Free Chain of Command by CG Cooper Page B

are, and I’ll be damned if you’re not the only thing I want. I’m sorry that I kept tabs on you, but I love you, Cal. I worry about you. Not in a crazy stalker way, but from the beating heart of a woman who loves her man. I would do anything for you. It’s not conventional and it’s not convenient, but that’s not who I am and neither are you. So you can tell me to butt out and mind my own business, and that’s fine. But just know that as long as you’ll have me, I’ll be here, for you, for me, for us. Always.”
    She looked up at him, wishing he’d say something, anything. Again the look that she couldn’t identify. Then she noticed the corner of his mouth twitching like he was trying to keep his mouth closed. He pointed to his mouth as if to say, “Can I speak now?”
    Diane rolled her eyes and nodded.
    He let out a chestful of air along with a chuckle.
    “Feel better?” he asked.
    “I do. You?”
    “Yeah. Look, you know my history, or at least most of it. You know about Jessica…”
    Diane had read all about Cal’s murdered fiancé after he’d told her about the brazen attack.
    “I’ll admit, I was mad when Top told me about the transcripts you gave him. I’m sorry. It’s who I am. I’m not used to people checking up on me. But Top can be pretty persuasive.”
    “What did he say?” Diane asked.
    “I think his exact words were, ‘If you give Diane shit about this, I’ll rip your arms off.’”
    “He said that?”
    Cal nodded. “He must really like you. Maybe you should be dating him.”
    Diane slapped Cal playfully on the leg.
    “Ouch.”
    “Stop crying, Marine. Tell me the rest.”
    Cal rubbed his leg like he’d been wounded. “Well, after he told me that, and Daniel told me pretty much the same thing, I took a walk and thought about things.”
    “Like what?”
    “I don’t know. Life. You. Me. The thing is, Diane, I love what I do. It’s part of who I am. Sure I’ve got my bad days, but I get to go to work and really make a difference. Do you understand what that feels like, why that’s so important?”
    Diane nodded.
    “So I started thinking about how I could have it all, a life and my passion.” Cal’s voice drifted off with his thoughts.
    “And?”
    “I made a phone call.”
    “To who?”
    “My boss.”
    “Jonas?”
    Diane had spent plenty of time with Jonas Layton, The Jefferson Group’s CEO. She’d been just as impressed with his down-to-earth attitude as she had been with the vast wealth he’d built.
    “No.”
    Diane’s face scrunched in confusion. “If not Jonas, then who?”
    “The president.”
    “The president of…?” Diane knew Cal did some work for U.Va, had even given a few guest lectures. Was he talking about the president of the university?
    Cal’s eyebrow rose, indicating that she should guess again.
    Then it hit her.
    “You mean Zimmer?” she blurted. Diane knew Cal was friends with President Brandon Zimmer, but she had assumed that the friendship was based on the fact that Cal’s cousin, Travis Haden, was Zimmer’s chief of staff.
    “At least I’m happy that Miss Smarty Pants didn’t figure that one out on her own.”
    Diane didn’t immediately reply. She’d known almost from the start that Cal was into something below the radar, possibly working for the CIA, but if he worked directly for the president, what could that mean?
    “What did he say?”
    “He said that if you’re smart enough to find information that even we couldn’t get our hands on, that maybe we should be asking you for help.”
    “He really said that?”
    “He did.”
    “What else did he say?”
    Cal scratched his head, and then said, as embarrassed as Diane had ever seen him, “He said that I better pull my head out of my ass and tell you how I feel about you.”
    “And how do you—”
    “Despite all the crap we’re probably about to go through, despite my baggage and your nosy habits, I love you, Diane Mayer. I love you.”
     
     

Chapter 16
    Marine