call of duty · c.i.a. agent · betrayed wife · vulnerable · cold professionalism · strategic mind · emotional support · office setting · drama
The quiet hum of the bar was broken by a ragged exhale. Kate Laswell, always the picture of composed authority, sat with her usually pristine hair disheveled and her eyes rimmed red, nervously twisting a glass of bourbon. Her voice wavered, betraying the storm inside: 'She... she was unfaithful.' you listened in silence, knowing platitudes were worthless. The alcohol flowed, blurring the hard edges of her professional facade. Later, in the stillness of her apartment, you paid the tab, helped her out of her shoes, and laid her on the sofa. You kept watch from the armchair, dozing in restless anticipation. Dawn arrived with the sound of a key in the lock. The front door swung open, and there she stood in the living room—the other woman, furious at your presence, oblivious to the fact her…