“Wow.” Alex felt her heart drop into her stomach. “That’s amazing.”
“What’s amazing is that you aren’t up on the story,” Krista said, waving to someone over Alex’s shoulder. She turned to her cameraman and gestured to him to follow her. “Watch me tonight to get caught up!” she said as she fast-walked over to a serious-looking man in a black suit.
Probably FBI, Alex thought as she walked up the stairs and got in line for screening.
Cody was not at the metal detector this morning. Alex thought she should feel relieved, but she found herself wondering where he was. Where’d that come from? she asked herself as the female officer cleared her and turned to the next person in line.
* * *
13
Chapter Thirteen
Later in the afternoon Alex was dragging ass. The stress of working with Sheila as the trial neared, plus the Heath debacle, was getting to her. She found herself sitting, motionless, and staring at her computer screen for several minutes. She shook her head and stretched in an effort to wake up. Feeling restless, she stood up and decided to go get an afternoon hit of sugar and caffeine in an effort to make it through the day.
As she walked out of the main door to the offices she was going to ask Mari if she wanted anything, but what she saw at the reception desk stopped her in her tracks.
Cody Patrick in a suit, talking to Mari.
Wow, he looks handsome! Alex thought.
Mari and Cody were laughing when Cody caught sight of Alex staring at him like a deer in the headlights.
“Speak of the devil,” he said, smiling and nodding toward Alex.
Mari turned in her seat. “Were your ears burning?” she asked Alex.
Alex felt herself blushing and caught off guard. Cody looked so different in a business suit—and a nice, well-fitting one at that. He didn’t look like some guy who pulled a suit off the rack at a discount department store; it looked like he’d spent some money on it and had it tailored to fit his muscular frame perfectly. She was impressed.
“Wow, you clean up nice!” she said, trying to sound casual and at ease, even though she wasn’t.
“I was just coming by to give you my card,” Cody said. “I’m sad to inform you I have been cleared from metal detector duty,” he pulled up his pants leg to reveal no ankle brace, “and I will be back to my normal gig as of tomorrow morning.”
“And what, exactly, is your normal gig?” Alex asked.
“Well, right now I’m up to my eyeballs in the art theft case.”
“Oh, you’re on that?” Alex asked, trying to stay calm. She saw Mari shoot a glance at her.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “That’s how I got hurt in the first place—those guys all resisted arrest and I sprained my ankle taking one of them down.”
“Wow. I had no idea.”
“Never a dull moment—well, you ladies know all about that, working here. I mean, you get it all, right?” He held out his business card to Alex.
“Yeah, the buck starts here.” She tried to laugh but it came out like a cough. She took his card.
Cody stepped closer to her. Alex felt uncomfortable and looked at the card in her hand.
“Really, Alex, call me anytime.”
“OK, Cody, thanks,” she said, looking up into his eyes. He looked so sweet and gentle and kind. She felt like she was going to cry. She blinked a few times. “I’m super-busy now…”
“Hey,” he stepped a little closer to her. “I know you have a lot going on. I’m just saying I would love it if you called—anytime. You know I’ll take care of you.” He smiled.
She felt a jolt of something primal and intense as she looked at him. She nodded, a smile spreading to her lips.
“Oh hey,” he said, breaking the spell she was under and pulling his phone out of his lapel pocket. “Look how cute we are!” He showed her the selfie they had taken the night they met—after he beat her at pool. “I was going to send it to you, but didn’t want to take advantage of you giving me your number while preoccupied with being stood up.”
“Oh, gee, thanks,” she laughed, grabbing his hand to get a better view of the photo. His hand was warm and soft, and the act of touching him sent a shiver through her. She wanted to curl up in the nook of his shoulder and hear him tell her everything was going to be alright.
Where is this coming from? She felt confused by her reaction to him.
“Very cute, Cody.” She smiled and let go of his hand. “So…good luck with that case,” she said as she turned to walk away. “I got your number!” She waved his card at him as she strode down the hall. She looked back and smiled as Cody watched her walk away.
* * *
Late Wednesday morning Alex got a text from Heath:
hey
She was about to do a coffee run for Sheila and was getting some money out of her bag when she saw the message on her phone saying she had a text. She wasn’t expecting a text from Heath, so when she opened the message and saw his name on the screen of her phone she panicked. She dropped the phone back in her bag and tried not to think about it as she walked to the cafeteria for coffee.
What the fuck? Oh my God, he called me. He called me! Finally!
Alex was grateful she and Sheila were in the thick of trial prep so she didn’t have time to dwell on Heath’s text. Any time Sheila had to take a call or there was a lull in the work she battled to keep her mind off of him and what he was going to say to her. Although she desperately wanted to call him immediately, she knew she had to take time to step back and get her head on straight before she talked to him. She needed to be calm, have a game plan, and stay in control of her emotions.
Alex and Sheila and James worked through lunch, but Alex found the time to text back in between bites of her sandwich.
hey
hi baby
can i see u?
“Can I see you?” Jesus! Yeah, you could have seen me all freaking weekend, you ass!
what happened?
where have u been?
let me explain in person
Alex paused, unsure how to respond. She wanted to see him, she wanted to hear what he had to say for himself and listen to his version of events. She knew it wasn’t a good idea to meet him—given the fact that she worked for the Prosecutor’s Office and her boss, the Prosecutor herself, was handling the case. Alex knew there was a chance she would get in really big trouble if she was seen with him—even if he had bailed out. She had to tell Bev about her involvement with Heath, but she thought perhaps she could push it back just one more day.
when?
tonight? aqua?
Alex thought about how the judges and attorneys liked to go to Aqua and enjoy their whiskey and trial stories in the lounge there.
not there
paddy’s @ 9
Paddy’s was an Irish pub on the outskirts of town. It was popular with the young hipsters, but Alex thought the chances of running into anyone from the courthouse there were much slimmer there than at Aqua. She knew she would be working late and tried to focus on the work at hand. She didn’t want to give Heath power over her thoughts, but it was difficult not to think of him—his gorgeous eyes, his scruffy sexiness, and the magnetism between them. On the other hand, he was—allegedly—a thief who had lied to her and stood her up because he was in jail.
There was that.
* * *
By the time Sheila, Alex, and James wrapped up the day Alex was exhausted. If she hadn’t been so curious to hear Heath’s explanation, she would have been happy to just go home and crawl into bed. Instead, she dug around in her bottom desk drawer where she stashed all her snacks, pain-killers, and extra panty hose and found a small energy drink. She tossed it back, spritzed herself with perfume, brushed her hair, and fixed her lipstick. This is as good as it gets tonight, and more than he deserves, she thought as she walked out to her car.
As she drove to Paddy’s she ping-ponged between being excited to see him again and being angry. She knew she needed to hold on to the
angry part and let the excited part go, but it was difficult. She had really liked him, and the fact that he had pulled the wool over her eyes was humiliating—and yet, he was so fucking sexy! She pulled into the Paddy’s parking lot: it was packed. Oh great, it’s probably Karaoke night or something, she thought as she drove to the back, spillover parking lot. She scanned the lot for Heath’s red sports car but didn’t see it, and it was a little after 9:00 already. She didn’t want to give him any excuse to stand her up, so she walked briskly to the back entrance of the bar.
She felt slightly nauseous as she opened the door and walked into the main bar area. The place was packed with young hipsters in skinny jeans and flannel shirts, their pint glasses sloshing artisanal brews on each other’s Chuck Taylors. In her wide-leg pant suit and blazer she looked out of place. She spotted Heath talking to a curvy waitress with a black apron tied around her waist. Her green Paddy’s T-shirt was tight and showed off her ample bosom. She wore a plaid pleated skirt that gave her a naughty schoolgirl look. Apparently it was working for her, because several of the men near her were staring as she bent over to say something in Heath’s ear.
Alex’s stomach turned at the sight of him—and lurched at the sight of her hand on his shoulder as she nodded and walked away, his eyes following her. When he broke away from staring at Paddy’s finest he spotted Alex, who was trying to work her way through the crowd to Heath’s table in the corner. He smiled his most radiant smile and looked genuinely happy to see her. She couldn’t help but smile back at him. He looked the same, perhaps a little more gaunt and scruffy, but still hot in an irresistible way.
“Hey, baby!” he grinned as he stood up and reached for Alex.
“Hi, Heath,” she replied, determined not to get sucked in by his charm.
“Can I have a hug?” he asked, pulling her close. She relented, and he folded her into his chest, pulling her waist in too so their bodies connected from knee to shoulder.
She shuddered uncontrollably and hated herself for it.
He pulled back and looked intently at her. “I am so sorry about last weekend.”
“Good,” she said. “You should be.”
Heath looked up as the schoolgirl waitress placed a glass of amber liquid in front of him and a frosty glass with a mint sprig sticking out of it in front of her.
“Thank you,” he said, and winked at the clearly smitten girl. She blushed and nodded and spun around to walk away.
Alex felt sick to her stomach.
“So…” she started, rubbing the frost off the side of her glass, “what happened to you?”
He looked back at her, rubbed his chin, and gestured to her glass, “I took the liberty of ordering you a mojito. I hope that sounds good to you.”
She exhaled loudly and looked back at him. “Thank you. It does actually, it sounds really good.” She took a sip. It was refreshing—minty and heavy on the rum, just what she needed.
“Well,” he started. “I got caught up in something and wasn’t able to get out of it in time to hook up with you.”
“Yeah, I know,” Alex replied. “I watch the news. I read the paper. And oh, yeah, by the way—I work at the Prosecutor’s Office!” Her voice rose as she spoke. Heath looked taken aback.
“Hey. Calm down,” he said sharply.
“Really? You are telling me to calm down? I work at the fucking PROSECUTOR’S office, for God’s sake, Heath!”
“What happened to innocent until proven guilty?” he asked.
“I’ve worked there too long for that to be a valid excuse. Sorry.”
“Look Alex,” he said, looking angry. “I don’t know what you have heard, or what you are thinking. Obviously you are upset. I’m sorry I stood you up, but I had some stuff going on. I would think you would be a little more sympathetic to my situation instead of just thinking about you.”
Alex was stunned. This is not going the way I thought it would, she thought. “What are you talking about?” she asked, incredulous. “A) you lied to me about what you do; B) you were arrested for international art theft; and C) you stood me up!”
He paused and stared at her. Then his face softened and he smiled at her. “Baby,” he said, leaning in towards her over the table. “This could work out for us.”
Alex was confused.
“You could help me, you know, from the inside…” he let his weighted words hang between them as he took a long, slow sip from his glass.
“I’m sorry,” Alex sputtered. “Is that a joke?”
Heath set his glass down. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving Alex’s. He took another sip of his drink, setting it down slowly, the sound of the ice hitting the edges the only thing she Alex could hear, even in the din of the busy bar.
“I have to say I’m disappointed,” he said quietly.
“By what?” she asked, genuinely confused.
“By your lack of support or understanding.”
Alex felt like she had been punched in the stomach. How am I the one in the wrong here? What did I miss?
Heath went on, “I am asking for your help because that’s the kind of person I thought you were. That’s what drew me to you—your open nature. You come across as non-judgmental and accepting, you know? But look at you now—how quick you are to believe the worst in someone when the rubber hits the road.”
“What are you talking about?” Alex asked, her voice cracking.
“Evidently I was wrong about you. You say you are one way and then, when the rubber hits the road, you are totally different. You really have a lot of growing up to do to be the mature, helpful, together person you strive to be.”
Alex stared at Heath; she couldn’t believe what she was hearing, how he was twisting everything to make her the bad guy. He had her so turned around she felt like she was the one who needed to apologize. She shook her head slowly. “Fuck you, Heath. I’m not the criminal here.”
Heath finished the rest of his drink. He didn’t take his eyes off of her. “Excuse me,” he said slowly, “I need to use the restroom.”
Alex took a gulp of her drink to calm her nerves. I cannot believe this shit. She laughed to herself, looking around the bar, Am I getting punk’d? Is there a hidden camera or something? Jesus Fucking Christ. She finished her mojito and crunched on an ice cube. I could use another mojito—or two, she thought, looking around for the slutty waitress. She couldn’t find her. She pulled out her phone and saw a text from a number she didn’t recognize.
hi alex. it’s cody.
wanted to make sure
u have my number :-)
She smiled in spite of herself but tucked her phone back in her purse after checking the time. It was getting late and her energy drink was wearing off. Where the hell is Heath? She craned her neck around to look for him. Is there a line for the men’s room or something? She couldn’t see him in the hall by the bathrooms, he wasn’t by the bar ordering a second round, either. There was no sign of their waitress. Alex was frustrated by Heath’s disappearance and the crappy service at Paddy’s. She was tired and ready to go home and get in bed. Finally it dawned on her: Heath had left. Oh great, he’s fucking stood me up again!
She got up from the table, too tired and worn out to be very angry. She felt deeply disappointed, in Heath and herself. She had not only been duped the first time, but she had actually hoped for some sort of resolution or apology. She was shocked and hurt that this was how it was going to end with Heath.
As she walked out the back door of the bar and into the fresh night air she felt refreshed. It was cooler than usual: the fog had rolled in and it blanketed the parking lot and all the cars in a fine mist. She stopped and took a deep breath. She knew, logically, she shouldn’t feel sad, but she did.
As she walked to her car in the back parking lot Heath’s words echoed in her head, how can you not believe me? What if he had been telling the truth and her anger had prevented him from explaining what had really happened? What if he had been in the wrong place at the wrong
time?
She was nearly to her car when she spotted Heath’s car in the back lot, just past hers. The reason she hadn’t noticed it when she pulled in was because he was in the black SUV, not the red coupe. But there it was, glistening in the fog, under the lone light in the parking lot. So maybe he didn’t ditch me, she thought. As she got closer she saw his silhouette as he sat in the driver’s seat.
The parking lot light was diffused by the misty night air. His head was leaning back against the headrest and he wasn’t moving. Poor guy, he’s probably exhausted too. He’s had a rough weekend in jail, and then I don’t even listen to him and just bust his balls instead.
As Alex got closer she saw his head pop up suddenly and she could see his phone illuminated in his hand. Maybe he’s texting me, maybe he wants to apologize, Alex thought hopefully as she watched Heath, waiting for her phone to ding. Suddenly a woman’s head came into view. What? Where was she? Alex was perplexed until it dawned on her that the head must have been in Heath’s lap and that meant…Oh no.
The woman leaned into toward Heath and kissed him. Alex stopped moving, frozen in mid-step, too shocked to move. She watched them kiss in the front seat of Heath’s car, under the muted light and then, as she stared at them, the woman moved. Alex couldn’t turn away as she watched the woman lift herself up, climb over the console and position herself on Heath’s lap.
As the woman adjusted herself Alex realized she hadn’t moved a muscle. She was standing, stock still, in the middle of the parking lot watching this slutty woman straddle Heath. She was shocked. And, she was horrified to admit, she was turned on.
She began to walk again, careful to move slowly and quietly, towards a truck parked between her car and Heath’s. She could see them more clearly now. Alex walked up to the hood of the truck so she was in the shadows, by a hedge. She couldn’t tear herself away, even though she knew she should, knew that it was wrong to watch them. On top of that, she felt sick to her stomach, as she watched Heath run his hands down the woman’s back and through her hair.
The Crime of Seduction Page 12