CHAPTER SEVEN
Six months later
Monday morning meant a company-wide meeting of all KRK Security field operatives and comm specialists, during which they would go over the current assignments as well as the upcoming ones.
What it also meant was a very busy kitchen right before the meeting, as people came in to grab a coffee and half of them stayed to shoot the shit, only leaving when the place had gotten too full.
Then it would be empty for a minute, before the next wave of the team members filled it.
They all worked different cases and on different schedules, so Monday mornings were the only time when most of them were in the same place. On other days, they did gravitate towards the kitchen in the morning as well, but it was never as full as at the start of the week.
Ian, who was usually on his second cup of coffee by the time most of the others arrived, never had to wait for the kitchen to empty out and he even had time to eat his post-workout meal at the small kitchen table.
"Damn, that smell makes me almost miss the time I was on leave and you brought me food," Dave said right after greetings, leaning in to take a theatrical whiff. "We never ate better before or since."
Travis nodded behind him. "True."
"I made it for you." Ian pointed at Dave. "You didn't have to share it with him."
"Ouch." Travis pressed a hand to his chest. "That hurts."
"And I'm also not cooking for you anytime soon. No broken leg, no Torres food delivery."
"Harsh bargain, so I'll pass." Dave patted his thigh. "I'm enjoying being back to my usual self."
For all that they were joking around, Ian didn't miss the slight frown on Dave's face before he quickly schooled his expression, nor did he miss Travis's response of patting Dave lightly on his stomach as he leaned closer.
"I'm quite enjoying you, too," he told his partner with a wink.
"Sexual harassment!" Ian announced loudly, as he tended to do anytime these two alluded to their sex life—which was often—ever since they'd finally pulled their heads out of their asses and gotten together for real.
"I didn't say anything!" Travis protested, but he did pull back with a satisfied grin when Dave chuckled.
"You don't have to say it—"
"Morning, guys." Vic appeared in the doorway and zeroed in on Ian. "Kalei would like to talk to you at some point today, if you're free. Do you have anything scheduled after the team meeting?"
Swallowing the last bite of his burrito, Ian shook his head.
"No, we finished up all the paperwork before Clay's vacations, so other than a possible new assignment, I'm totally free. I'm available whenever the boss wants."
"Great." Vic glanced down at the tablet he carried around everywhere, so much so that the rare times he didn't have it, Ian felt like something was missing. "Two o'clock, then?"
"Okay, I'll be there."
Dave waited barely a second after Vic had left to ask the question Ian was now asking himself, too.
"What's that about?"
"I don't know." Ian got up and took the dishes to the sink.
"Our last assignment went without a hitch.
Pretty boring, actually, but at least I caught up on some reading.
" He shrugged as he quickly washed everything and put it on a small rack.
"Maybe he wants me to join in a specific op while Clay's not there. "
Usually, the assignments were allocated at the company meeting, unless it was a recurring client or someone who requested a specific field operative. A recurring client usually went to the same team, if possible, and a special request was considered on a case-by-case basis.
Then again, among all of Ian's cases, there was only one person who was both.
Biting the inside of his cheek, Ian went to refill his coffee yet again and he stared at the machine as it poured him his drink.
He wasn't ready to see Alex again—and he might never be, for that matter—but he wasn't sure he could admit it to Kalei, if that was what the boss wanted to talk to him about.
While there had been a lot of teasing he'd endured over the years about his superstar charge, over the last months it had dwindled down to nothing as everyone seemed to sense it was no longer a joking matter.
Ian had never said anything, one way or another, but these people observed for a living, so it probably wasn't hard to figure out.
It could've also been Clay telling people to shut up about it behind Ian's back, although Ian sincerely hoped that was not the case.
Either way, he had no idea what Kalei had or hadn't heard, but if Alex was the topic of their meeting, Ian was bound to come out of it feeling embarrassed.
Sorry, boss, can't do it, accidentally got in too deep with the guy.
Not that he would be the first one to fall for a client. Martinez had gone and fallen for the freaking Supreme Court Justice candidate a few years back while KRK had been handling security detail for the man.
The difference was, the Judge had fallen right back, and after Martinez had gotten shot saving his life, no one was particularly interested in making it any harder for the two of them.
And whatever Ian felt for Alex… It was obviously not reciprocated.
Which was fine.
He was dealing with it.
He just preferred to be dealing with it far, far away from the man in question, which meant he had half a day to figure out how to communicate it to his boss.
And he'd thought this Monday might be a quiet one.
No such luck.
* * *
Kalei motioned Ian to take a seat as soon as the door closed behind him.
"Thanks for seeing me. Do you want something to drink?"
Ian shook his head as he settled in the chair. "No, I'm good."
"Good job on the Lowell's case, by the way. He called the office to offer commendation."
"Did he, really? He didn't strike me as the type."
"Well, he wanted to personally assure me I employ the right people."
"Ah." Ian snorted. "That does sound more like him. Still, thank you."
"You're more than welcome. I like to give credit where credit is due and for all that I do have good instincts when it comes to people, it's still up to them how they perform the task they're given."
Ian clasped his hands in his lap, unsure what to say. Kalei wasn't stingy with praise, but he also didn't go out of his way to compliment them, either, which meant that—
"Don't worry, there's no 'but' coming," Kalei told him with a raised eyebrow, which made Ian glad he wasn't the blushing type.
"Good to know, sir."
"Things are also going well in our New York branch. Our client base keeps growing and our old clients appreciate that they can count on us over there on a prolonged basis."
"It's helpful to have a permanent base there from an operational perspective as well," Ian offered, surprised by the change of topic but going with it. "While we were never lacking, per se, it's good to have the basics covered whenever we need to plan a trip there with a client."
"Noa and I think it's time to go beyond the basics.
" Kalei rested his forearms over his desk.
"We can't grow if we don't have a full-on operation over there, and after setting up the administrative and support side of things, the next step is a full-time field division, with personnel that wouldn't have to travel back and forth. "
Ian shifted in his seat, his interest piqued as ideas started forming in his head right away.
Things wouldn't happen overnight, of course, but they already knew what worked and what didn't as the company had grown in DC.
They also had some experience with the differences between the capital and New York both in terms of the environment, and the clientele.
In capable hands, the second branch could rise to the level of the original one faster and smoother.
And Noa, the current head of the New York office, was definitely capable, which meant that if Kalei recruited someone equally skilled to handle the field operations side of things, they were golden.
"Are you gauging interest of who would be willing to relocate?" he finally asked.
Not that he particularly wanted to leave his life in DC, but with the way he'd been feeling lately, it was at least worth considering if the opportunity presented itself.
He would need to know who would be at the helm of the field division first, but it wasn't an immediate no, and that surprised him.
There had been a time he would refuse such a move outright.
"I'm not asking anyone to transfer over there to do the job they're doing here, since we have our hands full as is. What I'm asking you, specifically, is whether you would like to create and then lead the field division in New York."
Ian blinked. He did not expect that at all.
"You'd be responsible for the hiring of field personnel," Kalei went on, "but I'm going to give you any support you need at the beginning.
We won't have a big field team at the early stages, no more than ten people, which should give you enough time to figure things out.
" Kalei tilted his head. "The question is, do you want it? "
Yes.
And that surprised Ian nearly as much as the offer itself, since he hadn't thought about changing careers, hadn't envisioned himself being a boss.
Sure, there had been a time, a long time ago, when he'd thought he'd make the Corps his career and move up the ranks over there high enough for his decisions to actually matter, but that had been over a decade ago.
Nearly everything in his life had changed since then.
"Why me?" he heard himself ask, because that had been the biggest surprise. "Jeremy—"
"Jeremy is a natural leader, whether he likes it or not," Kalei said, and Ian chuckled despite himself, because that fit Jeremy to a T. "If he was willing to relocate, I would consider his candidacy, but I'm not breaking any confidences when I say that he's definitely not willing to do so."
Ian nodded. Of course. They were all invited to the wedding, after all, and even before that they'd spent years watching how important his relationship with Pascal was to Jeremy.
If anything, pretty soon Jeremy might have to make choices taking him away from KRK altogether, if the rumors of Pascal being on the VP short list for the Democrats turned out to be true.
"You're the obvious choice to me," Kalei continued, "because you're patient, adaptable, and at the same time willing to hold your ground where needed.
You consider all the options but don't dwell too long before making a decision when it needs to be made.
You have the leadership skills you need and the rest, you will learn on the job. If you want it."
There was a part of Ian—the newly awakened, energized part—that wanted him to say yes right away, to agree and figure things out later, but, like Kalei had just said, it wasn't really who he was.
He looked away from his boss towards the windows. "I feel like I'm jumping several levels in one go."
"You're not," Kalei argued, making Ian meet his gaze again.
"If I were to announce we're splitting our field division into sections and you'd be made a leader of one of them, nobody would blink an eye, not even you.
While I understand, of course, that what I'm suggesting is a bigger jump than that, there are no levels in between.
You'd have more responsibility, obviously, but I'll be a phone call away.
I assume we'll have a transitional period when many decisions will still go through me.
Once things are settled, you're going to be fine on your own, and yet I'll still be a phone call away.
That's never going to change, as long as I'm in charge. "
Ian nodded, relieved. The growing burst of excitement was a surprise, but mostly because he realized he hadn't felt like that for a long time now. He'd been going through the motions and hadn't even noticed it before today.
He opened his mouth, ready to admit he was definitely interested, when there was a sharp knock on the door and once Kalei allowed it, Vic came in.
His frown made both Ian and Kalei sit up.
"I'm sorry to interrupt." Vic closed the door behind him before facing Ian. "Alex Reed is downstairs and asking to see you. We would've handled it ourselves, but he's not… He seems pretty desperate, so I thought I'd check in with you on how you'd like us to proceed."
Ian was already on his feet before Vic even finished.
As if there was ever any question of how he would proceed.