Smiling, he replies, “Seven years – nearly eight, actually.” He reaches for a handset. “I’ll call up for you.” I nod but say nothing more.
After a brief conversation, he replaces the handset then slides a form and pen over to me.
“If you can just fill this out for me, you can go on back to the bank of elevators. On the third floor, turn left when you get off the elevator, all the way to the end of the hall.”
“Thanks. Appreciate it.”
Quickly, I fill the form out, then follow his instructions. Hitting the call button, I look around me, taking in the comfy looking sofa near a huge window showcasing the view of the beach. A discreet ding alerts me to the arrival of the elevator, and I step in.
I step out into the understated elegance of the hallway, turn left, and head for three-oh-one. Hitting the buzzer, I wait. Not long and I hear the door being unlocked. It swings open, and my suspicions are confirmed. The woman standing in front of me is none other than the one from the courthouse.
For a moment, she appears confused, then a rather enchanting dimple appears as she smiles at me. “Hi.”
“You summoned, ma’am.” Annoyed at having to give up a Saturday to be here, despite having already turned her down, the words are out before my filter kicks in. Irrationally, disappointment replaces the annoyance as her smile disappears.
Gripping my neck, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “My apologies. That was rude.”
She frowns. “I’m not sure what you think it is that I’ve done, but I most certainly did not summon you.”
“Since I’m standing on your doorstep at oh-nine – dammit, nine on a Saturday morning when I have other things I need to be doing, I respectfully beg to differ.”
The woman steps back and waves me into her condo. “Please come inside. This is not exactly a discussion I wish to be having out in the hallway for all to hear.”
I step past her and study her as she closes and locks the door. Unlike the day at court, she’s dressed casually in a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt proclaiming that she’ll write you into a book and kill you painfully should you wrong her. Her feet are bare, and her hair is haphazardly pulled up into a messy bun.
“Come on in and take a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, thank you. If it’s all the same to you, ma’am, I’d like to get started.”
For a long, uncomfortable moment she simply stares at me. Then she pivots on one of her small feet and disappears from sight. Standing in the middle of her living room floor, I’m a little at a loss as to whether I’m supposed to follow her or not. But she reappears just as suddenly as she left, a huge mug in her hand.
“If I have to deal with a grumpasaurus so early in the morning, I’m not doing it without my coffee.” She indicates the chair behind me. “Take a seat.”
Scowling at her words, I do as requested, sitting in the single chair while she curls up in the corner of a sofa. Once again, she studies me without a word, an inscrutable look on her face.
“I’m curious. What makes you think I summoned you, Mr. Ambrose? The last time I saw you, you were most clear about not wanting to help me out,” she finally says.
“Look, Ms. …” Embarrassed, I realize I’ve forgotten her name. Teagan? Treven?
She merely looks at me, that unreadable expression back on her face. The woman has no intention of helping me out. Shit. Feeling the heat rise in my face, I blurt, “I’m sorry. I don’t remember your name.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
That’s all I get. She’s certainly determined not to make this easy for me. Then again, considering how I’ve been behaving, why would she? For a split second, I feel guilty for the way I’m treating her, and then I remember what she’s done to get me here.
“Let’s not play games. We both know you used connections to force me into cooperating with you after I declined. That was pretty underhanded.”
4
AGATHA
I’ve always wondered where the term “blood boil” came from, as in “the situation made my blood boil.” Well, today I discovered why it came about, because, as God is my witness, this man hasmyblood boiling.
It’s all I can do to remain seated when what I really want to do is leap to my feet and slap that arrogant look off his handsome face. God, what a douche. Seriously, the ego of this man. Where does he get off thinking I schemed to get him here?
Urgh.
When Toni said she had a contact, it didn’t even occur to me that this could potentially be the outcome. And now I find myself in a quandary. I want the information he could provide, but I’m not sure I want it from him anymore. So, do I pull my big girl panties on, suck it up, and make nice in the hopes he capitulates? Or do I cut my losses and make an alternate plan?
