, "Are you staying on this floor?
Was that your room you came out of?"
"Yup."
"I don't think anyone else on this floor is registered as a guest author.
Why you?"
"Maybe it's because I'm really an author."
Uh, huh, thought Mandi. Or maybe he was a reporter who'd gotten wind of
something? He'd come out of one of the rooms in the agency block, but...
Her expression made him add, "I'm with John's crew. They pulled me out of
retirement for this op when they found out I'd be here anyway."
If anything, her puzzlement grew. "Retirement? From what? You don't look old
enough to be retired."
Shrugging slightly, Cade said, "I am, though. Retired, that is. So I must be
old enough, I guess. How about you? Which team are you with?"
"No team. John put me in as a standalone."
"Woo! A superspook, huh? Foreign or domestic? There seem to be some of each
here today."
Shaking her head, Mandi said, "No, I'm not exactly with the NIA. I've been,
uhm... coordinating things, you could say."
Something in Cade's expression seemed to change almost imperceptibly as he
nodded without comment. Mandi instantly got the impression that he didn't
believe her.
"What is it?" she asked with a small smile, "The fact that I'm a blonde?
Don't you think I could coordinate anything?"
Raising a hand slightly in protest, Cade grinningly said, "Oh, no, milady,
it's nothing like that. I'm sure you're very good at what you do. I have no
doubt you could run an office if you had to. You'd look absolutely great while
you did it, too."
Thinking that Cade meant that he thought she might be one of those
'secretaries' who can't really type, Mandi asked rather ominously, "What the
hell are you getting at?"
She wasn't in the least prepared for his answer.
"Mandi," said Cade, "I saw you haul a car into the sky today. Admin types
don't do stuff like that. They don't like to get their hands dirty."
A jolt shot through Mandi and her gaze at Cade narrowed peeringly as she
quietly asked, "Are you nuts?! If you are, just tell me now so I can get the
hell away from you, okay?"
The red 'down' light came on as the elevator chimed its arrival. Cade
stepped around Mandi to clear the doorway.
Shifting his backpack slightly, he said, "Yeah, I was afraid you might react
like that. The dealer's room can wait. Let's go back to my room for some show
and tell."
The elevator doors opened as M