I headed upstairs and opened the glass door to James' office. He was sitting at his desk reading a file. He was a tall, middle-aged man with graying hair, and pale blue eyes. Three years ago when I had just started working at CTC, James had gone on a mission which had gone wrong. He was shot in his right knee which shattered, and left him with a permanent limp. After recovering he had become director since he was unable to continue as a field agent. He was a no nonsense kind of guy who ran a tight shift which is why things ran so smoothly around here.
I knew a lecture was coming and I also knew if I kept it up I would lose the job that I had refused to give up.
I sat down in a chair next to the desk, smoothing out my skirt. "You wanted to see me?" I asked.
"Yes, Amanda, I would like you to help Keith Shepard since you haven't started working yet." He winked at me and I knew this was a punishment for being late, but at least he wasn't too upset with me. "So, give him the grand tour will you?"
"No problem."
I got up and turned around to meet the new agent who was sitting on the couch. Suddenly it was a problem. I couldn't move and felt weak; he had literally taken my breath away. I thought it was a silly romance novel thing: love at first sight, but I no longer doubted it. He was so handsome. He was Latino, just a little taller than me by an inch or two, muscular build, wavy black hair worn short, and dark brown eyes. He was wearing a dark blue button up shirt with the top two buttons left undone, a black jacket with matching black slacks and dress shoes; it was a professional but laid back look.
He stood up and scratched the side of his face. "Amanda . . . nice to meet you," he said softly. He shook my hand and grinned slightly; I fell just a little harder.
I pulled myself together, quickly trying to return to acting professional when I noticed James watching us. "Nice to meet you, Keith. C'mon, I'll show you around."
He followed me and I showed him the upstairs offices and computer and data store rooms.
"So, not too much goes on up here, but its good to know where everything is."
He nodded and seemed to be taking mental notes.
We went down the stairs, and I pointed out the different stations. Pointing to each one I named them off: "Computer processing, image analysis, tech, and field ops." He looked around, taking it all in.