Page 2 of Deception and New Direction

“This guy can wait,Diego,”Iemphasized. “Everyminute we waste answering his questions,”Isaid, pointing to the new guy, “is a minute that could be used to help the cops findEllie!”

OkayImay have shrieked a little at the end of that, butIwanted to findEllie.Shewas the only friendIhad made here.

“EllieHutchinson?” the new guy asked. “Whathappened toEllie?”Hisvoice got louder, and he moved back into my space and closer to the cops.

“Sir, if you—”Oneof the cops tried to interrupt him, but he wasn’t having it.

“That’s my sister.I’mJackHutchinson, her brother,” the new guy said, speaking louder and with more authority. “Whathappened,Officer?”

Oh crap.ThiswasEllie’sbrother?

Archer andVincesaid he would be coming into town tonight, butItotally forgot after everything that had happened.NowIfelt like a complete idiot.I’dbeen a total bitch to my best friend’s brother.

What a great first impression.

* * *

FourMonthsLater

A knock on my door reminded me that it was time to go pick up my new dog.Dashwas a retired racing greyhound.Mygrandfather had gotten him for me because he didn’t like me living alone.WhenImet my granddad forThanksgivingdinner yesterday, he presentedDashto me, informing me he was all mine onceIgot him everything he would need.Giventhat it wasThanksgivingDayand nothing would be open, he was keeping him for me untilIcould go out and buy a bed, food, collar, leash, and everything else.

I made my way to the door, knowingArcherwas on the other side.Ihad asked him if he could give me a ride to pickDashup since it would be a tight fit with a sixty-five-pound dog and all his stuff inside my smallPrius.Iunlocked the door and swung it open to seeJack, notArcher, standing on the other side.

“What are you doing here?”Iasked. “Archerlives in the unit across the hall.”

I assumed he had gotten the unit number wrong, but sinceIwas headed over there anyway,IfiguredIwould just show him.Istarted to grab my purse soIcould lock up and walk over with him when he finally replied.

“I’m not here forArcher.I’mhere to take you to get your dog.”

“No,Archeris taking me,”Iexplained, a little peeved because he had offered last night andI’dturned him down.

Plus,Ididn’t want to be alone in a small space withJack.Itwasn’t thatIdidn’t feel safe—Jackworked for the same security business bothArcherandIdid.Iknew he was a decent guy.Itwas mostly thatIdidn’t trustmyselfwith him.Hewas extremely attractive.He’dalso made no bones about the fact that he was interested in me.He’dasked me out a few times in the last few months, andI’dturned him down each time.Ihad hoped he would have taken the multiple hints, but there was no shaking this guy.Hewasn’t rude about it—it was more like he had amnesia and forgotIturned him down, so he just tried again, undeterred whenIwould say no.

“Ruthie, have dinner with me?” he asked politely asIcleaned up my desk for the day.

I thought back to how shockedIwas that a man like him would even be interested in someone like me.Iwasn’t ugly, butIalso wasn’t on the same level as theAdonisstanding in front of me.

“Um, that’s nice of you, butI’mnot interested,”Isaid, stumbling through my response.

“Not interested in me, or men in general?” he returned.

“Oh,I’mattracted to you—uh,Imean men.I’mattracted to men, butImeant, um,I’mjust not interested in dating right now.”God, this man flustered me and turned me into a blubbering idiot.

“Good to know.Anothertime, then,” he countered then walked away beforeIcould even mutter another blundered response.

“Archer texted me this morning to ask me ifIcould do it because something came up for him,”Jacksaid, bringing me back to the present.

“Why?”Iquestioned, getting nervous thatIwas going to have to spend the day with the man in front of me.Theman who turned me into a teenage girl staring at her first crush.

“Because he needed a favor andIwant to help you out,” he replied as though it was something so simple.

“This could take a while,”Iwarned him so he knew what he was getting himself into.

“Then let’s go.”Hewaved me through the door.

I knewIcould stand there and argue with him, butIalso knewIhad a lot to get done, andIstill wanted to go into work for an hour or two and get some things done.Iwanted to introduceDashto the office sinceArchersaidIcould bring him with me some days.Igrabbed my coat and purse and locked up, following him out to his car.

He had a black mid-sizeSUV, which would give us plenty of room for everythingIwould need to getDash.Iclimbed into the passenger seat, trying to remember ifI’dgrabbed the list of thingsIwould need to get today.

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