“Is this the room I think it is?” She couldn’t look away from the view before her.
Jake squeezed her shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”
She’d seen pictures of the Oval Office, but she’d never imagined stepping inside it. “Jake, this is the Oval Office.” She kept her voice as low as possible.
“I promise this will be okay. You know my dad. Relax.”
She stood there for what seemed like hours staring into the room.
“Jak
e, good you’re here. Kiera it’s nice to see you again.” The President, Gray’s Uncle Warren, approached them with a welcoming smile. “Please come in and have a seat. How are you?” The President took her by the elbow and escorted her into the room.
Kiera swallowed. “Fine, Mr. President and you sir?”
“Excellent. Thank you for asking.” He walked her over to a couch. “Please have a seat and then perhaps my nephew will tell me why he needed this meeting.”
Kiera sank down next to Gray’s father. With all the other unusual events tonight, the fact that Gray’s dad sat there didn’t faze her.
Across from them, were two men she didn’t recognize, and Gray sat in an armchair beside them. Tonight, he looked like the epitome of a successful businessman in a dark suit, crisp white shirt, and red tie.
“Mr. President, before we begin, I’d like to point out that I am against Gray’s decision. I informed him of that yesterday,” said one of the unknown men. “And in order for Ms. Renault and your son to hear classified information, I need them to sign non-disclosure agreements.”
Both Jake and Kiera signed the paperwork that Clarence provided.
“You have everything you need, Clarence,” Gray’s uncle answered before he looked at his nephew. “I believe everyone is here, Gray. Perhaps you should get started.”
Gray clasped his hands together and leaned forward, his forearms resting on his thighs. “Jake, you might want to sit for this.”
Jake didn’t offer a comment. Instead, he sat next to Kiera.
“You’re all aware that I travel a lot. What you don’t know is that not all of that travel is for Sherbrooke Enterprises or my own pleasure, although that’s how I’ve made it seem. Much of it, especially this past year, is for the CIA.” Gray cleared his throat. “For the past four years, I’ve been working as a NOC with the Agency.”
Gray worked for the CIA.
She took in the expressions of the men gathered in the room. The two across from her looked displeased. Jake’s mouth all but touched his knees. The President appeared upset, but not like he wanted to strangle someone, which described Mark Sherbrooke’s expression.
“Did you know about this, Warren?” Mark Sherbrooke’s voice shook with anger and she expected him to leap to his feet.
She didn’t know what a NOC was, but judging by Gray’s dad’s expression it wasn’t what the CIA called the mail boy.
“This is the first I’m hearing any of this.” The President directed a disapproving look at the man he addressed as Clarence.
“I’d like to finish, Dad.” Gray looked at her, although he spoke to his father.
“In the beginning, Randall, my handler, occasionally had me retrieving and passing along information.” Gray gestured to the other unnamed man in the room. “To help maintain my cover, I kept up the persona of a rich party boy who worked at Sherbrooke Enterprises and traveled the globe, looking for a good time while at the same time keeping my position with Sherbrooke Enterprises.” As Gray spoke, he glanced at both his father and uncle, but, for the most part, he kept his eyes on her.
“Over the past year, the Agency has required more of my time, and I’ve cultivated several key assets around the world. My most recent assignment was getting intel from a Russian agent, Nadia Danilova, regarding the two Army officers who stole military secrets.”
Kiera remembered hearing about two members of the military who had gone missing with out a trace. For a while, the news reported that officials suspected they’d gone AWOL to join a terrorist group after stealing military secrets. Later, the media changed its tune and said they were rumored to be in Mexico. As far as she knew, neither man had yet been found.
“Mr. President, because of the information provided to Gray by Nadia Danilova our Special Forces were able to apprehend the two men before they were able to sell the material to Russia, which was their plan all along.”
“I’m aware of the operation, Randall.” The President paced, his hands clasped behind his back. “All of this should’ve been brought to my attention long ago, Clarence.”
“With all due respect, Mr. President, you know the Agency doesn’t share the names of its undercover operatives. Few in the Agency know who the operatives are,” Clarence said.
“When your agency has my nephew working as an operative without an official cover, I need to know about it.”