License to Thrill by Elizabeth Cage Page B

You’ll get overtime pay.”
    â€œWhy, sure,” Caylin replied, trying to disguise her excitement. What better time to plant the bugs and search for the disc than when the offices were empty? “I could be there as soon as you need me, actually.”
    â€œBrilliant,” Fiona said, very pleased. “Just be there around seven. I won’t be there, but a schedule of offices you’ll need to clean will be with the security copper. Simply ask for it when you sign in.”
    â€œSplendid,” Caylin said, not quite believing her good fortune.
    At twenty to seven Caylin swung by the front desk, her backpack stuffed to bursting, to pick up her “toothpaste.” After she’d secured it, she ducked into the Ritz’s ladies’ lounge and cut the tube open with her Swiss army knife. There they were, eight more bugs. She hid them in her hair with bobby pins. This way, in the event that the securityguard decided to frisk her or put her bags through the X ray, her bugs would pass for funky barrettes rather than ultrasophisticated surveillance equipment.
    Caylin practically skipped all the way to the embassy. Not only was she psyched to come in on a holiday, but she’d be solo all evening, too. No Jonathon Nicholson to gripe her out, no Fiona inspecting her every move, no annoying crowds clogging the narrow halls. Bugging the Nicholsons’ offices would be a megacinch!
    â€œNice barrettes,” the security guard commented as she buzzed Caylin in.
    â€œThanks,” Caylin replied. “I made them myself.”
    Without passing go or collecting two hundred dollars, Caylin headed straight to Jonathon’s office. But just as she was about to bug the telephone, she heard approaching footsteps. Her heartbeat racing, she ducked under the desk and tried not to breathe too loudly.
    â€œHello, Louise?” a female voice—Fiona’s!—screeched loudly. “Louise?”
    What is Fiona doing here? Caylin wondered. She said she wasn’t going to be in! Caylin bit her lip and scowled.This certainly would throw a wrench into the works.
    When Fiona’s footsteps finally faded into the distance, Caylin hopped up and finished the phone job hurriedly, totally on edge. She wasn’t sure if Fiona would be back or what, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
    After she placed a bug in Jonathon’s desk drawer, Caylin tackled the huge sliding glass door that led out to the balcony. But just as she was about to apply a bug in the lower corner, she heard footsteps approaching once more. Darn, she thought, Fiona again! The desk was on the other side of the office—her only way out was right in front of her. She was balcony bound.
    Caylin gathered up her backpack, nipped up the security lock on the door, and slid it open quickly; thank goodness it was whisper quiet. In a flash she stepped out onto the narrow balcony and whisked the door shut.
    What a horrid view! she thought, looking down the six floors onto an empty warehouse and an alley. She listened for some kind of sound on the other side of the glass door, but she heard nothing. She didn’t see any shadows on the wall, either. The longer she waited, the more impatient shebecame. Surely Fiona would have come and gone by now.
    She peeked through the door and gasped. There, in front of the desk, stood someone who was decidedly taller, more solidly built, and far more masculine than Fiona. It’s Jonathon! Caylin realized, her spine tingling. And—oh no!—he was coming her way!
    Caylin pulled her head back from the door and froze for a moment. She had absolutely nowhere to hide. Her heart beat a mile a minute. Terrified, she scooted as far away from the window as she could and plastered herself up against the embassy wall. Still no sign of Jonathon at the glass door. She was safe.
    Suddenly a face pressed up against the door. Jonathon! Caylin bit her tongue to keep from screaming. Her heart beat so