Page 3 of Dirty Work
Chapter Three
I speed through the Callahan brief by eleven so I can ask Anne to come out to lunch with me. I figure that it’s still a little too early for me to tell her straight up that she needs to dump her boyfriend, that I can treat her better than anyone can, and that I’m the guy she’s supposed to be with.
“Hey. I’m some random guy. Want to fuck?” This is what I want to say to her.
Actually, what Ireallywant to say is, “I’m your new boyfriend. Dump that other loser. You’re mine now. And I’m yours.”
What Ididsay was, “What are you doing this weekend?”
“Well, I told you that I have to go hang out with my boyfriend.” She tucks her hair behind her ears and lets her hand fall to her shoulder and down the front of her cardigan. It’s like she’s begging me to rip it off her and see what kind of bra she has on. But maybe Greg was right.
Now she’s mentioning the boyfriend without being prompted.
“No,” I say. “I don’t care who you’re hanging out with. What are youdoing?”
“Oh. Right.” Her face flushes and I can’t tell if she’s embarrassed or turned on. I feel a little bad for doing that to her, but I need to get this boyfriend talk out of the way so we can start talking about more important things.
Like our impending relationship.
“I think we are just going to dinner and a movie,” she continues.
Dinner and a movie. What a bore.
“Why don't you come out for my birthday? I’m sure that other guy won’t mind,” I say.
“Other guy?” she says, taken aback.
“Yeah. No disrespect. But how long have you two been going out?” I ask.
“Two years.”
“Okay. That’s respectable. But I think you’re too young to be tied down to one guy.”
One guy who isn’t me.
“I don’t know.” She looks down at her desk. “Maybe.”
She rests her arms on the desk, elbows bent, and leans over a little so I can just barely see down her shirt.
I can’t take it. The curve of her breasts under that cardigan is enough to give me heart palpitations.
“Come out to lunch with me,” I finally say. “You like veggie burgers? I know a place that has amazing homemade veggie burgers and this great aioli.”
