“Good.” He pushed yet another blue file folder near her. “If you want to salvage your career, this is the team the administrator requires you to work with right now. The team is engaged in a high-stress case and requires counseling and monitoring.”

Sounded perfect for her. Except she didn’t want to leave her current team. “Force’s team is a good one.”

“That team doesn’t exist any longer. Either you want this assignment or you don’t.” He sat back, looking at his watch.

Her stomach dropped. So much for doing Angus and the team any good. “I’ll read through the file.”

“Good.” The tone of dismissal was hard to miss. “I should warn you, though. The team leader is Vaughn Ealy.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding?”

“No. The team needs you, and this is a good opportunity to show the administrator that the two of you have put the past behind you.” He lowered his chin, his gaze piercing. “Vaughn has agreed, so there’s no reason for you to act like an injured female.”

Heat flashed down her back so quickly, she nearly yanked off her jacket. “An injured female?”

Quan would never stoop to rolling his eyes, but he came close. “Please. You created a PR nightmare and nearly derailed both of your careers.”

“I was doing my job,” she snapped, in one second going from a tough HDD agent to a little girl wanting her father’s support. “Agent Lisa Barksow was at serious risk of a mental breakdown and needed treatment. It wasn’t my fault that the media got hold of the story and blew it out of proportion.” The young agent had been with their team and had been on the edge, but Vaughn had disagreed, so she’d had no choice but to go over his head to force Barksow into treatment.

Quan waved his hand in the air as if batting away a fly. “Enough. You each have your own versions of what happened, and the truth is probably in the middle. Vaughn was your team leader and you should never have gone over his head.”

She drew in a breath. “You know I took an oath and have to reveal if anybody is a danger to themselves or others. I was trying to help her.”

“Well, she’s no longer with the agency, and both you and Vaughn were demoted. Let’s get past it, shall we? Show you’re a team player, do your job, and do not embarrass me again.”

“I wouldn’t think of it, Quan,” she said, realizing she would never call him “Father.” She stood and nodded, wanting more than anything to argue with him, but it wouldn’t do any good. So she left, having failed to save Angus’s team. What was going to happen to everybody?