Glass Ceilings by A. M. Madden Page B

teased.
    “Thank you,” she said with a smile. “You were the only and best I ever had.”
    “Why, thank you.” I nodded with a wink. “I’m glad I popped your one-night stand cherry…and I’m glad I met you one week ago.”
    “Me, too.” Her gorgeous face turned serious as we continued to move against each other while staring into each other’s eyes.
    I kissed her long and hard, and when we came, we came together.

Part 2
Regrets Are a Waste of Precious Time

Chapter 10
    Nick
    T WO YEARS LATER
    The policeman costume I chose for Halloween at four years old, complete with handcuffs, a badge, and a water gun, became my uniform for the next several years. My mom had tried to talk me out of it when the only size left in the costume shop was two sizes too big. I didn’t care and insisted on that damn costume. Mom relented, and ended up getting her money’s worth.
    At age seven, I finally retired it due to wear and tear, but by then, I decided to give myself a promotion. Kid-size aviators and a fake FBI badge became my new obsession. Once again, I wore them all the time and not just for Halloween.
    My obsession with law enforcement came from my dad. At the time, I had no idea what he did or where he did it, but watching him come home every day with his badge, gun, and the unmistakable sense of pride he wore on his face was enough for a four-year-old to take notice.
    If a brownie went missing from the batch my mom had just baked, I interrogated my sister and father until they cracked. If a pet went missing in the neighborhood, I dragged my best friend door-to-door checking for witnesses.
    So, yeah…I guess I
always
knew what I was going to be when I grew up. And now, at thirty-one, I could definitely say I made my dreams come true. Since I’d gotten to New York, I’d spent the time proving myself. A few high profile cases later, and the nameplate on my door finally read EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR . One of the youngest to climb the ranks within the FBI, I was now in charge of the Criminal Investigative Division, New York Headquarters.
    It took a ton of perseverance and determination to get my last promotion. I had men double my age reporting to me. Earning their respect hadn’t been easy. My boss, Wayne Rupert, was the deputy director in charge of New York headquarters and admitted no one had ever impressed him as much as I had. It’s easy to impress when you eat, sleep, and breathe your job responsibilities. The other chumps I’ve worked with had families, lives outside of headquarters. Nothing wrong with it, having a personal life just wasn’t my purpose.
    I loved my job, but I had to keep reminding myself of that. Especially on weeks where all I did was crap paperwork. I had a ton of it to get through, courtesy of my last case. I stared at the piles of folders on my desk, loathing that part of the job. I’d spent the better part of the last hour shuffling papers around in a grand display of procrastination. It would only get worse if I waited to tackle it later.
    The higher up the corporate ladder I climbed, the more red tape I had to cut my way out of. I often missed the days of undercover assignments and being out in the field.
    A good portion of my time was spent staring at these four walls and all the contents within them. The next rung on my career ladder would be national deputy director, and then maybe headquarters in DC—that was if I still wanted to keep climbing. Because at thirty-one, I could also definitely say that I was exhausted with my life.
    Would I do it all over again to get to this point? I honestly didn’t know if I would. With age came clarity. I’d sacrificed a lot for my career. I wanted it more than anything, or so I’d thought. It wasn’t until I got a taste of something else, something more, that I began to have thoughts of regret.
    “Agent Farley?” I glanced up from my computer to see my newest agent, Parks, hovering in the doorway. The guy reminded me of