Irish Throwdown (What Happens In Vegas Book 4) by Matt Lincoln (short books for teens .TXT) 📕

“I think the interviewer felt sorry for me,” I responded.

“Or she thought you were cute,” Miranda smirked.

I frowned in response, not sure what to say to that. Miranda was a flirt and doled out compliments to pretty much every man she met, but I’d been a little unsure how to act around her ever since we’d stopped seeing each other. Our relationship had never been that serious, so it had eventually fizzled out without any hard feelings from either side. Still, it felt a little awkward every time she made a flirty comment as though nothing had happened.

“Miranda’s right,” Fiona hummed. “Honestly, I’m kind of surprised you don’t use that more to your advantage during investigations. Don’t you have a different girlfriend every month?”

“That’s not true,” I protested, though she wasn’t that far off the mark. I’d never had any issues attracting women, and to be honest, I did enjoy dating around. Regardless, I didn’t particularly enjoy having my love life be a topic of conversation.

“There’s nothing wrong with using sex appeal as a means to garner information,” Naomi shrugged. “I’m not above flirting if doing so will benefit my mission.”

“What kind of conversation is this?” a voice suddenly interjected. I looked up to see Junior standing just behind us, a look of bewilderment on his face.

“Hey,” Fiona smiled and scooted over in her seat to make room for him. “How did it go?”

“Fine, I think,” Junior replied as he sat down next to her. “They kept asking me the same questions over and over, like they were waiting for my answer to change.”

“That’s a common interrogation tactic,” Naomi remarked. “I’m certain we’ve all done something similar.”

“Well, I didn’t really like being treated like a criminal,” Junior grumbled. Fiona frowned sympathetically and rubbed her hand over his shoulder soothingly.

“Don’t let it bother you,” Miranda huffed. “We all know you’re not a criminal. Heck, you’re the most straightedge one of us here. I’m sure everything will be okay.”

“I passed Wallace on my way here,” Junior sighed. “He said he just needed to finish speaking with someone, and he’d join us in a minute.”

Almost as if on cue, Wallace strode over to where we were sitting just a moment later, accompanied by Nelson.

“Good news,” he said without preamble. “There are still a few kinks to work out, but it seems like we’re in the clear.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and noticed that my fellow agents all seemed to have similar reactions to the news.

“You got a response that quickly?” Junior asked skeptically.

“Well, I wouldn’t say we’re completely out of the woods,” Wallace replied. “But for now, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be receiving any more disciplinary measures. We are on thin ice, though, so I’m going to have to implore that you all play everything by the book for the time being.”

“That’s a relief,” Fiona sighed.

“Indeed,” Nelson nodded. “In any case, I don’t see much point in heading to the office now. I’d recommend you all go home and get some rest so we can start fresh early tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me,” Miranda said as she hopped out of her chair. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

We bade our goodbyes and filed out of the building. Once I was in my car, I quickly shucked my tie and the jacket of my suit. The clock on my dash revealed that it was just a little past six in the evening. It was a bit early to be heading to the bar, but I felt like I could use a drink after the stressful day.

The bar I headed to wasn’t that far from my apartment. It wasn’t the nicest place, but it was close enough for me to be able to walk home if I had a little too much to drive. The bar was dark and smoky, and there was a line of televisions above the bartending area playing different sports games. It was early enough that the bar was still relatively empty, so I didn’t have any issues getting a drink.

I took a seat at a small table in the corner of the bar and watched as more people began to trickle in as the sun went down. I was just finishing off my second drink when a tall blond woman in a dark green dress entered and headed straight for the bar. The dress hugged her curves tightly, and I snickered as several heads turned to look at her as she moved past. Her dress and heels were definitely nicer than what most of the other people in the bar were wearing, and I deduced that she was probably a businesswoman stopping by for a drink after work.

One of the men who’d turned to look at her got up from his seat and went to stand next to her at the bar. I watched as he whispered something in her ear. She raised an eyebrow at him before muttering something back, and I felt a pang of sympathy for the man as she shuffled away awkwardly. He’d clearly been rejected.

She turned to watch the man leave, and her eyes met mine. She smiled slyly before turning back to her drink. I remembered how my female coworkers had teased me about how the interviewer must have been attracted to me. I finished off my drink and headed up to the bar.

“I didn’t think I’d see a woman like you here tonight,” I muttered as I leaned against the bar.

“A woman like me?” she repeated, sounding a little affronted. “What do you mean by that?”

“Most of the people here are a little rougher around the edges.” I shrugged. “You’re wearing designer shoes and a nice dress. That, and you’re by far the most gorgeous woman in here.”

“Is that right?” she smiled as she took a sip of her drink.

“It is.” I smiled at her. “It’s the reason every eye in the room is on you right now.”

“I see,” she giggled as she