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“I wasn’t kissing anyone! Oh. You mean Pierre? That was just a French thing. He’s interviewing at the Farmhouse for the open bartender position.”
“He your boyfriend?”
“He’s gay.”
“Good.”
I stare into the darkness in disbelief. Then I poke the bear. “Did you want his number?”
The dark chuckle in my ear is ominous. “No, baby, I don’t. But I’m delighted that you’re feeling sassy enough to ask. It’s going to make this so much more fun.”
I gulp. My boss’s boss really shouldn’t be calling me baby. I know this. But I liked the way he said it and the way it made me feel. Like there’s someone looking out for me and I’m not all on my own. I’ll stop him if he does it again.
“Explain, Leanne. Start at the beginning if you have to, but something isn’t adding up for me.”
“Like what? I passed the security-level background check so I know people here have tools. Can’t you just go there and get your questions answered?”
“I could,” he responds slowly. “But that will only tell me the what, very rarely the why. Plus, this way is much more fun.” He sounds so self-satisfied I grind my teeth.
“Why do you even care how I dress or who I’m kissing in the parking lot? Neither of them has anything to do with my job.”
His amused tone doesn’t even flicker when he lowers his head so his cheek nearly brushes mine. “No, it doesn’t, baby. Unless, of course, that background check missed something significant. But I doubt it. My daughter thinks you belong in my bed. And I’m inclined to agree.”
I gape in shock. He didn’t…? He really did. Lt. Jamieson continues without a stumble. “Why the change, Leanne?” His voice has gone hard again, so I sigh and blurt it out.
“It wasn’t working. I thought I could make myself into someone more outgoing, but all it did was make me weird. So Pierre’s sister gave me a makeover on the weekend. It’s some underwear and a temporary hair treatment, not a sinister dark plot,” I mutter.
“So before you came to ACI, you dressed like what?”
“My mother picked my clothes,” I concede in a hurry to get this over with before I either throw myself at him or slap him for making me confess my insecurities.
He steps back. I can’t hear him move, but the comfort of his arms disappears.
“How old are you, Leanne?”
“Twenty-one.”
“Fuck! You really are a baby, aren’t you? How did you manage two master’s degrees in that amount of time?”
“I skipped a lot of grades. I’m really good at math and languages.” I shrug into the dark. It’s a fact, so I’m neither boasting nor denying it. Plus, anyone that’s envious of my ‘brains’ doesn’t know what it’s like to be fifteen and (rightfully) ignored by all the male college students who aren’t keen on underage girls.
Lt. Jamieson lets out a long sigh. “Well, that changes a few things. Let me guess, you’re also a virgin?”
I can feel the heat flush my cheeks, so that’s at least one advantage of the lights being out. “I’m back to how this is any of your business? If you’re letting your daughter pick your dates…” I don’t even know how to finish that sentence.
“Oh, she doesn’t want me dating, just married,” he remarks dryly. “Dating would require more time with her grandmother, not less.”
My brow furrows, I’m so confused.
6
Dom
I’ve gotten rusty. Leanne should not be able to throw me for a loop like this. What the hell am I doing, lusting after a socially awkward twenty-one-year-old? Even one with extra school smarts and brave enough to challenge me alone in a dark room. Not that I’ve pulled out anything truly scary. Nor am I going to. But damn if I know what my next move should be.
I sigh and mutter a frustrated, “Fuck!”
She giggles. And it’s not the nervous kind, either.
