Sadie nodded one last time. It was a lot to take in. His explanation made sense. She had no reason not to believe him. It was a case of the wrong place wrong time.
“Why you?” She didn’t explain her question. He knew she was asking why he came to talk to her instead of Stone.
“I usually handle the people aspect of the job. We all have our roles in the companies, this one just happens to be part of mine.”
“What about the others, what do they handle?”
“Well, Bogs is our tech guy. He’s phenomenal with computers. He should have been a professional hacker.” He laughed and she smiled. Ethan had a great laugh. “Stone and T handle the apprehension part of our job. They are licensed PI’s with Garrison Securities.”
“So, why was Bogs there then, if he’s just the tech guy?
“As I said before, this was an unusual assignment. And don’t let Bogs hear you call him ‘just the tech guy.’”
Sadie let out a small laugh.
“I hope I’ve eased your mind. If I’ve answered all your questions, I’ll get going so you can get back to your day.” He smiled as he gazed down at her book.
Sadie looked over at her current read. The cover was a shirtless tattooed guy on a motorcycle with a woman in a bustier draped all over him. Her face burned—this was so embarrassing. She loved her “dirty girl” books but it had always been a private guilty pleasure.
Ethan stood up and adjusted his coat. He really was handsome with his chiseled face and blue eyes. She checked out his hands. No ring. He must have had many women vying to be his. He probably dated supermodels. Stone probably dated models, too. He wasn’t the classy hot guy like Ethan but she had always been a fan of the rugged type anyway. The thought of Stone prompted one last question.
“I have one more question. Is Stone always such an asshole?”
He burst out laughing. “He has his moments.”
He was still laughing as he walked closer to her and extended his hand. She took his hand. Sadie found herself laughing a bit too.
“It was nice to meet you, Ethan Barrett.”
“The pleasure was all mine, Sadie Wallace.”
“And I should apologize for the display I put on last night. I’m not really like that, I just…” Sadie stopped and inhaled a deep breath. “I don’t know why I acted like that,” she lied. “If I made you feel uncomfortable, well, I am really sorry,” she finished, feeling like a complete idiot and glanced down at the dirt.
“Sadie?” She looked up and he had a heated glimmer in his eyes. He leaned closer to her. “No need to be sorry, I’m not.” Charming was the only word to describe Ethan Barrett. He winked at her and slowly released her hand. Damn, the man was sexy.
After Ethan left, she went on a run. Running always cleared her head. She went over everything he told her. She kept trying to find loopholes in his story but she couldn’t. Sadie knew he didn’t tell her everything but he claimed it was for her own safety, which she appreciated. Still, she was left with a nagging feeling that something didn’t add up. She just couldn’t figure out what it was. Sadie could usually tell when someone was lying. They would fidget, lose eye contact, sweat, and stutter; Ethan didn’t do any of that.
Maybe her nagging feeling was disappointment. Chances were she wouldn’t see Stone again. It was just as well. She didn’t need him or his judgment anywhere near her. This was what she kept telling herself. She never wanted to lay eyes on him again. Except in her dreams, of course.
*
Those dreams were interrupted three hours later by her boss Bernie. She was in the middle of a fantastic dream. She was with Stone on a beach, naked, with waves crashing in the background. He was kissing her and his hands were all over her. His lips were on her neck and his hand was trailing down her bare stomach. His light touch caressed below her belly button moving downward, a little further, almost to her… Cue the blasting ring tone. Bernie. He needed her to change shifts and come in at seven instead of ten. She was pissed at the interruption; it was just getting good.
The only good thing about the interruption was that she would be off at two in the morning. She hadn’t been home that early on a Saturday night in a while.
Her shift started with Kate, and three hours into it, Melinda came in. She hadn’t seen her since the bathroom incident the other night. They hadn’t been scheduled together since. She tried a couple times to engage Melinda in conversation but she just busied herself with customers and cleaning tables. She was embarrassed.
After two hours of awkwardness, Sadie decided to rectify the situation. Melinda was changing over pots at the coffee station when Sadie walked up beside her and blurted out,
“I once gave head to Tyler while driving down Main Street!”
She clanked the two pots together almost dropping one and whipped her head in Sadie’s direction. Her eyes widened with shock. Sadie nodded vigorously.
“I swear, true story. I was out with Tyler and he told me he’d never gotten a blowjob while driving and it had always been his fantasy. I thought it was kind of sexy so I did it. Well halfway down Main Street, blue lights start flashing and Tyler tells me we are being pulled over.”
Melinda started laughing, “Oh my God! What happened?”
“Officer McCarthy pulled us over. He said Tyler was swerving in the lane, gave him a Breathalyzer. I think he knew what I was doing but he didn’t say anything. Even now whenever he comes in for coffee, he gives me a disapproving look.” Sadie snorted and rolled her eyes.
Melinda burst out laughing. It took some time for her to reel it in. She wiped her tears from laughing so hard. Sadie
