A card in the mail from his mother was the last thing Devin expected. Three days had passed since he had shared the news of his marriage with his father, and he had dreaded the disapproving call he’d been certain would follow from his mother. That call hadn’t happened. Could it be that she had experienced a change of heart? Maybe now that he was married, his parents would come to terms with how much Grace meant to him.
He ripped open the envelope to find a simple card with a photo of Sedona red rocks on the front. When he turned to the inside, his breath backed up in his chest, hurt and anger battling inside him. The words on the otherwise blank card were written in his mother’s hand and left no doubt as to her feelings on his marriage.
Your father and I expect more from you. We presume you will rectify the situation before we see you at graduation.
Paper-clipped to the back was a business card for a divorce attorney.
“Unbelievable.” The word came out on a sigh of despair. How could his parents do this? Did they truly not care about his happiness? And was he going to have to choose between his family and Grace? He was afraid the yeses and nos to those questions wouldn’t fall in the order he wanted if he posed them to his parents.
His phone rang, and he saw Grace’s photo illuminate the screen. He let it ring a second and third time while he tried to rein in his emotions.
“Hey.”
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” she asked.
“No, this is fine. How are you doing?”
“At the moment, I’m regretting I didn’t try to get my MBA at Stanford. I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” And he did. Every time he thought of her, his life seemed brighter somehow. “It’s only a few weeks until I’ll see you next.”
“I know, but it feels like forever. I’m already trying to get ahead on my classes so I won’t have any homework when you get here.”
“I need to do the same thing. Anything new and exciting in Arizona today?”
“I saw Molly and Caleb for the first time since their wedding. They looked good.”
“Did you tell them about us?”
She chuckled. “Molly complimented me on the pearl ring you gave me, but it never registered that I was wearing it on my left hand.”
“Did you have your wedding band on too?”
“Yep. I started to tell her, but I decided it would be more fun to tell them together when you’re here. I thought maybe we could surprise them and take them out to dinner or something.”
“I like that idea.” Devin lay down on his bed and let the cheerfulness of Grace’s voice overshadow everything else.
By the time they said their good-byes, there was only one thing to do about his mother’s note. He crossed the room, picked up the card, business card and all, and dropped it into the recycling bin.
As for graduation, he was sure his parents would be in attendance, and so would Grace.
* * *
Grace shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she watched the stream of passengers passing through security. She knew it would have been easier for her to pick Devin up outside, but she didn’t want to wait those few extra minutes to see her husband. She had received a text from him ten minutes ago to tell her he had landed. She pulled out her cell phone and looked down at the screen. Make that twelve minutes.
Pushing up onto her toes, she craned her neck to see past the X-ray machines and body scanners in the security area, hoping for a glimpse of Devin. Her grin was instant when she caught sight of him weaving past a businessman and then a family of four. She sensed the moment he saw her, and his already rapid pace increased.
Grace started forward and did some weaving of her own when Devin passed the security guard, and she tried to get past the people standing between them. Pulling his carryon bag behind him, Devin broke into a jog and closed the distance. The moment he reached her, he set his bag upright and pulled her against him, lifting her off her feet.
His lips found hers in a brief but dizzying kiss.
“Welcome home,” Grace managed to say.
“Thanks.” He kissed her again before lowering her to the floor. Grabbing the handle of his suitcase, he asked, “Where are you parked?”
“This way.” Grace indicated the direction of the parking garage. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too.” They made their way to the garage, both of them maintaining a hurried pace. “We don’t have any plans tonight, do we?”
“No. I never got ahold of Molly and Caleb to see if they wanted to get together,” Grace admitted. She pulled the car keys from her purse, unlocked the car, and popped the trunk.
Devin loaded his suitcase, and Grace headed for the driver’s side door. She pulled it open only to have Devin put his hands on her shoulders to turn her around to face him. The intensity in his eyes surprised her, and her breath caught in her chest. The scent of his cologne teased her senses, and her breath shuddered out the instant before his lips met hers.
Grace melted against him, reveling in the sensation of having him here with her, of being in his arms once more. A car passed by, and she pulled back.
“I missed you,” Devin murmured, his voice low.
“I missed you too.” He leaned toward her for another kiss, and Grace shook her head. “I think we should save this for when we get home.”
Another car drove by, and Devin looked around like he was just noticing where they were. “You’re probably right.” He jogged around to the passenger side and climbed in. As soon as he was seated beside her, he asked, “How far is it again?”
“About thirty minutes.” She clicked her seat belt in place and looked at him only to find herself being kissed again. Laughing, she put a hand on his chest and nudged him away. “Behave.”
“Oh, all right.” Devin shifted back into his seat.
She looked over at him, amused. “Don’t worry. I’ll take the shortcut.”
* * *
Grace spent every waking moment trying not to count down the days until she would see Devin again. Fifteen days had passed since she’d seen him for Presidents’ Day weekend. Nine more until they would be together again.
The few plans she had made for Presidents’ Day weekend had been pushed aside the moment they had gotten home from the airport. Except for the twenty-three-minute drive from the airport to her apartment, she had spent almost the whole time in his arms. Three crazy days of takeout food and breakfast in bed, long walks through the neighborhood, and movies late at night while cuddled together on the couch had ended too soon, and Grace was ready to be done with school so they could start their new life together.
Nine more days, she repeated to herself as she parked her car in the student lot and headed to class. This time, instead of a long weekend, they would have a whole week together, in Stanford instead of Phoenix. Spring break for her, finals week for him. The timing wasn’t perfect, but they were both anxious to take whatever they could.
She worried that Devin still hadn’t heard where his company was sending him. Every time she asked about his employment, he said he would explain once he received his assignment. Surely he would hear before graduation.
She wanted so badly to start planning for what would come next. She would take her Series 7 exam two days before leaving for Stanford, and she hoped she and Devin would be able to plan where they would move after her graduation six weeks after his. It didn’t seem fair that his semester ended so much earlier than hers. Of course, he didn’t have spring break, and their schools had very different schedules.
Devin had been thrilled with the idea of her being there in the days leading up to the end of his graduate work, especially when she offered to help him pack and clean his apartment. She knew he would likely have to go ahead of her to his new job, but she was hoping he could postpone his start date until she could go with him. She wanted to wake up each morning with him beside her. She had never realized how much it would mean to her to come home every day and find him there. Now that she’d had a taste of married life, she was excited for what was to come.
Seeing his parents at graduation worried her a bit because she was still unsure of how they felt about her. Other than saying his parents were getting used to their marriage, Devin had barely spoken of his family during their nightly calls.
She was heading into her first class of the day when a crowd around a bulletin board by the career center distracted her.
“What’s going on?” she asked Heidi, one of the girls in her organizational behavior class.
“They just posted the upcoming grads who got a second interview with Anderson Enterprises. Only four people made the first cut.”
Grace’s heart sank. She had been among hundreds who had interviewed for those few precious positions. Working with investor wealth management fascinated her. If only four people had made the cut, she was certain her name wasn’t on the list. “Who are they?”
“Check it out for yourself.”
Grace edged forward and read the names. She gasped. “I got it?”
“You got the interview,” Heidi said with a smile. “Now go get the job. I’m totally planning on coming to visit you in New York this fall.”
“You’re on.” Grace looked over the posted sheet again, this time reading the details on the top.
“We’d better get to class,” Heidi said. “You can set up your interview this afternoon.”
“I hope I get the job.”
“You’ll get it. If they cut the list down that much, this final interview is only a formality.”
Grace followed Heidi into class, and reality caught up with her. What if her dream job and Devin’s dream job were on opposite ends of the country? He mentioned the possibility of requesting a location for his job, so she texted him. What are the chances of your job taking you to New York?
The response came back within seconds. Could happen. Why?
Second interview with Anderson Enterprises tomorrow. Nervous and excited.
Awesome! You’ll be great. I see my personnel officer next week. I’ll let you know.
Excitement and anticipation stirred within her. Everything was falling into place. Without even looking for it, she had found her path to her happily ever after.
* * *
“Hong Kong?” Devin repeated the news back to Jalen Cruz, his personnel officer. “I don’t understand. I thought this meeting was to discuss the possibilities of where I might be assigned, not to receive my actual posting.”
Jalen sat behind his desk in the small windowless office. The man was only ten years older than him, and Devin suspected Jalen was simply the messenger. “I’ll admit, this is a bit unusual, but your skills uniquely qualify you for this job.”
“My skills?”
“You’re fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese, and you have an MBA from a top school. That’s not an easy combination to find in the agency, especially for someone who doesn’t have any Chinese heritage.”
“So what is my job going to be?” Devin asked, still trying to process the possibilities.
“You will be going undercover to work with a capital management group. We submitted your résumé over a year ago, hoping we could get you into this position.”
“Over a year ago? You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Not at all. These types of undercover operations take years to set up. Your internships were tailor-made to enhance your résumé for this particular job.” He leaned forward in his chair and lowered his voice. “For more than two decades, the Chinese intelligence service has managed to ascertain information they shouldn’t have any prayer of accessing. Analysts have looked at the leaks and plugged some of them, but there is a significant number that remain unsolved. We don’t know where they’re coming from, and we haven’t been able to identify a common denominator.”
“How do I play into the picture?”
“Your mission is twofold: first, we have identified several Chinese nationals at this particular firm who we believe could be cultivated to provide us with valuable information. In this new position, you will have sufficient access to identify individuals the agency can recruit as assets.”
“Wait a minute. I never planned to be an operative. I’ve always been slated for a support position.”
“As corny as it sounds, your country needs you on this one.” His expression remained serious. “The financial stability of this country hinges on our relationship with the Chinese.”
“Doesn’t spying on their soil create negative ramifications for that relationship?”
“Only if we’re caught. The second part of your mission is to help us identify who has been leaking information to the Chinese. Chatter has picked up several indications that Hong Kong has become a hotbed for the sale of government secrets, and this firm seems to be a favorite place for Chinese intelligence to filter money to their sources. We need to know who is involved and when money transfers are occurring so we can counter any possible threats against our government as a result of these intelligence leaks.”
Devin rubbed both hands over his face. “This is a lot to take in.”
“I know. Believe me, we have looked at a lot of options on securing the intelligence we need on this. We had another operative we intended to send in as well. He only speaks Cantonese, so he wasn’t as strong a candidate. When he got married six months ago, he was reassigned since he was no longer fully eligible to go.”
“What does getting married have to do with anything?” Devin asked, suddenly wary.
“A married man wouldn’t be able to socialize freely in the right circles in Hong Kong, and we didn’t want to risk his wife inadvertently revealing his true purpose.”
“We may have a problem. I’m married.”
“What? Your file doesn’t show anything in it about you being seriously involved with anyone, much less married. When did this happen?”
“Right before Christmas. I ran into my old high school girlfriend, and we eloped.”
“You do realize you were supposed to notify me before this happened, right?”
“I was told I had to inform you if I had any close and continued contact with anyone who is a foreign national. Grace is American.”
“Even if that’s the case, you should have told me.” A hint of panic laced his voice. “Does she know you’re CIA?”
“No. I didn’t know what I would have to do to get permission to tell her, but I knew there was some kind of procedure in place for that.”
“There is a procedure in place, but I’m afraid even with the proper paperwork, your request will be denied.”
“What? Why?”
“We’ve been working on your placement for months. We can’t put someone else in your place at this point. It’s too risky for anyone, even your wife, to know who you really work for.”
“Can my wife come with me?”
“No. As I said, you won’t be included in the same social circles if you’re married. You’ll have to go unaccompanied.”
His heart sank. “For how long?”
“Usually this type of assignment is for at least three years.”
“Three years? I can’t do that.”
“With any luck, we can get what we need within six months. A year tops.”
Six months. It sounded like an eternity, but he and Grace had already managed to survive three months apart.
The internal debate continued to wage as Jalen handed Devin a thick envelope. “Your official offer from the capital group, Revival Financial, is in there, along with your airline tickets, the keys to your new apartment, and a new cell phone.”
“Why do I need a new cell phone?”
“It has the ability to receive encrypted texts. It also prevents anyone from using your current phone to track you.”
“What about calling home to friends and family?”
“Keep it to a minimum. The more you contact people you know at home, the more at risk you all are.” He stood. “You have two weeks before you fly out. We assumed you would want to spend some time with family and friends before you leave, so your flight will come out of Phoenix. From there, you will fly to Los Angeles and stay for a couple days to be briefed on our interests in Hong Kong.
“Of course you know all of this information is top secret and can’t be shared with anyone outside of our unit,” he said.
“What you’re telling me is that my friends and family will think I really work for Revival Financial.”
“You will really work there. You’ll just work for us too.” He stood, and Devin followed suit, then shook the man’s extended hand before he turned to leave. “And, Devin?”
“Yes?”
“Like I said, these situations don’t happen often. Take advantage of it. This can make your career.”
With a nod, Devin turned and headed for the door. The moment he stepped into the hallway, he closed his eyes and rubbed his hands over his face again. What was he going to tell Grace? And how was he going to survive without her?