by C. J. Pinard
As I looked at Harper, I could tell she was struggling to smile. She probably hated lying, and I suddenly felt like an asshole for getting her involved. God, this better lead to a fucking bust.
They both stood and as they headed for her glass office door, I quickly put my head down and pretended to be working. I even still had a pen in my hand, and the fake reading glasses on I’d bought a while back for when I needed them. I didn’t do undercover jobs a lot, but the few times I’d had, they’d always been as a suit.
I watched as Harper walked Silas to the front door of her business and was grateful for the glass walls so I could see the creep board the elevator and the doors close.
At once I was on my feet and met her halfway back to her office. She wore a smirk and I could tell she wanted to say something.
“What?” I asked.
She pointed to my face. “Glasses, hot.”
I quickly swiped them from my eyes and folded them, shoving them into my shirt pocket. “Yeah, oops.”
She laughed and went into her office as I followed. Standing behind her desk, she placed both hands on the desktop but didn’t sit down.
God, she looked so delectable. I wanted to throw her down on the desk and hike her skirt up and have my way with her. She stared at me and I couldn’t quite understand the look in her eye but it was turning me the hell on.
I glanced toward her office wall, which was also all glass, and saw a few of the employees watching us curiously – including Hunter. I slowly shifted my gaze back to hers and said quietly, “You really need some blinds on those walls.”
She chuckled. “Agreed.”
“So, since I can’t do it, I’m just going to tell you that if we had some privacy, I was going to wrap you in a hug and tell you how proud I am of you.”
Grateful the door was at least closed for sound privacy, I crossed one ankle in front of the other and leaned one hand on the chair Silas had just vacated.
“I would really like that,” she said with a smile.
“Since you agreed to dinner tomorrow, I’ll have to make it up to you. You’ll get your congratulatory hug, and maybe something more.”
She pushed out her bottom lip, then laughed. “I have to wait ‘til tomorrow?”
I closed the distance between us, not caring anymore about our audience behind glass. “Now, why’d you have to go and say that?”
Her eyes widened as I stood in front of her, looking down into her flawless face. “I… I don’t know?”
Chuckling, I used my finger to trace her jawline. “I want to kiss you so bad right now.”
She made no response, just blinked up at me.
Fuck. I doubt she wanted to make out with me in front of her employees, so I pulled what little self-control I had out of my ass and put my hand back at my side, while taking a step back.
“We’ll continue this later,” I whispered.
Swallowing hard, she nodded.
I walked to the door of her office, opened it, and called back to her, “I’ll be in touch, Ms. Mathis.”
Hunter met me at the front door to the office and once on the elevator, he looked at me. “Nice try, but the whole office saw the way you two were looking at each other.”
I ignored his comment and said, “So, how long until you think Silas is going to try to break in here again and steal the new equipment?”
He glanced at me for a minute before answering. “Not long, that’s for sure. He was seriously eyeballing all the new shit.”
Chapter 19
Harper
As if the day hadn’t been stressful enough, I had another very important appointment to get through before this horrendous day was over.
The look in Mason’s eyes as he’d so badly wanted to kiss me kept playing over and over in my mind. My heart and body were warring with the logical part of my brain. I wanted so desperately to let him kiss me, touch me, there in the office, but I couldn’t risk losing the respect of my employees. Damn glass walls. What was I thinking? It might be time for some renovations on this place.
I took a really deep breath and forced myself to concentrate on the task at hand. A veteran I’d already interviewed, Kyle Adams, had just arrived at the front door and I could hear Bryan’s voice over the phone’s speaker in my office. “Your two o’clock is here, Ms. Mathis.”
Putting my professional mask on, I straightened my navy suit and held my head high as I walked toward Bryan’s desk. Kyle stood there proudly, looking interview-ready in a nice blue button-down shirt, and some dark colored Docker-type pants that covered up his left leg’s imperfection.
“Hi, Kyle, so nice to see you again,” I said, putting out my hand to shake.
His ruggedly handsome face lit up with a smile as he reciprocated the handshake. “Hello, Ms. Mathis.”
I gestured for him to walk ahead of me. “This way to my office, please.”
He knew where it was, he’d been here before. I tried not to watch his limping gait as he adjusted to the prosthetic.
Once we reached it, he stopped at the chair Silas had been in earlier and sat down, seeming nervous.
I sat behind my desk and smiled at the handsome veteran. “So, Kyle, how have things been going for you?”
Putting on a brave face, he lifted his cleanly-shaved chin and said, “Good, I suppose. Just still looking for steady employment.”
I nodded in understanding. “Your VA checks coming in steadily at least?”
“Yes, thank God. I do not, however, like having to rely on them. I’d rather earn my own money. My son depends on me.”
Smiling, I said, “How is little Luke?”
His face lit up with pride. “He’s good. I mean, he has asked a few times about his mom, but I think I’m doing an okay job at fielding them.”
I frowned. “His mom is still missing?”
He shook his head and made a face of disgust. “I don’t think ‘missing’ is the right term. ‘MIA’ is probably more accurate. Her parents tell me she’s down in the Keys with a new boyfriend.”
My stomach turned over in revulsion. How could someone blessed with such a beautiful family abandon them like this? I slyly inhaled a deep breath to keep from tearing up and responded, “I’m sorry, Kyle. That’s unfortunate. Luke’s lucky to have you.”
“Thank you,” he beamed, looking back into my eyes with ones that reminded me of the forest. “Her parents are also just as disgusted with her. I don’t know what her problem is.”
I shook my head in a sympathetic gesture, my hands folded on top of my desk. “It seems some people just aren’t cut out to be a parent.”
“You can say that again,” he murmured.
Wanting to get the subject off of his ex-wife, I said, “Well, it seems a position here at Mathis Associates has opened up. Are you interested in working here?”
His face lit up. “Really? What would I be doing?”
“A job I think is perfect for you,” I said, my stomach turning over with excitement, as I knew he’d love this job. “I need you to be my liaison with the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Along with that, you’ll be responsible for checking on each veteran’s service records. I have connections with the VA, and I’ll teach you how to verify length of service, discharge status, MOS while in the service, etc. Kinda like doing background checks. You interested in that?”
His face was downright silly happy now. “Yes! I’d love a job doing that!”
I laughed. “Great. We can discuss salary and benefits at our next meeting. When can you start?”
“Today,” he replied with a chuckle.
I shook my head with a smile, shaking my mouse to wake up my computer. “Well, I’ll need you to wait until Monday the 10th. Will that work for you?”
He nodded vehemently. “Sure, whatever you need. What hours will I be working?”
I moved my gaze from the computer to him. “Whatever hours work for you. If you need to be off early to pick up your son from school, you can work accordingly. I’ll just need at le
ast 30 hours a week out of you to offer you benefits.”
He nodded and looked down. “Well, I am getting VA health benefits for Luke and me so that’s not a problem, so how about I just play it by ear for a couple of weeks until I determine how much I’m needed?”
I stood up and pushed my chair into the desk. “That sounds perfect. I’ll be in touch, okay?”
Reaching out to shake his hand, he returned it with a strong handshake, the muscles in his arms bunching under the sleeve of tattoos on his arm. The guy really was smoking hot. I had no doubt he’d find a new girl soon.
I had to bite back a grin that I had noticed how hot Kyle was. That got me thinking about Mason, and goosebumps erupted all over my body. Kyle was cute for sure, but Mason, that man was something else. He had made me smile when I had just wanted to die. He’d made me laugh when things weren’t even funny. He made me feel dizzy just thinking about him. He made my body wake up just being in the same room. I smiled at my ridiculous crush.
I found myself at the front glass doors to my office and heard Kyle say, “Is something funny, ma’am?”
I looked up into his green eyes and tilted my head to the right. “No, just a memory caught me off-guard, that’s all.”
He smiled and put his hand on my elbow. “Well, I hope it was a good one.”
“It was,” I replied, looking up at him. Man, this guy was tall. “And call me Harper, please.”
He chuckled. “Okay, Harper.” He boarded the elevator. As the doors began to close, he said, “See you Monday the 10th.”
I nodded with a smile and went back to my office to finish out my workday.
I once again found myself on Adria’s doorstep. This time, however, the door was locked. Because I was a courteous person, I rang the doorbell and waited for her to answer.
It took a couple of stressful minutes, but she finally came to the door wearing nothing but a tiny turquoise and white striped bikini. Her bellybutton piercing glinted in the streetlight when she opened the door.
“Can I help you?” she asked, looking up at me with eyes rimmed in dark circles.
I folded my arms over my chest and quirked an eyebrow at her. “Seriously?”
Sighing, she opened the door wider and padded across her living room toward the back of the house. It was then I noticed her body was beaded with water droplets, and she was dripping all over the floor.
I quickly closed and locked the front door and followed her. “You’re dripping water…” I said behind her.
“I don’t give two fucks. In fact, I don’t give one fuck.” She stopped and faced me, her body still dribbling water all over the hardwood floors. She reached a hand into her bikini top and pretended to pull something out. Opening an empty palm in front of me, she said, “Oh, will you look at that? I have run out of fucks. I officially have zero fucks left to give about this damn floor or this damn house. Did you bring booze?”
I stood there dumbfounded at her sour demeanor. Adria always had attitude but I had never seen her so calloused. It broke my already shattered heart. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t. I followed her out back, where she slunk into the hot tub and picked up a small glass tumbler which had ice and something amber colored in it. She tossed back what was left of it, then set the glass down onto the rock encasement of the Jacuzzi.
“Did you need something, Blondie?” she asked.
“Yeah, I do. Did you go to work today, Adria?”
“Fuck no, why would I?” she asked, spitting a piece of ice into the Jacuzzi.
I shook my head, sitting on a chair in front of her as she had her eyes closed, head back.
“I don’t know, because you need a paycheck?”
She opened her eyes and then narrowed them at me. “You wallowed your way, let me wallow my way.”
I wanted to get up and walk out and let her, indeed, wallow. But then I thought of what she would do if she were in my shoes, and I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she wouldn’t just walk out of me. I knew this because she hadn’t when I was deep in the mire of my most profound, ugliest darkness. Adria was trying to act tough, but she was hurting and dying inside and leaving her would be the worst decision ever. So I did what I had done last time and stripped down to my underwear and bra and slipped into the hot tub with her.
Admittedly, that hot water was pure heaven on my aching muscles, so it wasn’t like I wasn’t getting something out of it. Not that that was my intention, but still.
“You can go, Harper,” Adria said, her eyes closed.
“I know,” I said, moving closer to her. “But I don’t want to. I want to talk.”
She let out a dramatic sigh, even blowing out a breath, which made a crazy colored strand of hair go flying in the air. “I don’t want to fucking talk.”
Smiling to myself because I knew how she felt, I said, “I know. That’s why I am going to talk about myself and you’re going to listen.”
She smiled despite herself, but kept her eyes closed. “Wow, Blondie, when did you grow a backbone?”
Hurt and insulted by the comment, but knowing full well it was the grief talking and not my sassy but sweet best friend, I simply said, “Finding love again has given me a new lease on life.”
That got her attention. Her eyes flew open and she leveled me with a cautious stare. “What did you say?”
I grinned. “You heard me, bitch.”
Adria snorted. “Did you just call me bitch?”
I nodded, looking down and strumming my hands though the hot, bubbly water. “I did. Should I drag you to the gym, too?”
She shook her head. “No, I am still working out. I can’t go and get soft now.”
I scooted closer to her and put my arm around her narrow shoulders. “That’s my girl.”
Adria visibly relaxed and rested her head on my shoulder. “I thought you said you came here to talk about yourself. So talk.”
Darn it, guess I have to talk now.
“So, Mason….”
“So Mason, the cop named Mace, what?” she interrupted.
I gazed at the steam wafting off of the water, watching as it dissipated into thin air as it reached the dark night sky.
“I don’t know,” was all I could think to say.
“Yes, you so do know. Just spill it. It’s okay to feel something, Harper. Even in my angry, pissed off state, even I know that we all move on.”
I sighed and tried to control the butterflies that were having a party in my stomach just at the mention of Mason’s name. “It’s hard, ya know? He makes me feel, and that scares me to death.”
Adria’s head was still on my shoulder and I felt her sigh deeply. “Feeling is good. It means you’re still alive. You can’t go on being numb, keep wallowing in grief. It’s unhealthy. Keith would have wanted you to be happy.”
I nodded and chewed my lip in contemplation. “I know, my friend. I know. But what if he hurts me?”
She lifted her head from my shoulder and pulled back slightly, staring at me with slightly hopeful brown eyes. “But what if he doesn’t?”
She had a point. A big, huge point I had been trying to avoid. I had felt since the day I’d met him that Mason was too good to be true. But maybe he was the bright light in the dark and lonely existence I’d been living, sent to pull me out of the dim pit of my grief. Guess I would never find out until I opened up some more and gave him that chance.
Chapter 20
Mason
This guy was so fucking predicable. I’ve said it a million times, and I’ll say it again: criminals are stupid. They’re criminals because they got caught. The smart ones don’t get caught, they watch their backs and don’t break the law when the cops are watching their ass. That’s what the dumb ones do – act cocky like they won’t get caught.
Dumb ones like Silas Short who just couldn’t resist returning to the scene of the crime to steal from a nonprofit company – one he’d already fucking ripped off. Speaking of ripping off, I wanted to rip his head from his shoul
ders and burn his brainless head in a bonfire. Maybe another day.
Darkness blanketed us overhead, the twinkling stars showing off under a cloudless sky as Hunter and I waited for Silas to make his move. I just knew he would, too.
“Reece isn’t a happy camper tonight,” Hunter said, staring down at his phone with a frown.
I lowered my binoculars and looked at him. “Do you need to go?”
He shook his head. “Nah, she’s just being her.”
“Such as?” I asked, trying to keep him talking during this boring-ass stakeout.
He shook his head and grinned. “Did you know there’s at least a million type of bottle nipples out there to choose from?”
My left eyebrow lifted all on its own, but I was rendered speechless.
He chuckled. “It’s true. We went to buy bottles and were left standing in the baby aisle at Target like a couple of dumbasses. What is the purpose of having that many nipples to choose from?”
My mind raced with a million dirty innuendos because I’m a guy, but I instead just simply replied, “No clue, dude.”
“And don’t get me started on car seats. I went online and did some research, and some of these websites make it seem like your kid could be put into child protective services if you didn’t choose the right baby seat. One claims they’re safer than the other. So damn confusing.”
This conversation was already starting to bore me, but I figured I better keep him talking in order to not fall asleep. Plus – maybe I’d be going through this one day, as hellish as it sounded. “So just get the highest rated car seat.” I picked up my bottle of water from the cup holder and took a swig of it.
He sighed. “We probably will. Four hundred dollars later.”
I may or may not have spit water all over the dashboard of the car. “What?”
He chuckled and pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his shirt and tossed it at me. “You heard me, dick. Look what you did to the cruiser.”
I grabbed the hanky and began wiping down the dash as I said, “Ya know, I don’t know what’s more disturbing; a four-hundred dollar car seat, or the fact that you carry a hanky in your shirt pocket. Did you blow your nose on this thing? Because seriously, I will kick your ass right now for making me touch it.”