Careless Rapture (12 page)

Clay rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s
sweet. However, the problem is, I don’t want you to.”

“Why not? Is there something wrong with
you?”

“I’d like to think not, but—”

“I won’t—”

“Yes, you will.” He stood. “You’ll want
more.”

“No.”

“Why?” He looked at her curiously. “Why
wouldn’t you ask more from me?”

“I’ll take what I can get.”

“That’s the problem. You deserve more.” He
tapped the table. “This is what I was talking about before. You
accept the slim pickings, you accept men who talk about their
ex-wives and want threesomes—”

“Or sex with no ties.”

He hesitated, then said, “I couldn’t treat
you like the others, Jackie. So don’t ask me to.”

Jackie was silent a moment. “How about an
affair?”

“Why don’t you sleep on it and then—”

“I don’t need to sleep on it. I know what I
feel. I know that I want to see you again.”

“How about I call you Friday?”

“I want an answer now.”

“Yes.”

She blinked. “Just like that?”

“Do you want me to think it over?”

“No, it’s just you seemed so hesitant
before.”

“I just want to make sure you know what
you’re getting into.”

“I’m not sure, but I’m sure it will be an
adventure.”

“So I’ll call you Friday.”

“That’s tomorrow.”

“I know.”

She smiled. “Friday’s perfect.”

***

At home, Jackie fell onto the couch and shut
her eyes, not quite sure what she was feeling. What a wonderful
night. She curled up on the couch, a bit of fear racing through her
as she wondered if her feelings meant more. She brushed them aside;
she was going to have an affair with Clay. It seemed unreal, no one
would believe her. She sighed—such good news and no one to tell.
Usually she would have called Cassie or Adriana, but she would have
to keep Clay a secret. It wouldn’t be hard. She didn’t want their
arrangement put under scrutiny. Jackie sighed again. He certainly
made up for dinner. Thirty dollars well spent. She sat up and
opened her wallet to see what money she had left. She stared. A
twenty that hadn’t been there before peeked out. She fell back and
grinned. Yep, he was definitely sly.

***

Mack walked into the office the next day,
surprised to see Clay at his computer. “You’re here early.”

“Hmm.”

“Got a break?” He poured some coffee, then
sat at his desk. “What are you working on?”

“Winstead.”

“I have that under control.”

“I’m just finding some trivial information on
him.”

Mack frowned. “Why?”

“I want to ruin his day.”

“What is this all about?”

“Jackie is the reason Winstead thought we had
tape. He was misbehaving and she told him she was undercover with
us.”

“What do you mean by misbehaving?”

“I’m sure you’ve done it a few times.”

Mack sent him a look. “This is D.C., the city
of sex scandals. I’m not important enough to have one, but all my
women are willing. Is she okay?”

“Yeah.”

“But you’re not.”

“No.”

Mack straightened, uncomfortable with Clay’s
tone. “Now, wait a second. Winstead isn’t a guy you want to mess
with.”

“He won’t know it’s me.”

Mack was quiet for a moment, then became
curious. “What do you plan to do?”

“When you were a kid and you touched
something you shouldn’t have, what happened?”

“Got my hand slapped.”

Clay grinned. “Exactly.”

***

Jackie stared at the phone. She wouldn’t call
him. She would wait until tonight. She was at work. She should
focus on work. Clay was merely an extracurricular activity. And
what an activity. She straightened her features when she began to
smile—she had to remember this was casual. But she did want to
thank him for the money. However, she didn’t want to bug him, and
yet she wouldn’t mind hearing his voice. She gripped the phone,
then gently set it down. This was stupid. She’d known him for more
than four years; she shouldn’t feel so awkward about calling him.
But she wouldn’t be able to stand his cool, aloof tone acting as
though their affair didn’t matter while she tried to keep her heart
from racing. She picked up the receiver, then set it down again.
“That man is so .. .” She shook her fists, at a loss for words.

“Who is?” Patty asked, entering the room with
a file.

“I can’t believe I’m acting this way for a
man so wrong for me. He’s too, um . . .” Her words trailed off.

“Sexy, intriguing, exciting?”

Jackie glared at her. “Good-bye, Patty.”

“No, not yet. I came in here for a reason.
Faye identified two Requests For Proposals and she’s hoping you can
whip something up.”

Jackie took the folders, scowling. “I hate
writing proposals.”

Faye walked in. “I know,” she said with
regret, “But we need the money.”

Jackie glanced at the due date on the
proposals and groaned. “There must be a better way.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to attend the
funeral with me? It would be nice to have you there.”

“Sure,” she said, resigned. “Perhaps it will
give me ideas on preparing my own.”

Mack hung up the
phone and turned to Clay. “Milton called. He said his wife is
working late. We know when her office closes so we’ll do a
stakeout.”

Clay swore. He’d have to cancel with Jackie.
He could send Mack on his own, but they usually did stakeouts
together so one of them would stay alert.

Mack looked at him, confused. “I thought
you’d be happy to get this over with fast.”

“I had a date,” he grumbled.

“Tell her it’s an important case. She’ll
understand.” He grinned. “Make it sound dangerous and she may even
worry about you.”

“This woman won’t.”

Mack sat on the corner of his desk and
sighed. “Ah, women.” He opened his notebook and glanced at the
contents. “Unpredictable creatures. You know, last night—”

“If I want to hear about a man’s sexual
exploits, which on most occasions I don’t, I’ll pick up a
magazine.”

“Speaking of magazines, I submitted to
Swank
once. They turned me down. Perhaps I should try
Cheaters Club
.” He snapped his fingers and pointed at Clay.
“Hey, maybe you could read the story for me, see where I went
wrong.”

“Sure, I will. Right after I finish gouging
out my eyes.”

“This woman must really be important.”

“This has nothing to do with Jackie.”

Mack stopped and stared “You had a date with
Jackie
? The little brat, Jackie? What an interesting turn of
events. Lucky man. Bet you’ll have fun. Big things come in little
packages.”

Clay sat back. Jackie was his business and
his business alone. He said in a low, yet polite tone. “You’re
beginning to get on my nerves.”

Mack correctly interpreted the threat under
the civil words. “I’ll go check the equipment.”

“Thank you.” Clay stared at his phone for a
moment before picking up the receiver. He doubted she’d be very
understanding about this. He shrugged. She’d have to learn.

“HOPE Services, Jackie speaking.”

“Hi, it’s me.”

“Hi. I’m glad you called.”

Clay hesitated. Did he imagine it or did she
sound strangely happy to hear from him? He reminded himself he
didn’t care.

“How has your day been?” she asked.

“The usual. Um—”

“Thanks for the money.”

“You’re welcome. I---”

“It was quite a surprise. You didn’t have
to.” She lowered her voice. “You more than made up for the cost of
dinner.”

Clay cleared his throat. “Uh, thanks.
Listen—”

“I thought we could do Chinese tonight.”

“Yes, well—”

“You could come to my place. Just tell me
what color you want me to wear. I have blue, purple, and tan. I may
have green, but I don’t think so. What is your favorite color, by
the way?”

His voice grew impatient. “Jackie—”

“You don’t have to tell me. I was just
curious.”

He replied with cold silence.

She sighed, resigned. “You’re calling to
cancel, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I have a stakeout. I’d like to close
this case if I can and tonight is a good time.”

“Okay. I understand. Another time. Maybe
tomorrow.”

“I’ll call you.”

“Which means no.”

“No, it means I’ll call you.” He hesitated.
“I like black.”

“Black? Black is not a color. It’s the
absence of color.”

“I like black.”

“Fine, I’ll see what I have for next time.
Bye.”

“Bye.” He set the phone down and twirled his
pen. Milton would pay big for this.

***

Jackie stared at the stacks of papers on her
desk, annoyed with how disappointed she was. It was silly. She’d
seen him yesterday, she shouldn’t miss him already. She looked at
her watch—it was lunchtime, that’s all. Jackie grabbed her handbag
and stood to go out for lunch; she needed to do something. She
decided to visit her eldest brother, Drake, at the Blue Mango, one
of the two restaurants he owned in D.C. When she entered the
restaurant, she saw that the lunch crowd was in full form. Waiters
expertly darted to and fro while the heady scent of gourmet cuisine
filled the air. She went to the back office, pleased to see that
Eric was there also. As a financial planner, he helped Drake with
the books.

Eric saw her first. He usually saw more than
people thought, though his gold-rimmed glasses and studious face
made him look myopic. Slighter in build and lighter in shade than
Drake, they barely looked like brothers.

“Where’s the disinfectant?” Eric teased. “A
little bug just entered.”

Jackie made a face. “Amazing how some things
don’t improve with age.”

Drake glanced up, his intense amber eyes
briefly meeting hers. The expression, in contrast to his
pepper-gray hair, usually intimidated those that didn’t know him
well. “Is this a social visit or do you want something?”

“Social,” she said.

He gestured to a seat. “Sit down.”

She slid into a chair. “I have to write
another grant.”

“Why?”

“Mr. Hamlick died.”

“I’m sorry.”

“How?” Eric asked.

“Natural causes.” She crossed her legs and
swung-her foot. “So we need money.”

Drake straightened. “I could—”

Jackie shook her head. “Your donation is
fine, but I can’t have you carrying the entire project. We need
someone with lots of money.”

“There’s K—” Eric stopped then glanced at
Drake. He shook his head. “Never mind.”

Drake said, “Don’t worry, we’ll figure
something out.”

“You don’t need to,” Jackie said, wishing men
didn’t always feel they had to fix things. “I just wanted to
share.”

“Nevertheless, families help each other.”

She looked at the framed photos of his wife,
Cassie, and their two kids: four-year-old Marcus, who had his
father’s eyes, and Ericka, nearly two. In a few months he’d add
another picture. Family meant everything to Drake.

“Have you eaten?” he asked.

“I’m not hungry. Really,” she said when he
looked unconvinced. “I—”

He held up his hand at the sound of hurried
footsteps racing past. “Cedric?” After a few moment, Cedric Diaz
peeked his head inside the room. Though a young man of nearly
twenty-one; with black hair pulled back in a ponytail, he flashed a
sheepish grin that made him look younger. Drake frowned. “You’re
late.”

Cedric’s olive skin developed a red tinge.
“I’m sorry. I was getting things ready. Pamela’s--”

Drake folded his arms. “I have this bored
expression on my face for a reason. It means I don’t care.”

“Sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”

“Good.” He nodded, giving silent
dismissal.

Cedric waved to Jackie and Eric, then
left.

Eric wiped his glasses. “Give the kid a
break.”

Drake shook his head. “He’s not a kid
anymore. And he’s become distracted these past few weeks.”

“His girlfriend is coming to visit for Spring
Break.”

“I think it’s something else.” He rubbed his
chin. “He’s improved a lot and I don’t want that to stop. He’s
going places with or without Pamela.” Pamela had formerly worked at
the Blue Mango before going on to college. Cedric had decided to
forgo college for real life experience. It had put a strain on the
relationship. “You’ve been against that relationship from the
start.”

“I’m not against it. I realize that they’re
young and will soon have to make a decision about their
future.”

“They have a tight bond. I think it will
work.”

“I doubt it. What happens when she leaves
college?”

“They’ll get married.”

“No, they’ll realize they’ve grown
apart.”

Eric flashed a grin. “Want to place a
bet?”

“I thought you didn’t like losing money.”

His grin widened. “I don’t plan to lose.”

“Three hundred.”

“You’re on.”

Drake turned to Jackie. “I can get something
put together for you.”

She resisted rolling her eyes. Would her
brother ever get out of the habit of trying to feed people? “I’m
fine, honestly.”

Eric said, “Since you’re both here, I might
as well tell you my news.”

They turned to him.

He adjusted his glasses. “My doctor’s a
little worried about me and wants to conduct some tests.”

Jackie stared, his words knocking the air out
of her like a punch in the chest. Their parents had died of cancer.
She couldn’t take seeing Eric weaken and then die as they had.

“What is he worried about?” Drake asked.

“My lungs. He wants to do some tests to see
what is going on. I’ve done X-rays before—there was a shadow and it
turned up to be nothing. I’m sure this is nothing.”