Song is for the start of the Chapter!

I pulled on my shirt as I walked into Langley. I tried to make sure to walk a little straighter. I wanted everyone to think that I was brimming with confidence.

I was one of the youngest people that worked here and even though I was skilled and deserved my spot here, people still talked about me behind my back. They thought I was too young, or a kiss up because I worked under my grandmother. But little did they know that with every gun shot at me and by me, I earned my spot, just like they did.

I wouldn't say those passing looks and stories didn't hurt. That was one of the reasons why I had very few friends. I had a lot of trust issues and when you work with spies, you're bound to have them.

As I swiped my card to get pass the lobby, I was sure to keep my head low. I did not want to call any attention today. I was here to do my job and go home, just to repeat it again tomorrow. I was in no mood to fake liking these people around me.

Breaking me from my thoughts was when someone called out to me. "Hey Annalise!" a guy said as he ran up to me. 

I frowned. Of course my only birthday wish couldn't come true. I should have expected as much. I turned on the fakest smile I had as I looked at him. "Oh, hi Carter," I said with a pleasant smile as if I wanted to see him.

Carter was one of those guys that was handsome and he knew it. He stood tall with confidence, his blonde hair styled almost perfectly, and his blue eyes shined like the sea. Of course I thought he was attractive but he was as dangerous as a shark. He was cocky, stuck up and a jerk, so I kept my distance.

Just like me, his grandfather worked here, but what I couldn't understand was why no one made any rumors' about him. I was convinced it was because he was a man. In this line of work, they valued a man more then a woman like myself.

Most people here expected me to keep a desk job. But that wasn't me. I couldn't survive with a job like that. So I pushed my way through the murk of lies I dealt with.

"So I heard it was your birthday," he said and flashed a bright smile, trying to impress me.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Why did he always want to talk to me? He could have any girl here, but yet he chose me. Maybe it was because he knew that I had a boyfriend. I was the forbidden fruit and he liked that. "Yeah, it is," I said as politely picked up my pace so I didn't have to talk to him for any longer.

"That's awesome; do you want to hang out tonight?" he asked and smiled the same confident smile that he was known for.

I stopped in mid-walk. Oh the nerve of him. I took a deep breath before I lost my cool. "I'm busy," I said, ending the conversation. I didn't want to spend one more second with him.

Carter stopped in his place as his smile slid off his face. One point for Annalise. "Oh, maybe next time."

I nodded as I started to walk away. "Bye carter," I said as I held back a smile as I got into the stairwell. I quickly hiked the stairs and got to my floor then ran to my cubical, hoping that my grandmother didn't realize I was ten minutes late.

With stacks of papers on either side of me, I started logging into the computer. My to do list today seemed never ending as a bunch of reminders popped up when I opened my email. I knew that I wouldn't accomplish all of my items on my list. I never did. People just kept on giving me more to do. I was convinced because they wanted to see me slip up, but I would never let them see that.

Hours passed as I continued to work my way through the check list. With no end in sight, I rested my head in my hands in frustration. I could have found another job. I didn't need to go through this torment but something pushed me forward. For some reason I felt like if I left, I would loose my connection with my dead parents and my grandmother.

"Happy birthday!" a man that I knew by Auggie said as he walked up to my desk.

I smiled up at him. Suddenly my poor mood lightened considerably. "Hey Auggie," I said. August or Auggie had been my friend ever since he started working here. He was 22 and joined when he was 19. Recruited right from high school, he was brilliant, speaking at least five different languages, and martial arts training since he was four. Unlike Carter he wasn't the team captain on the football team, he wasn't prom king, and he was one of my only friends.

"It looks to me that you are in need for some much needed time out of here. So I booked us a reservation for a restaurant down the road for lunch," Auggie said as he brushed his windblown hair off his forehead. His button down shirt was slightly wrinkled, showing that he hadn't ironed it the night before. I wondered if my grandmother noticed this. She wanted everyone to look a certain way, but Auggie was too much of a rebel to follow her command.

I never had that guts, but I could appreciate it from him. I was always follow the rules because that was expected of me. Plus, I didn't want any other rumors coming after me. "You read my mind! That sounds fantastic."

He smiled brightly, expecting me to respond this way. "Good. the reservation is at 12."

I looked at my phone and I saw that it was 11:30. Typical Auggie, waiting till the last minute to make a move on anything. It was a miracle that he got anything done. Sometimes I questioned if he lived off of stress and adrenaline, but then I remembered that Auggie never got stressed. He claimed that he was like a wave, letting everything just roll off of him.

"Surprise," he said as he shrugged lightly, as if not sure if he made the right move. "So are we going to go?"

I nodded at him. Of course we were going to go. This was the only thing that seemed exciting today. I would do anything if it meant leaving my desk. "Yes," I asked as I pulled my purse out of a drawer.

I watched as his face turned a slight shade of red. He was blushing for some reason I didn't understand. "So, I kind of got my car towed last night. Can we take your car?"

I couldn't help but chuckle as I grabbed my keys on the desk. That sounded like a typical Auggie move. He was my best friend but sometimes he wasn't the most reliable. "Yeah. How did you do that?" I asked as we walked out of the cubical.

"It's a long story, but I feel like sharing so you're in luck," he said walking with me. "Last night, I was at a bar."

Shocker, I knew him well enough that he seemed to spend every Tuesday night at the bar. He spent a lot of time at bars, he told me it was because their food was better then his own cooking. But I just think it was because he had a little too much free time since he was now single again.

He continued to dive into his story as we walked out to the garage and I unlocked my car.

Auggie looked at the car with a smile. "This is new," Auggie said as got into the car and buckled his seat belt.

I nodded at him as I turned the new car on. I was not into flashy things, but my grandmother insisted on giving me a brand new range rover. I think it was a pity gift which I hated even more. "A gift from gram."

Auggie frowned and I frowned back at him. He knew what I was thinking and he was going to bring it up. However, I rather him stay quiet about it. "Is she still trying to buy you back after mission scare eight months ago?" Auggie asked.

I shrugged. I wanted to believe that was not the case, but knowing grandma, it probably was. I remembered that mission like yesterday.

I got separated from the group on the assignment. I found our mark and tried to call for back up, but they left me behind. Unwilling to let the mark go, I chased him down but he quickly over powered me and locked me in a freezer. I was convinced that I was going to die in there until the EMT's were able to get me out of it a few hours later. I shook my head to clear the memory. "Maybe. But continue," I said, wanting him to change the subject.

He nodded and started again with his story like we hadn't deviated from it to begin with. "I was there to play pool with friends. At first everything was fine, I was even winning. Then things took a turn for the worst and there was a fight. Someone pushed one of my buds, and I couldn't sit by and watch."

I frowned, I knew where this was going. Auggie was one to stand by your side even if it meant putting himself into trouble. It was admirable but it was a two edge sword as it had got him into too much trouble to count.

"Park here, we can walk down the block from here," he said and pointed to an empty parking spot on the side of the street.

I followed his commanded and I parked the car. He wasn't kidding when he said it was down the road from the office.

"And needless to say, I got into the fight," he said as his words rushed out of his mouth.

I looked at him with a frown. "What!? Why!?" I asked.

"Relax 'mom'," Auggie said.

I frowned again, I didn't like him calling me that.

"You know, frowning doesn't suit you. You're much prettier with a smile," he said with a chuckle and continued saying, "what can I say, the guy was drunk and he threw the first punch. Things just kept escalating and bam, my car got impounded."

I frowned. "I'm sorry."

Auggie shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "It's ok I can pick it up today."

I looked at him, I had a feeling what he wanted. "And let me guess, you want me to help you pick it up after lunch." Figures, Auggie liked to kill two birds with one stone.

I remembered one time when I needed rides to work and the only reason he picked me up was because there was a cute girl always waiting for the bus next to me. They dated for a bit, but it didn't work. What I never got was that his relationships never worked. I was shocked because Auggie was a catch, any girl could see that.

He smiled at me widely as if I read his mind. "That would be great!"

I had nothing left to say so I just laughed.

"Well we're here," Auggie said as stopped in front of a small Mediterranean restaurant. 

I looked up at the sign and smiled. "Oh Auggie! I love Mediterranean food!"

He nodded. "I know. Wait till you try it," he said with a smile as he walked into the restaurant. I followed behind him and instantly, a waiter came to us and placed us at a table.

We looked at the menu in silence as both of us were dictated by hunger. "How did you find this place?" I said finally as we were waiting for our food to come.

"I just look around, asked around. I found about five around town but this was the best. The lady that cooks the food is from Athens."

I nodded as the plates of food came out for us. I looked at my dish of octopus and felt my mouth water. "Wow," I said taking a bite of my food. "This is amazing!"

Auggie smiled, as if he knew I would say that. "See I told you. I knew you would like it. Tell me something do you remember our first mission together?" he asked shyly.

"Ha, how could I forget? You got incredibly sick and I ended up going alone the rest of the mission," I said taking another bite.

"Yeah, well, do you remember the restaurant we ate at?" 

"Yeah..." I paused to think and then remembered what the food tasted like. "It tasted, well, like this!"

He nodded. "Yeah, and you loved it so much, I told you I would take you there again. Well even though we haven't left the country, I still lived up to my word," he said and smiled proudly.

I smiled at him. He remembered everything. This was why he was my best friend. He really seemed to get me. "Auggie, I love it, you're a great friend."

He quickly pulled out his phone and nodded. I watched his smile falter. "Yeah," he said his voice dropping at the last two letters making it not sound like his perky self. I knew something was up, but decided that it wasn't my business to pry so I stayed quiet as I ate.