“More cold weather for you,” Elle teased.
He laughed. “Yeah. My mom is already knitting me long underwear. She says hi, by the way.” Adam’s family may not have had a lot of money, but they did all they could for each other. Elle felt a twinge with the realization she wasn’t going to become part of his family.
Elle smiled. “Tell your mom- and everyone- I said hi, too.”
When she told him she wasn’t going to Virginia, he looked shocked. She told him about her job search.
“Oh, you’ll find something, no doubt about that,” he said. “Your skills are in high demand.”
“That’s what they tell me,” Elle said. And she would be happy to see that high demand pay off in a job offer as soon as possible.
“Listen, if you need a place to stay this summer- my parents are going to spend the summer in Germany with my brother.” Adam’s brother was in the military, and he was stationed there. “I have the house to myself, so if you want to stay, feel free.”
Elle had to admit, it was a really sweet offer. “Adam, I-”
“Just as friends,” Adam assured her, holding up his hands. “No strings attached.” Then he gave her an impish grin. “We can let whatever happens, happen.”
Preston told her she had no obligations. And Elle could see something happening. She and Adam had been great friends before they started dating. She was beginning to realize their relationship was a friendship that probably should have stayed a friendship, but they could make a comfortable life together.
“We’ve both had our fun,” Adam pointed out.
They most certainly had. Now, here she was looking for a job, no other prospects in sight… She could practically hear her mother’s voice in her head. Maybe depending on a relationship was a real world reality. Plenty of women did it. Elle looked at Adam; she could see a bit of hope in his expression. He was interested. Yet the idea of reuniting with him just didn’t make her breath catch. At this point she no longer wished for eternal hellfire to singe his private parts, but she needed more from whoever she ended up with, whether it was Preston or someone else. She had to give herself the chance to see what could happen, see who and what was out there. Sample more. Comfort was overrated.
“Thanks for the offer,” she said. “Marni and Tina plan to spend two months traveling through Europe. They’re determined I’m coming along, even if they have to pay my way.”
Adam nodded, only letting a tiny bit of resignation show. “My door’s always open,” he told her.
Chapter 36
Before Elle knew it, temps had risen so it was warm enough to go out without a jacket. Final papers were submitted. Her master’s thesis was approved. She decided to stay in her apartment with Marni for the summer, since the lease wasn’t up until August. Clark was willing to hire her for the summer if she needed it, so she had something. Hopefully something would come through by September. She was relieved she had managed to find a way to avoid becoming homeless.
“Remember: you promised to come join us for at least a week or two in Europe,” Marni said.
“That I can do,” Elle agreed, giving her friend a hug. “Who knows? If I get something that starts by September, I can join you guys for longer than a couple of weeks.”
Marni insisted on paying her half of the rent for the rest of the summer. Her family only lived about an hour away. Neither one had to spend their final days packing, which meant they headed over to Tina’s place to help her do it. She found a subletter to take care of the rest of her lease for the summer, so her parents would be packing her up and taking her back home after graduation.
The day of graduation felt surreal. Putting on her cap and gown with the long, pointy sleeves (the master’s degree recipients’ robes) made it clear. This was it. She was finished. She would be around for the summer, but it wouldn’t be the same because everyone else would be gone. Elle dreaded their absence more than anything else.
“Are you sure your family’s coming?” Marni asked yet again.
Elle shrugged. She was beyond caring at that point. Her mother told her to mail the tickets to her a couple of weeks ago, so she stuck them in the mail and tried to forget about it.
“Well, if they don’t show up, you know mine would love to have you join us for dinner,” Marni said.
“Or mine,” Tina chimed in. She had come over to their place so the three of them could head to the stadium- where the main graduation was held- together. “Aren’t you guys going to eat at The Purple Pig afterwards?”
Marni nodded.
“So are we.” She linked arms with Elle. “So you have to come either way.”
Elle laughed. “I promise, I’ll come if my parents don’t show up. Hey, even if they do show up, I wouldn’t be surprised if they took off right after the ceremony, so I could still be joining you guys.”
They made their way to the stadium with literally thousands of graduates, not to mention the graduates’ families. Although Elle was supposed to sit in a different part of the auditorium, with the other master’s degree candidates, she sat with Marni and Tina with the bachelor’s degree recipients. It was where she belonged, regardless of her pointy sleeves. With thousands of graduates, no one was really paying attention. The graduation was typical, with the speeches telling them to go out into the world, do good, realize their potential, and thank their families for all they had done. Elle tried not to snort at the last one. Mostly, she sat there amazed this day had come. She had been so excited to arrive four years ago. She had made this place her home. Now she was going out to… she didn’t know what. But broad horizons beckoned. She felt sure of that.
After the ceremony, Elle got a text from her mother to meet them up at the Student Union. She stopped to say hello to Marni’s and Tina’s families before letting herself get swept up in the throng of people heading away from the stadium, where the graduation ceremony was held, towards campus. She saw her mother right away in the Union before one of her grandmothers walked over and swept her up in a big hug.
“A master’s degree in four years!” Her grandmother exclaimed. “We always knew you were brilliant.” Her mother hugged her next and then Elle turned to see her father and her paternal grandmother. Her father seemed genuinely proud to see her in her cap and gown.
“We made reservations at The Manor,” her mother told her. “Every other place was booked.”
Great. Of all the hotels… Elle forced herself to smile. She still hadn’t heard from Preston and accepted the fact that she wouldn’t. She could hear Marni’s “It’s a fling” reminder in her head. They all piled into a car and drove over there.
The dinner was nice, Elle had to admit. She even didn’t mind trying to explain Information Science to her grandmothers, but at least they were much more impressed than her parents. Halfway through dinner, she realized this was what her graduation dinner would have been like if her parents were still together and she was an only child. Both of her grandfathers had died years ago, so these would have been the same four people who came to see her graduate.
Funny how things turned out.
After dinner, Elle’s father held out a card. She opened it, and the first thing she saw was a check. A very generous check. Speechless, she looked up at her father.
“You’ve done a great job, putting yourself through school with scholarships,” he said. “You deserve some recognition for it.”
She couldn’t believe her eyes were starting to sting.
“That should last you a good six to nine months, longer if you’re careful, while you look for a job,” he told her.
“And my present’s outside,” her mother said, her eyes sparkling. Wondering what in the world it could be, Elle let her mother lead her outside, right up to the red car with a big bow on top.
“A car?!” Elle squealed. She had wanted a car ever since she was sixteen.
Her mother laughed as Elle hugged her tight. “You’ve done amazing work,” her mother told her, her eyes shining. “You deserve i
t.”
Elle hugged everyone before getting into her new car.
“Money and a new car,” her paternal grandmother said, her eyes twinkling. “Does it get much better?”
“Nope,” Elle assured her with a laugh. She started the engine, listened to the hum for a moment, and pulled away with a final wave to her family. She looked in the rearview mirror to see all four heading inside before she picked up speed and drove off.
As Elle pulled up to the apartment complex, she realized she could join Marni and Tina on their trip. She parked and got out of her car, hurrying up to the main door. She’d call them tomorrow; they would be busy with their families tonight.
But she stopped short. Preston was leaning against the apartment building, smiling at her.
“Congratulations,” he told her.
Elle just stared at him for a moment before running up to give him a hug. He captured her lips for a deep kiss.
“We need to get a celebratory drink,” he told her.
Elle felt like her grin was going to split her cheeks. “Sounds good.”
“Don’t you want to know what we’re celebrating?” he asked her.
“My graduation? You coming back? Whatever,” Elle laughed.
“A great match,” he told her as he took an envelope, sealed with the CIA emblem, out of his pocket. “You’re in.”
The End
Thank you so much for reading my debut novel, Covert Assignment! I appreciate all honest reviews, both positive and negative.
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Covert Interview (Book 2 in the Covert Series) is currently available!
Covert Cover Cracked (Book 3 in the Covert Series) is currently available!
Keep an eye out for my new series, Smart is the New Sexy, with the release of Goodness of Fit coming late July 2014. It’s like the Covert Series minus the espionage!
About the Author
Missy Marciassa loved getting lost in novels from the time she could read, so it’s no surprise she wanted to write. After becoming rather disillusioned writing literary criticism as an English major, Missy focused on her enjoyment of learning about people and studied psychology. Reading fiction fell to the wayside with all the reading and writing for college and graduate school, but once Missy became a doctoral candidate, she rediscovered her love of fiction. Then she started getting the urge to write, an urge that wouldn’t go away (she refuses to label it a compulsion). You just read the end result of that urge.
Acknowledgements
Writing may be a solitary endeavor, but the finished product of a novel is the result of collaboration. The encouragement and support from family and friends is invaluable. The author wishes to thank Cormar Covers for the amazing cover art. Laura Kingsley’s encouragement and “kick in the butt” with her editing elevated the final product. Thank you, everyone.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Covert Assignment Page 17