It’s nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” Jaime said, standing to shake her hand, his silver eyes taking her in.
“What are you doing here, Rebecca? Visiting family?”
“Yes,” she said.
Simple. Direct. Succinct.
Time hadn’t betrayed her with even a crease or an evil laugh line. Rebecca smiled at him and he sent his eyes around the room. His gaze wandered back before too long.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to your dinner.”
Yep. Simple. Direct. Succinct. That was Rebecca — when she chose to be.
Joshua watched Jaime eyeball his former lover as she climbed the stairs to the second floor where six empty tables lined a balcony overlooking the restaurant. He picked up his menu and perused the appetizers, sipping a potent scotch whiskey. Oysters, lobster, crab, scallops. He let out a heavy sigh and set his drink down. Joshua twisted the glass with his fingers, gazing into the amber liquid.
“She’s a good looking woman,” Jaime said. “Maybe after we’re done with my divorce you can give me her phone number.”
Out of the frying pan. Into the fire.
“Unless, of course, there’s something going on between the two of you.”
“Not at all,” Joshua said. He eyed Jaime as he brought the glass to his lips. “She’s the boss’s sister and by definition off limits. Not to mention she’s married to Congressman Alvey.”
Jaime chuckled and slung an arm over the chair back. “Convincing argument, counselor,” he said, “but a woman like that. You had to be tempted?”
“No. Never,” he told him.
Jaime’s eyebrow perked up, but then he returned to his menu. Joshua tugged on his collar and did the same, finishing his drink in a single harsh gulp. The whiskey burned his chest and neck and inflamed his pride.
2
UNCORKING A BOTTLE of wine, he pored over the personal assets of Jaime Lincoln. Joshua crossed out whole paragraphs of the settlement offer sent to him from Emily Lincoln’s lawyer. Scribbling a note inside the margins, he glanced over his shoulder from his seat on the sofa. More of his neighbors turned on their lights since he settled down to work. Lake Michigan shimmered in the foreground, lit up by the sparkling city, and then faded out into a still, black void. Forgetting the entanglements of Emily and Jaime’s shattered lives, Joshua slouched and inhaled a long breath. He blinked when his doorbell rang.
Shaking out his arms on the way to his door, Joshua pressed his fingers into a ball of tension building under his left shoulder blade. The knot doubled when Rebecca appeared on his video monitor. For several seconds he stood, frozen in place and watching her primp. He opened the door and leaned on the doorframe.
“How did you get my address?”
“My sister gave it to me.”
“Well I guess I won’t feel guilty for asking the firm’s investigator to find out where you’re staying.”
“It’s room 1919 by the way.”
“I know,” he said.
She shook her head and asked, “So can I come in or what?”
Joshua raked his fingers through his hair and let her slink by him. As she moved towards the living room, Rebecca examined his apartment, twirling around as she went. She smirked. His net worth had increased considerably since the last time she woke up in his bed. Compared to his old place… Well, there really was no comparing a studio apartment in a dank basement to a Mag Mile penthouse with undisturbed views of the lake.
“Congratulations, Josh.”
“A perk of knowing the right people,” he said.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets. Rebecca spun all the way around and he noticed her eyes landed on the pile of papers in the living. Once her pirouette was completed, she fixed her brown eyes on him. His eyes were brown too, but darker, nearly black. Rebecca’s sometimes looked green in the right light (usually in a sunrise). At present, it was starry night and in his dimly lit apartment, her eyes were just brown and
“The pleasure is all mine,” Jaime said, standing to shake her hand, his silver eyes taking her in.
“What are you doing here, Rebecca? Visiting family?”
“Yes,” she said.
Simple. Direct. Succinct.
Time hadn’t betrayed her with even a crease or an evil laugh line. Rebecca smiled at him and he sent his eyes around the room. His gaze wandered back before too long.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to your dinner.”
Yep. Simple. Direct. Succinct. That was Rebecca — when she chose to be.
Joshua watched Jaime eyeball his former lover as she climbed the stairs to the second floor where six empty tables lined a balcony overlooking the restaurant. He picked up his menu and perused the appetizers, sipping a potent scotch whiskey. Oysters, lobster, crab, scallops. He let out a heavy sigh and set his drink down. Joshua twisted the glass with his fingers, gazing into the amber liquid.
“She’s a good looking woman,” Jaime said. “Maybe after we’re done with my divorce you can give me her phone number.”
Out of the frying pan. Into the fire.
“Unless, of course, there’s something going on between the two of you.”
“Not at all,” Joshua said. He eyed Jaime as he brought the glass to his lips. “She’s the boss’s sister and by definition off limits. Not to mention she’s married to Congressman Alvey.”
Jaime chuckled and slung an arm over the chair back. “Convincing argument, counselor,” he said, “but a woman like that. You had to be tempted?”
“No. Never,” he told him.
Jaime’s eyebrow perked up, but then he returned to his menu. Joshua tugged on his collar and did the same, finishing his drink in a single harsh gulp. The whiskey burned his chest and neck and inflamed his pride.
2
UNCORKING A BOTTLE of wine, he pored over the personal assets of Jaime Lincoln. Joshua crossed out whole paragraphs of the settlement offer sent to him from Emily Lincoln’s lawyer. Scribbling a note inside the margins, he glanced over his shoulder from his seat on the sofa. More of his neighbors turned on their lights since he settled down to work. Lake Michigan shimmered in the foreground, lit up by the sparkling city, and then faded out into a still, black void. Forgetting the entanglements of Emily and Jaime’s shattered lives, Joshua slouched and inhaled a long breath. He blinked when his doorbell rang.
Shaking out his arms on the way to his door, Joshua pressed his fingers into a ball of tension building under his left shoulder blade. The knot doubled when Rebecca appeared on his video monitor. For several seconds he stood, frozen in place and watching her primp. He opened the door and leaned on the doorframe.
“How did you get my address?”
“My sister gave it to me.”
“Well I guess I won’t feel guilty for asking the firm’s investigator to find out where you’re staying.”
“It’s room 1919 by the way.”
“I know,” he said.
She shook her head and asked, “So can I come in or what?”
Joshua raked his fingers through his hair and let her slink by him. As she moved towards the living room, Rebecca examined his apartment, twirling around as she went. She smirked. His net worth had increased considerably since the last time she woke up in his bed. Compared to his old place… Well, there really was no comparing a studio apartment in a dank basement to a Mag Mile penthouse with undisturbed views of the lake.
“Congratulations, Josh.”
“A perk of knowing the right people,” he said.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets. Rebecca spun all the way around and he noticed her eyes landed on the pile of papers in the living. Once her pirouette was completed, she fixed her brown eyes on him. His eyes were brown too, but darker, nearly black. Rebecca’s sometimes looked green in the right light (usually in a sunrise). At present, it was starry night and in his dimly lit apartment, her eyes were just brown and
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