“I’m taking off, Gladys. You should shut down too and enjoy the weather.”
Gladys grabbed her purse. “I think I’ll walk out with you. Maybe I can take the dog for a walk.”
Since she had a few minutes before Bart picked her up, Celia decided to take a short walk. The weather wouldn’t be this warm for much longer. She walked down JFK, watching as people milled in and out of buildings. Once she reached 15th Street, she saw the familiar buskers setting up their guitars or keyboards outside the park; soon it would be filled with music. Love Park was relatively quiet; it was too late for the summer tourists and too early for the fall tourists. A couple of families were there, their children playing in the water feature. Celia sat away from them in silence, scrolling through her phone. She put her earbuds in so that no one would try to strike up a conversation. Small talk wasn’t Celia’s favorite thing. Finally, just before 7:00, she made her way back to her building, where Bart would pick her up.
“Glad you’re back,” Bart gave Celia a quick kiss before opening the car door for her. “I hope it was a good trip.”
“Oh, it was. You’ll read about it in the next edition.”
“Vermillion’s okay?”
“Sure, I love their gazpacho.” Celia turned off her cell phone. “So what about you? Anything you can share about the tax case?”
“It’s a real mess. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be taking depositions. I’ve got three more this week.”
“Sounds fun. No wonder you wanted a night out.”
“Exactly. And I missed you.” Bart squeezed her hand.
They chatted about small things during dinner. Bart was attentive and engaging, and Celia felt herself enjoying the date again. He reached across the table to touch her hand, and she could read his body language. Celia found herself wanting to ask him back to her townhouse. She felt energized having finished another article, and she was feeling some excitement about the upcoming initial meeting with Natasha. Expending some primal energy might be just what she needed. She smiled as she sipped wine and pictured Bart without his expensive suit.
“So, since I’ll be ready to get away from work after these depositions, and you’ll have another big article under your belt, I have an idea.” Bart poured some more wine for both of them. “How do you feel about the mountains?”
“I enjoy them, especially for skiing. Why do you ask?”
“My fraternity buddy has a chalet in Ashville. I thought you might like to get away for the weekend. You’ve been so busy. We could go down on Friday and come back Sunday evening.”
Celia felt a little twinge. They hadn’t slept together yet, and now he was suggesting a weekend away? Of course, she was planning on rectifying that after dinner, but still. His invitation sounded a little warning bell in her brain. Thankfully she had an appointment at the prison.
“That sounds wonderful, but I have to take a short trip to see someone on Friday, and I may not be back until Saturday morning. Maybe another time?”
“Sure.” Bart frowned slightly. “So where are you going?”
“I’m visiting a friend in Delaware. I’m not sure how long I’ll be there, so I had planned to spend the night.”
“Too bad, we’d have a great time.” He smiled. “Of course, I’m having a great time tonight, too, having dinner with a beautiful woman.”
Celia leaned forward a bit, closing the space to distract Bart. “So are you interested in dessert?”
It only took Bart a second to register the double entendre. “I’d love something sweet.”
Celia excused herself to the restroom while Bart stayed back and took care of the check. They met outside and Bart opened the door for her when the valet brought his car. Before starting the engine, he leaned over and gave Celia a long kiss. She pushed him away playfully and sat back, crossing her legs so that her skirt rode up just enough. It had the desired effect, and Bart revved the engine before pulling away from the curb.
When Celia and Bart arrived at her house, her neighbor Lucille was outside looking for her cat.
“Hello, Celia. I’m out looking for Jerry. You know how he wanders away.”
“He does seem to wander, Lucille. I hope you find him soon.”
“And who is your friend?” Lucille asked, smiling.
“I’m Bart.” He stepped forward and shook Lucille’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Why thank you. I’m Lucille.” Jerry ran out from beneath some bushes. “Oh, there he is! You two have a nice night.”
Celia bid Lucille goodnight and unlocked the door to her house. Once it was closed, Bart kissed her long and hard, and they made their way to the bedroom.
“Let’s try not to disturb the cat,” Celia laughed.
Chapter 3
Natasha’s attorney, Andrew McMillian, was in his late forties, but it was apparent he was trying to retain his youth. He was very fit, with a trendy haircut and a fitted suit. Very metro, Celia thought. Of course, Natasha had several attorneys, but he was taking the lead with the interview contract. Celia read it carefully in his office. There were the tentative dates, her remuneration in addition to what the paper would be paying her as staff, several requirements and restrictions, and some prison-specific guidelines.
“It’s just as we discussed.” Andres gave her a pen. “There will be regular visits involving only you and Me. Bronlov. No leaking of
