Watch Me

I swore I saw Jude actually smile a bit, but I couldn't be sure. "So they sent in the big guns," Jude continued. "I'm flattered."

I made myself comfortable on the couch. Jude finished working on his desk and then went to make himself another cup of coffee. Upon returning to his desk, he began typing at his computer. As tempted as I was to finish all of this, I knew I couldn’t make the next move. Even if the man wanted to wait me out for another eight hours like he had the day before, I had no problem doing it. If I gave Jude the upper hand even once, he'd never let it go again.

"Falkov," he murmured after about ten minutes as he stared at his computer screen. "Russian," he added with a nod. I knew I was supposed to respond to the randomness of his bringing up my name, but I held my tongue.

He continued to type away and use his mouse occasionally as his eyes flicked over the screen. I used the opportunity to study him in more detail. He was completely focused on what he was doing, so much so that I had the feeling he'd completely tuned me out. I understood what it meant to be focused, but when I did it, I knew how to put the world aside for a moment. How to pick out the things I needed to know and place the rest on the back burner. But something about the way Jude worked made me wonder if his focus had something a little bit more frantic behind it. He was clearly tuning out the world, but he was doing it completely. Nothing else existed for him except whatever was on the screen in front of him. Interestingly enough, he also had a habit of moving his lips as he was reading. I doubted he was even aware of it. I, on the other hand, was very much aware of it. It was already next to impossible to not look at the man's full, very kissable lips. The strange habit was like putting a spotlight on them.

I ended up losing track of time, so I wasn't sure how much of it had gone by before Jude leaned back in his chair and shifted his eyes from the computer screen to me.

"Nikolai Dimitri Falkov, thirty-eight, born in Russia, emigrated along with your parents to the US when you were thirteen," he began before glancing at his computer screen again. "Did a stint in the military." He clucked his tongue and said, "Only one tour of duty, though." His eyes shifted back to me. "What happened, Nik, not a fan of serving your country?" He paused only long enough to take his glasses off. "Or should I say this country?"

It was a decent one-two punch, I had to admit it. First off, that he'd managed to get so much information about me in such a small amount of time. And second, that he'd found a weak spot with his first hit. I couldn't tell him that, of course, but I definitely had to take a deep breath to keep my voice even when I said, "Jude Alexander Archer, twenty-six. On the fast track to becoming the youngest VP ever for TDS Corporation. Swanky apartment on the Upper East Side. Graduated top of your class at Harvard but did your undergrad work at a no-name community college in Kansas. Hard to say if that's where you grew up since your Social Security number was issued when you were eighteen. What happened? Were you worried Clifton Hayes wouldn't give you the time of day if he discovered your lack of pedigree?"

I hadn't planned to use any of the information I'd discovered in the few hours I'd had to research Jude, but his own accusations had stung more than I'd anticipated.

The only hint that I'd left my own mark was the slight flickering of his eyes as he struggled to keep them on me. His posture was meant to be casual and relaxed, but I could see the tightness in his jaw and the way his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. It took several long beats before the tension faded away again. I knew what was coming just by the look in his eyes. He was going for the death blow.

"Looks like your parents’ bakery does a decent business," he said before he made a tsking sound. "Not a good idea to get too far behind in the rent payments, Nikki. Hard to catch up on those," he added.

I wasn't sure why I was so disappointed that he’d gone there. I didn't even really have time to consider how he’d managed to figure out that level of information in such a short amount of time, but it didn't really matter. It also didn't change anything except to remind me that I was there to do a job and save Mike’s business.