A few days had past since the arrest of Vladimir Ivanov, and the plan had worked exactly as expected. Brad had met with Russell Wells thanks to undercover agent Robert Pluck, and got himself hired as his new Head of Security under his fake identity: Leo Wright, former MI6 agent gone rogue. Of course Wells had had his team do some digging on Leo Wright, and found everything the BA had carefully spread on the internet, making sure to remove any digital trace of agent Bradley Simpson to not compromise his new identity.
Brad was working his fake job while the rest of the team was at the apartment getting ready for the next mission: seducing Russell Wells at the gala he was attending tonight.
- I'm ready, Liv said as she walked in the living room, causing the boys to turn their head in her direction.
The all stared at the girl as she bent over to slip into her black high heels. She was wearing an elegant yet sexy long fitted red dress, split on the side up to the top of her thigh, displaying her toned leg. The bruises that had already started to fade on her face were hidden under her foundation, and the smoky makeup on her eyes helped hide the damages the fight had caused. Her long chocolate brown hair was loose on her shoulders, faint curls bouncing with every movement.
- Chop chop, she added, seeing the boys were still staring at her without moving.
They finally got out of their trance and James and Connor took their seat in front of the computer screens while Tristan joined Olivia by the door.
- You look beautiful, he said, making the girl smile.
- Thanks, hopefully Wells will agree on that, she answered and the two of them started walking towards the car.
The drive to the venue was quiet, as Olivia focused on her objective: catching Wells's attention. The entire mission depended on it, so she couldn't mess it up. When they arrived in front of the building where the gala was taking place, she inserted her earpiece into her ear and placed her hair on the side to hide it as much as possible. Even though the object was small, she couldn't take any risk.
"Okay you're on, Olivia" she heard James say through the earpiece.
- Go make Wells crazy for Elizabeth, Tristan added, in reference to her fake identity, before Olivia exited the vehicle.
She made her way to the door where a crowd of people was waiting to get in and lined up until she was finally allowed to enter. The reception room was buzzing with chatter as groups of people walked in and out of the building. She followed the crowd until she reached the ballroom, where waiters were serving glasses of champagne to the guests. She politely accepted one and walked further in the room while scanning the crowd, looking for Wells. The hundreds of people attending the gala did not make the task easy for Olivia, but luckily she had James and Connor to help her.
"Found Wells" she heard Connor say in her ear. "Six o'clock."
Olivia turned around to look in the direction agent Ball had just indicated and her eyes instantly recognized the tall dark blond man standing on the other side of the room, accompanied by two bodyguards and none other than his new Head of Security, "Leo Wright". Wells was in the middle of a conversation with an already intoxicated young woman while his security team was on lookout. Liv couldn't help but stare at Russell Wells. In his late thirties, the Australian man exuded a charm that didn't leave any women indifferent. Whether it was his dark blue eyes, fit figure, cute accent, or his fortune, women hovered around him like bees around honey. She felt bad for those women who had no idea who Wells really was, because from the outside he was a clean millionaire investor and not the leader of an international nuclear weapons trafficking network.
The plan for the night was simple: catch Wells's attention without making contact. Olivia was to progressively become a part of the man's scenery, attending most of the events he was at until she was told to make a move. It was a slow game, gradually gaining his trust by appearing as an innocent girl, making him want her; crave her.
- Hi there miss, Olivia heard next to her, making her turn her head towards the older gentleman who was smiling at her. I don't believe we've met before. Are you one of Bernard friends? he then asked.
Now was not a good time for chit chat, but she couldn't blow her cover. She had no idea who Bernard was, but the man didn't need to know that.
- Of his wife actually, Liv answered with a polite smile before taking a sip of champagne.
"Bernard Robinson is the host of the gala", she heard James say in her ear. "He's divorced. Her name's Jacqueline."
- I mean ex wife, Olivia quickly corrected herself. Jacqueline.
The gentleman smiled and started blathering about how unfortunate it was that the couple got divorced, and other futile topics, keeping the agent from achieving her mission. Soon, a group of people had joined the conversation, all eager to know more about the girl who was "a breath of fresh air" from their usual crowd. Olivia played her role to perfection, embodying "Elizabeth Pavlova", born from an American dad and Russian mom, looking to reconnect with her Russian roots after the recent passing of her mother.
"Shit, he's leaving" James said after a while, as he looked at the ballroom's security cameras from the apartment.
- I've got it, Olivia answered discreetly to not appear like she was talking to herself.
She excused herself before making her way to the back of the room were Russell Wells and his security team were starting to walk towards the exit. She grabbed another glass of champagne from one of the trays the multiple waiters in the room were holding, and walked faster as she approached Wells. She received a death stare from Agent Simpson but ignored it, and instead kept on walking until she bumped into Wells, spilling her glass on his white button up shirt.
- Fucking hell, watch where you're..., he started to say looking at his stained shirt until his eyes fell on the brunette in front of him.
- Oh my God, I am so sorry, Olivia faked as she covered her mouth with her hand, looking as sorry as she could. I was trying to get away from that one man, and didn't see you... Gosh let me help you, she added grabbing a napkin from a tray and gently rubbing it on Wells shirt.
- Don't worry about it, Wells answered while staring into her emerald eyes. Are you okay though? That was quite a hit.
- Oh yes, I'm totally fine, she answered, placing a strand of hair behind her ear. Can't say as much of your shirt unfortunately.
- I've got plenty of shirts at home darling, it's really no bother. I don't think we've met, whom am I having the pleasure of talking to?
Even if the plan did not go as expected, it had worked; Wells had taken the bait. Olivia could feel Brad's gaze on her, and he clearly wasn't happy.
- Elizabeth, she answered as she held her hand out expecting Wells to shake it.
But the man didn't shake it. Instead, he gently took Liv's hand in his and brought it to his lips where he left a soft kiss.
- Delighted, Elizabeth, he said as he let go of her hand.
- Boss, we've gotta go, Leo Wright said, interrupting the conversation.
Wells ignored Brad, and kept on staring at Olivia, a grin on his face.
- You are certainly a treat to the eye, he said to her, making her refrain a roll of her eyes, and instead, faked a smile and acted slightly embarrassed. Duty calls me, but I have no doubt our path will cross again, he added as he grabbed her hand and kissed it again while keeping eye contact.
As she looked at him so close to her, Olivia finally understood why he had so much success with women; besides how handsome he was, he was also a real charmer.
- You didn't tell me your name, Olivia said as Wells and his men started walking towards the doors.
- Don't worry krasotka (gorgeous in Russian), you will be screaming it very soon, he answered with a wink before disappearing in the crowd.
Olivia couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her lips at how charming Wells was. Because despite the fact that he was the AA most wanted, he was still a very handsome man, which was a change from all the disgusting men she had to seduce and have sex with during previous missions.
The girl stayed at the gala for a few more hours, playing her role as Lizzie Pavlova, dying of boredom talking to older gentlemen, before Tristan drove her back to the apartment. The first thing she did when they reached home was getting out the high heels that were killing her feet, while James and Connor complimented her on her performance at the gala. The three boys were pleased to see their new AA team member was up to the task, and delivering what she was expected to. They spent the rest of the evening talking strategy for the next steps now that a contact had been made with Russell Wells, until the girl left to take a shower and get changed. She was in her room, all clean and makeup free, wearing comfy pyjamas, white tank top and short light blue shorts, when she heard the front door being slammed.
- Where is she? she heard a very angry Brad say in the living room.
"Great, Crumpet's in a good mood again", she thought as she prepared herself for what was coming for her. And as she expected, only a few seconds later her door violently opened to Brad, looking as furious as ever.
- What the fuck Miller? he said as he entered the room, not bothered to ask if she was decent or not. That wasn't the plan! What don't you fucking understand in NO CONTACT?!
Olivia was sitting on her bed, cross-legged, looking at Brad who was now right in front of her. She kept her cool, not willing to give him the joy of thinking he had any effect on her - because he truly didn't.
- Well your only job was to make sure he stayed in the room, and you failed at that, so I didn't have much choice but do something about it, she answered, only raising his anger.
- I failed at my job?? he screamed, emphasizing on "I". Bloody hell you are the single worst agent I have ever worked with. You can't even follow a simple order!
- I would have if you did your job correctly, she answered, now getting angry.
She was not going to let him talk to her like that, partner or not.
- You're putting the entire mission in jeopardy! he said and she rolled her eyes.
- The only thing I did was speeding up the process. Now he knows Elizabeth, and what? He seemed pretty interested, so I don't see how I am fucking up the mission here.
- You know that wasn't the plan.
- Who fucking cares? The job is done, and no thanks to you. If anyone here needs to question their skills, it's you, not me. Now please leave my room before I get mad, because trust me, you don't want to see me mad, Olivia answered as she got off her bed and walked towards her door, showing Brad the exit with her hand.
The British boy gave her another one of his infamous stares and left without a word. Both of them knew that neither of them would win the argument. Brad was a very methodical person, who liked to follow orders exactly as they were given. Why bother creating plans if it was to ignore them? While the American girl was quite the opposite, acting on a whim 90% of the time, and best performing when improvising. They couldn't be any more different.
What do you guys think of this new series so far? Any feedback is highly appreciated :D.