. Not really.”

“Would you like to?”

“What I like or don’t like doesn’t matter. As you said, we’ll be working together. Key word working.”

“I’m going to pretend you’d like to know me if you were allowed to.”

Zoey frowned, and Rook wondered if she’d bristled at the “allowed to.” Why was she so focused on getting a rise out of Zoey? Was she having a childish reaction to Zoey practically ignoring they’d been on a date? A date you abandoned. No wonder Zoey was pissed. A woman like her probably never got stood up.“I’m sorry about our aborted picnic.”

Zoey smiled, but the expression didn’t reach her eyes. “You had to work.”

“I did.”

“And work comes first.”

The characterization stung, but Rook couldn’t deny it was true. “I suppose it’s a hazard of owning my own business.”

“We all make choices we can live with. And I’m sure you understand how my first allegiance is defined by duty and whatever orders I receive.”

The message was clear, but Rook stubbornly wanted to hear Zoey say the words. “So, this attraction between us just disappears because the Army put you on this case?”

“Something like that.”

“I don’t believe you.” Rook hadn’t pulled Zoey aside for this. All she’d planned to do was apologize in person and clear the air between them, but now that Zoey was singularly focused on ignoring they had ever shared a connection, she was suddenly hell-bent on making her acknowledge its existence.

“I suppose I’ll have to live with your disbelief.” Zoey looked at the door. “Did you need something else from me?”

She should make something up. Something provocative to tease back the Zoey she’d met at the airport, at Addison’s party. She hadn’t imagined their connection, but apparently she had no power to reignite it. She’d find another way to burn off the heat that consumed her when Zoey walked into the room. There was no shortage of women in the city who’d gladly fill the role. Ignoring the voice inside that whispered Zoey was different and other women weren’t going to cut it, Rook responded in the only way she could and keep her dignity. “No, Major. I think we’re done.”

Zoey nodded and walked out of the room past Julia who entered with a curious expression. Julia shut the door behind her. “What is it about women in uniform?”

“Excuse me?”

Julia waved a hand in front of her eyes. “Earth to Rook. Uniform equals hot. I might be in a relationship, but I’m not dead. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”

Oh, I noticed, Rook thought. Zoey Granger had her attention, but she wasn’t going to cede all the power that easily. She feigned nonchalance, but she was going to have to work hard to keep her libido in check during the course of this investigation or risk losing her heart and her reputation.

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