Investigating 101. Debra Webb

for her to take her seat first. She acknowledged his suggestion with a nod and settled into the chair at the head of the oval table. He pulled out his own chair and got comfortable. At least as comfortable as he could with his whole future hanging in the balance. He wasn’t generally a guy who got nervous about much of anything but this was the most important moment of his life—he had to make this happen.

      “Nicole and I reviewed the video of your interview and considered the results at length.”

      Todd wasn’t surprised that the interview had been videoed. Agencies this high profile didn’t leave anything to chance. If he was hired it would likely be by committee.

      “I assume your conclusion was favorable,” he offered. His confidence level rose significantly. He’d known he had impressed Nicole Reed-Michaels. Unlike this lady, Nicole had been somewhat easier to read. And gorgeous. Was everyone who worked here beautiful? Whatever Victoria’s age, she was still an attractive woman.

      Life at the Colby Agency would certainly be easy on the eyes, at least if the rest of the female staff lived up to what he’d seen so far. Beautiful, intelligent. Very cool.

      He’d been somewhat surprised that Nicole had conducted the interviews alone. He’d expected at least three interviewers and that a minimum of two would be male. But the Colby Agency appeared to know exactly what they’d been looking for. He’d watched with interest as Nicole had weeded out literally hundreds of applicants. Only twenty had moved on to the written exam. A mere twelve had survived that portion of the extensive interview. Less than half of those had remained once the intense one-on-one portion concluded. Nicole Reed-Michaels was a hell of a looker, but that hadn’t kept her from being as hard as nails. She was one tough lady.

      But not nearly as tough as the one analyzing him just now.

      “Favorable yet cautious,” Victoria allowed. “This is the Colby Agency, Todd. We don’t take chances with our reputation.”

      He experienced a glimmer of worry, but he didn’t flinch. “Understandable.”

      She assessed his response for three seconds. “Of the five recruits Nicole selected, only three received a call this morning,” Victoria informed him, her eyes still gauging his response.

      Todd held his ground, didn’t let her see him sweat. “I’m flattered to be among those three.”

      “Considering the number of applicants, you very well should be.” That dark gaze that gave away nothing remained pinned to his, waiting, watching for him to make his first mistake…for him to falter.

      The next ten seconds ticked by with excruciating slowness. He gave himself a mental pat on the back when he managed not to squirm.

      “You did extraordinarily well on the written exam,” she said eventually, tossing out that bone with scarcely any inflection in her tone.

      “Thank you.” He’d known he’d aced the test. He was particularly good at giving the answers people wanted—which weren’t even always the correct ones. Because folks had certain expectations of success as well as failure and he’d met each one as if he’d designed the test himself. No one was better in that arena. Every professor whose class he’d taken at the University of Alabama had said the same: Todd had his own personal guardian angel when it came to test taking…either that or he was the luckiest bastard on the planet.

      “My single hesitation, Todd,” Victoria went on, instantly snapping him back to the present and putting him on edge, “is with your somewhat overlarge ego.”

      Uncertainty streaked through him. For the first time in his life he wasn’t sure how to respond. Though he felt confident Victoria wasn’t the first to think as much, she was definitely the first to say so.

      “Not that there is no place in this line of work for a healthy ego,” she allowed. “To the contrary.” The knowing expression she kept aimed in his direction did nothing to alleviate his mounting uneasiness. “It takes courage and confidence to be the kind of investigator this agency seeks out.”

      “I agree,” he said, seeing no reason to deny what she obviously understood about him. “You’ll find that I have no shortage of either. But I also know how and when to keep the latter in check.”

      A smile gave him a moment’s reprieve. “I’m certain you know exactly how to conduct yourself in any given situation.” She leaned back into her chair, adopting a more relaxed posture. “Let me be frank, Todd.”

      He didn’t relax, couldn’t have if his life had depended upon it. That fleeting reprieve he’d experienced had just vanished. This was the moment. Whatever she said next would determine where he went from here. Every minute of every hour of his adult life so far had been leading up to this.

      “This agency is constantly inundated with applicants more than qualified,” she explained. “We choose carefully, and only the very best.”

      And then he knew why he was here. He didn’t have to see it in those closely guarded eyes or to hear it in her voice. He understood exactly why a lady who could command this prestigious agency even bothered to talk to him, a guy who lacked any semblance of the qualifications of which she spoke.

      “Mrs. Colby-Camp,” he said, that cocky attitude he was known for taking precedence and showing, probably a little more than it should. “I don’t have that experience you speak of with such reverence, but I do have a couple of assets you might find every bit as admirable.”

      She inclined her head slightly to the right and waited for him to continue.

      “Ambition. Determination. You give me this opportunity and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.” He leaned forward, anticipation burning through him like flames licking a path through a dry field. “I will do whatever it takes to ensure you’re impressed.”

      The intensity in those dark eyes cranked up a notch. “Make no mistake, Todd, I am already duly impressed, otherwise you would not be here.”

      With considerable effort, he reclined into his chair, barely resisting the urge to jump up and do a little victory dance. “What happens next?”

      That smile that had toyed with her lips moments ago reappeared full-force. “Now you have to impress the rest of my staff. Do that, and you’ve earned yourself a permanent position here.”

      It was his turn to smile. Oh, yes, he was in. “Just tell me what you want me to do and consider it done.”

      “YOU’RE CERTAIN about this, Victoria?”

      She turned from the view outside her office window to face her second-in-command. “Yes, Ian, I’m absolutely certain.”

      He nodded once. “How would you like to begin?”

      Victoria considered his question for a moment. The three new recruits were currently in the conference room with a member of human resources. There were numerous forms to be filled out. Benefits to be discussed. All of which would buy Victoria time for this final phase of the plan.

      “Let’s start with Mr. Thompson.” There hadn’t actually been any question in her mind. He was the one who stood out to her. The other two, both female, were excellent candidates, but neither possessed the level of in-your-face self-assurance young Mr. Thompson did.

      “He’s a cocky one,” Ian offered.

      Victoria had to smile. “Yes, he is.”

      “You reviewed the background details in Simon’s report?”

      “Yes.” Victoria knew of which detail in particular he spoke. Todd Thompson had decided that for his final thesis he would write about taking on a new identity and how easy it would be to fool people. In his opinion, most people wanted to believe what they were told, and he proved as much by living a double life for a short period and fooling all those around him. No actual harm had been done, but the small community where he’d played out his little hypothesis had been less than pleased to learn they’d been deceived by the young man they