cravings and slept with the man. And, Louise was different. He had a history with her. The thought of Ox planning a future with the woman was something I wouldn’t allow myself to consider. The more I thought about it, the better an after-dinner drink sounded.
“That works for me.”
I rode with him to the Rusty Nail, where we sipped coffees laden with Godiva chocolate liqueur and took in some live jazz music. When the clock approached midnight, he drove me back to my car and kissed me on the lips. It was a quick kiss, one that stopped before I had a chance to think about it. Or protest.
“We should go out again,” he said. “I had a great time.”
“It was a lot of fun,” I said, realizing I’d only thought of Ox and Louise once. Or maybe twice. “Thanks for dinner.”
“You’re welcome.”
I stepped into the X5. “See you around.” I drove to the Block, taking several unnecessary turns to ensure that he wasn’t following. Just because I was starting to like the AJAT Security worker didn’t mean that I could let my guard down. I had a job to do, and gleaning information from knowledgeable sources was simply part of the deal.
FOURTEEN
High school classes
started in two days, on Monday, and Lindsey’s life was jam-packed. Ox and Louise agreed to let her contract with Derma-Zing and, with help from Spud—self-appointed agent—had negotiated the fee up to an even eighteen thousand dollars. The advertising brains decided on a “down-to-earth real look with jazzed-up graphics” for both the print ads and the television spots. They’d also decided not to use a studio, opting instead for several Wilmington locations, including the riverwalk, the Cape Fear Run bicycle route, and the Block.
Holloman, or Doc, as Lindsey called him, had joined us at my bar to watch a video shoot, and we’d taken a break for lunch. Between his efficient-looking associate, Ox, the media project director, the creative people with lighting and camera equipment, and the extras—teenagers from a local modeling agency with parents in tow—we had a big crowd. Louise—who’d just breezed in fashionably late—added to our number. Only Spud and his poker group were absent because they’d gone shopping, or so they said.
As she professionally schmoozed her way through the crowd, I studied Lindsey’s mother. She was a beautiful woman, in a very well-kept sort of way. I recognized the sexy poof of an injected upper lip because I used to have one just like it, back when Uncle Sam was paying for it. I also recognized the store-boughts. They accented her full, curvy hips very nicely. But Louise had much more: flawless tanning-bed tan, styled short blond hair without an iota of dark roots showing, laser-whitened teeth, California-casual bead-trimmed outfit, and a surgically lifted face that caused the corners of her mouth to upturn just a fraction. She caught me looking and headed my way.
“Jersey, it’s great to see finally see you,” she said.
It was? I hadn’t seen her in person for years, and then, she’d all but glared at me.
“You look terrific,” she added.
I was wearing torn jeans and a T-shirt baggy enough to conceal the weapon in my paddle holster. “Thanks, Louise. You look great yourself.”
She tucked some hair behind her pierced ears, probably so I could get a better look at the huge emerald-cut diamonds clinging to each lobe. “Lindsey tells me that she really loves Wilmington and that you guys have been having a lot of fun together.”
That was true. “She’s a great kid.”
We were sizing each other up when Louise looked down and screamed. She moved in place for a moment, tiny little feet doing their own version of an Irish step dance. “Eeeow!”
A tiny green lizard had found its way into the Block and appeared to be darting toward an exit.
Ox was there in an instant. “What’s wrong?”
Louise pointed at the retreating offender, but was too panicked to speak.
“Just a lizard taking a
“That works for me.”
I rode with him to the Rusty Nail, where we sipped coffees laden with Godiva chocolate liqueur and took in some live jazz music. When the clock approached midnight, he drove me back to my car and kissed me on the lips. It was a quick kiss, one that stopped before I had a chance to think about it. Or protest.
“We should go out again,” he said. “I had a great time.”
“It was a lot of fun,” I said, realizing I’d only thought of Ox and Louise once. Or maybe twice. “Thanks for dinner.”
“You’re welcome.”
I stepped into the X5. “See you around.” I drove to the Block, taking several unnecessary turns to ensure that he wasn’t following. Just because I was starting to like the AJAT Security worker didn’t mean that I could let my guard down. I had a job to do, and gleaning information from knowledgeable sources was simply part of the deal.
FOURTEEN
High school classes
started in two days, on Monday, and Lindsey’s life was jam-packed. Ox and Louise agreed to let her contract with Derma-Zing and, with help from Spud—self-appointed agent—had negotiated the fee up to an even eighteen thousand dollars. The advertising brains decided on a “down-to-earth real look with jazzed-up graphics” for both the print ads and the television spots. They’d also decided not to use a studio, opting instead for several Wilmington locations, including the riverwalk, the Cape Fear Run bicycle route, and the Block.
Holloman, or Doc, as Lindsey called him, had joined us at my bar to watch a video shoot, and we’d taken a break for lunch. Between his efficient-looking associate, Ox, the media project director, the creative people with lighting and camera equipment, and the extras—teenagers from a local modeling agency with parents in tow—we had a big crowd. Louise—who’d just breezed in fashionably late—added to our number. Only Spud and his poker group were absent because they’d gone shopping, or so they said.
As she professionally schmoozed her way through the crowd, I studied Lindsey’s mother. She was a beautiful woman, in a very well-kept sort of way. I recognized the sexy poof of an injected upper lip because I used to have one just like it, back when Uncle Sam was paying for it. I also recognized the store-boughts. They accented her full, curvy hips very nicely. But Louise had much more: flawless tanning-bed tan, styled short blond hair without an iota of dark roots showing, laser-whitened teeth, California-casual bead-trimmed outfit, and a surgically lifted face that caused the corners of her mouth to upturn just a fraction. She caught me looking and headed my way.
“Jersey, it’s great to see finally see you,” she said.
It was? I hadn’t seen her in person for years, and then, she’d all but glared at me.
“You look terrific,” she added.
I was wearing torn jeans and a T-shirt baggy enough to conceal the weapon in my paddle holster. “Thanks, Louise. You look great yourself.”
She tucked some hair behind her pierced ears, probably so I could get a better look at the huge emerald-cut diamonds clinging to each lobe. “Lindsey tells me that she really loves Wilmington and that you guys have been having a lot of fun together.”
That was true. “She’s a great kid.”
We were sizing each other up when Louise looked down and screamed. She moved in place for a moment, tiny little feet doing their own version of an Irish step dance. “Eeeow!”
A tiny green lizard had found its way into the Block and appeared to be darting toward an exit.
Ox was there in an instant. “What’s wrong?”
Louise pointed at the retreating offender, but was too panicked to speak.
“Just a lizard taking a
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