Thewaiter at our table glances at me, and then nods atCarl. “Yourentrees should be ready soon.I’llmake sure your wife is present beforeIbring them out.”
Carlthanks the waiter, but the man doesn’t walk away— he turns to take the order of the couple on the first date.Carldoesn’t seem comfortable talking to me with the waiter so close.Theman might not have nerves of steel, but he has good instincts.He’sbeen able to get us a lot of valuable intel over the past couple of months.Buthe is getting more and more agitated the longer we wait, and his eyes dart to the door again.
Inmy ear,Charlietells me thatGiannais having no problem dragging the phone call out, soIsay toCarl, “Thatissue at your wife’s work has turned into a bigger problem than either of them thought.Itmight take a few more minutes.”
Carlnods just asItune intoMackenzie’sdate saying, “Andthe lady will have the seared salmon.”
I’msure my eyebrows rise because that is a ballsy move after the woman said she didn’t want the man to order for her.Eitherhe isn’t good at reading the room or he is just plain controlling.
Iglance atMackenzie, who’s looking equal parts annoyed and up for the challenge, andIreally start rooting for her as she says to the waiter, “Actually, that’s not whatIwant.I’dlike the roasted chicken, please.”
“Youdon’t trust me to order for you?”
Shelooks at her date and shrugs. “I’mallergic to salmon.”
“Allergic?”
“Ithappens.”
You’dthink the guy would’ve learned his lesson in ordering for her, but no.Thenext words out of his mouth are, “I’dlike a red wine, and sinceI’msure the lady is watching her figure, she’ll take seltzer water with lemon.”
I’mgladCarlandIcan’t continue our conversation right now, becauseIreally want to see how this all goes down.
Mackenzie’seyes narrow at her date before she scans the menu. “Okay,I’lltake the seltzer water, like he said, but with a root beer float on the side, please.”
Theman cocks his head. “Rootbeer floats are for children, don’t you think?Idon’t think you’re considering the fat and calorie content.”
Mackenzieturns a brilliant smile on the waiter. “Doyou put whipped cream on top?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Shehands him her menu. “I’dlike double, please.”
IfIcould mentally give someone a high-five,Iwould definitely be high-fivingMackenzieright now.
Asthe waiter takes the man’s menu, too, and then walks away,Iforce my head back into the intelligence-gathering game.Carlswallows hard and takes a glance around before he hisses, “Ifyou take the key, they’re going to know someone sold them out.Whatif they find outIdidn’t go to the meeting?Imean, sure, nine hundred people were at that meeting and they didn’t take roll.Therearen’t cameras in the hallway byHendrickson’soffice, but they have them in the hallway by the auditorium.It’dbe tedious, but they could find out who attended.”
Theguy is talking faster than a chipmunk on espresso now. “Carl.Lookat me.”Ipause until his darting eyes meet mine. “Mygoal is to keep you safe.Wewon’t intercept until after the buyer has taken possession, so your company will assume that the leak happened on the buyer’s end.”
“Youthink they will?”
Inmy ear,Charliesays, “You’vegot about sixty seconds until the wife comes back in.”Honestly,I’mimpressed thatGiannahas kept her on the line for as long as she has.Ihadn’t expected things in here to take so long.
“Ido,”Isay toCarlin my most comforting voice.EventhoughIknowIhave a time limit,Islow my talking speed to convey as much calm confidence as possible. “You’vegot nothing to worry about.Nowenjoy this anniversary dinner with your wife, knowing that the world is a safer place because of you.You,Carl.Puffthat chest up.”
Theguy sits up visibly straighter and breathes in deeply.
“Puta peaceful smile on your face because your part is done.Youdid well.You’rea hero.Yourwife is going to walk back through that door in about thirty seconds— you let that smile show her how great you are and how great you think she is.”
Carlnods.Heactually looks about a billion times more confident than he did whenIfirst walked in, andIgive him my best “I’mproud of you” smile.BecauseIamproud of him.Hedid something dangerous and scary and he did it well.
Atsome point,I’dstopped listening to the first date conversation, butItune back in just as the date, who is now leaning back in his chair with his arms folded, says, “I’man expert on what women want.”
“Areyou an expert at whatthiswoman wants?Becauseyou know we aren’t all the same.”
Ihear the smugness in his voice as he says, “Insome ways you are.Alittle later,I’llshow you just how muchIdo know about you.”
Theway the guy said that last sentence instantly makes me want to throw a punch.Ican now tell that it isn’t social awkwardness steering the ship— it is the need to control.Iknow the guy’s type.Theylike to stage coups to take over small countries and pretend that all of their subjects adore them.