Undercover Hate

Chapter Four: Dinner With The Devil, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

I'm standing in Cole's office, and it's all too clear that I'm not ready for this. I should have just left, but Cole keeps glancing at me from his computer screen and part of me knows that he just wants me to stand there. The moment I step toward the door, though, Cole clears his throat, his voice cutting through my thoughts.

"Adriana," he says, and I stop dead in my tracks. "How about dinner tonight?"

What? Did he seriously just ask me out? I turn to face him, my eyebrows shooting up in disbelief. "You want to have dinner? Like a date? With me?"

His confident smirk has the nerve to widen. "Not exactly a date. Just two agents getting to know each other better, and two agents that are going to have to work together because of the merger."

"Right, because that's definitely how this works," I scoff, crossing my arms. I mean, is he really trying to play it cool? "Is this your way of flirting, or are you just bored waiting for your next ego trip?"

"Come on," he replies, his tone teasing yet firm. "It'll be fun. Besides, it's Friday night. You wouldn't want to be alone, would you?"

Ugh, he's not wrong. I am going to be utterly alone tonight, and the thought of that sends a pang of loneliness through me. But really? Going to dinner with my rival? I roll my eyes, mentally weighing my options. "Fine. Just this once. But if you think I'm going to make this a regular thing, you're dead wrong."

"Noted," he says, his expression a mix of amusement and triumph.

I leave his office and on the drive back to Scale, I can't help but think about how ridiculous this all is. I'm headed to dinner with the boss of Agency Zero, the agency that's technically our rival, and yet here I am, all because I'd rather not be alone on a Friday night. What a pitiful existence.

As I walk into Scale, I spot Ava at her desk, already buried in paperwork. "Ava!" I call out, plopping myself down in a chair beside her. "You're never going to believe what just happened."

She looks up, her eyebrows knitting together. "What? Did Ace finally grow a backbone?"

"Close," I reply, rolling my eyes dramatically. "Cole asked me out to dinner."

Ava's jaw drops. "Cole? The boss from Agency Zero? Are you serious?"

"Yup. He said it's not a date, just two agents getting to know each other. Can you believe the audacity?"

"What a jerk," she says, shaking her head. "He probably just wants to flaunt his superiority or something."

I shrug, trying to play it cool, but deep down, I can't shake off the knot of anxiety in my stomach. "I mean, he's not wrong that I'd be alone tonight. But it feels so... wrong, you know?"

"Seriously. Don't let him get into your head. Agency Zero is shit, and you know it."

I nod, even though part of me is curious about what he's like outside of work. Maybe I'll get to know the real Cole instead of just the cocky boss with a penchant for flirting. "I guess it's just dinner," I say, more to reassure myself than anything.

For the rest of the day, I throw myself into testing the gadgets I'd brought from the lab. I strap on the sleek wrist communicator, its lightweight design feeling almost like a second skin. The moment I activate it, a soft beep echoes in my ear, and a holographic interface flickers to life before me. I can access mission briefings, contact my team, and track Ace if I ever feel the urge to play detective.

Next, I adjust the vision-enhancing goggles, the soft padding hugging my eyes. As the world transforms into a vivid landscape of colors and details, I can see everything—the dust motes dancing in the sunlight, the subtle scratches on the desk, even the faint outlines of hidden compartments. It's like I've tuned into a different frequency, and I can't help but smile as I cycle through the various modes. Night vision, thermal imaging, even a motion tracker—this is my kind of playground.