Arthur stepped closer to Claire, his chest rising and falling heavily as he tried to reconcile the quiet woman who made his daily coffee with the trained fighter who had just thrown a full-grown man across a room. His mind raced through every interaction they had shared over the past six months, searching for any subtle sign he might have missed. He remembered how she never flinched when angry clients yelled in the boardroom, and how she always noticed security cameras in every hotel lobby they visited. He had assumed she was just observant and polite, but now everything looked completely different in the bright daylight of the Dallas hall.
Arthur: Who are you, Claire? Really, who are you?
Claire did not look up immediately; instead, she reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of wire-frame, aviator-style glasses. She slid them over her ears, the wire clicking softly into place as her sharp green eyes locked directly onto Arthur's bewildered face. Her expression was completely cool, showing neither fear nor pride over what she had just done to his cousin.
Claire: You never asked what I did before I worked for you.
Arthur: I checked your background! You worked at an accounting firm in Austin for three years!
Claire: Paperwork can be created very easily, Arthur, when the right government office wants it created.
David stepped back, his eyes wide as he whispered to Arthur, realizing the heavy implications of her short statement. The guests around them began whispering among themselves, pulling out their phones to record the scene while security guards finally formed a ring around the injured Victor. Victor was still groaning on the floor, holding his dislocated shoulder and clutching his ribs in severe pain. He tried to glare at Claire, but the moment she glanced down at him, he flinched and pulled back in fear.
Arthur: Are you saying you were some kind of government agent? A police officer? A bodyguard?
Claire: Five years with federal tactical protection. I retired after my last team assignment went bad in Chicago. I wanted a quiet job where nobody was trying to shoot at me or steal corporate secrets.
Arthur: And you came to work for me as a secretarial assistant?
Claire: The salary was decent, the office was quiet, and you usually leave at five o'clock. It was the perfect quiet life until your cousin decided to put his hands on my neck.
Arthur rubbed his forehead, feeling a mix of profound shock and strange relief. He realized that for six months, he had been walking around Dallas with one of the most highly trained security experts in the country acting as his simple secretary. But his shock quickly turned back into urgent concern as he remembered the ongoing legal battles and threats surrounding his family estate. If Victor was desperate enough to attack someone in broad daylight at a public event, there were bigger problems coming for all of them.