Elite 2: The Wrong Side of Revolution by Joseph C. Anthony Page B

Jordan did their best to hide their faces in their jackets. Neither one of them were big fans of the cold, but both grew up in the northern regions of the country and therefore accepted the wintery weather for what it was.
    “I know I have a problem,” Jordan commented unprovoked, as the two made their way down the Magnificent Mile.
    “What do you mean?” Daniel asked her, sincerely having no clue what she was talking about.
    “Shopping,” Jordan replied. “I’m addicted to it. I don’t want to be one of those women who goes out and spends all of her hubby’s money, but I just love it so much, and Gordon’s got plenty of it.”
    Daniel chuckled. Only Jordan could find guilt in dropping a few grand out of her millionaire fiancé’s bank account.
    “Speaking as a male,” Daniel began, “the best part of making the kind of money that Gordon does would be having a beautiful woman to spend it.”
    Jordan looked up and gave Daniel a sideways smirk, appreciative of his effort to make her feel better but not entirely convinced.
    “And like you said,” Daniel continued, “he’s got plenty of it.”
    “I suppose,” Jordan responded, turning her focus to the doors of the department store they were approaching.
    Usually Daniel loathed shopping with women—or rather standing around bored while women rifled through rack after rack of clothing, ninety-nine percent of which they had zero intention of buying—but shopping around with Jordan didn’t seem so bad.
    Part of the reason may have been because he was able to occupy himself, constantly surveying their surroundings for potential threats. He did his best to stay close to Jordan without looking like a duckling following its mother, but he always made sure to keep tabs on where she was at all times as well as the location of everyone else in their vicinity. He was always at least as close as the next closest person to her. To any outside observer he would have looked more like a boyfriend she was dragging around rather than her bodyguard.
    It also helped that they had plenty to talk about having not spoken to one another in several months. Daniel told Jordan all about his training at Elite and the obstacle course and how he had beaten Titan to become the top-ranked agent, and Jordan spoke of her summer and how her relationship with Demérs had progressed so quickly since the last time they had seen each other.
    Surprisingly, Daniel felt no ill will toward Jordan or Demérs in regards to their engagement. It almost seemed to Daniel that it wasn’t real or at all relevant. When his assignment was finished Daniel would go back to Elite and Jordan would continue her life with Demérs, though he supposed it was likely now that he would be receiving an invitation to the wedding. He couldn’t decide on how he might feel seeing the two of them reciting their vows at the alter. He decided not to give the subject any further thought.
    After a couple hours of shopping the pair decided to have lunch at a café just a couple blocks from Michigan Avenue before making a stop at a high-end jewelry store on the way back to the apartment. With Christmas nearing, Jordan still hadn’t gotten Demérs a present and apparently there was a white gold bracelet that he wanted from this particular store.
    Daniel didn’t much see the appeal in a bracelet for a man, but then again, Daniel lived in a completely different societal realm than Gordon Demérs did.
    Like all of the other stores in the city, the jewelry store was packed full of Christmas shoppers, though not as many as some of the more affordable stores nearby. While Jordan and Daniel waited to be helped by someone behind the counter, the shiny glimmer of the watches off to his right caught Daniel’s attention. He walked over and started admiring a few of the models through the glass.
    Jordan noticed his interest and stepped over to admire the watches with him.
    “What do you think about that one?” He asked her, pointing at a