Page 24 of Fraud
Quickly making my way inside, I didn’t bother waiting for the elevator, choosing to tackle the stairs instead. Within minutes, I was through my door and raiding my kitchen—after making a pit stop at the bathroom.
In my haste to make it to work on time, I’d skipped breakfast, and by the way my hands were shaking from the onslaught of coffee, I was pretty sure I was going to blast off into space.
Finding some milk and a box of cereal, I grabbed a bowl and curled up on the couch.
It didn’t take long for Loki to find me—or the milk rather.
Loki was my rescue kitty. I’d picked him up about a year ago after a particularly bad date. The guy had looked at his watch a grand total of forty-three times and yawned twice. It had barely lasted through the entrees. After crying myself to sleep, wondering why I even bothered, I’d headed out the next day to buy groceries, and instead, I’d come home with Loki.
He’d been the one and only man in my life since.
He was also a pain in the ass.
But, according to my married and committed coworkers, that was an accurate description of most males, so I guessed I’d done my job correctly. Of course, most husbands didn’t use furniture as a scratching post either.
After a second bowl of Lucky Charms, I settled in to watch a couple of movies for the rest of the day. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a day off. Renee was right; it had been a while.
People with lives probably took time off.
They probably took actual lunch breaks and flew on planes to go on trips.
I was sure they at least didn’t spend their days off lying on the couch, watching Netflix. Alone.
The caffeine slowly began to wear off around two o’clock, and my eyes started to feel heavy. It took nearly three full rings for me to realize the sound coming from my coffee table was my phone. Rubbing my tired eyes, I quickly hit mute on the TV and froze as I stared down at the display.
Killian Townes.
Holy…
He’d asked for my number last night, and I’d reluctantly given it to him.
He was gorgeous and charming—everything that made a woman go weak in the knees.So, what did he want to do with me?
Honestly, I had thought I’d never hear from him again. Certainly not less than twenty-four hours later.
Should I answer it?
I continued to stare at the phone, listening to it beckon me, waiting for me to respond.
It finally fell silent.
I guessed I didn’t have to make a choice after all.
A twinge of sadness found its way into my chest at that moment, but I tried to ignore it. I didn’t have time for good-looking strangers with lightning-quick reflexes and mesmerizing eyes.
I had a career and a…cat.
And…
The phone chirped once more, causing me to yelp.
Looking down, I found myself grinning.
One new message.
As I was no longer tired, my agile fingers went to work, bringing the voice mail to life.
“Hi, Kate…Katelyn. Do you like to be called Katelyn better? Both are beautiful. I’m rambling, aren’t I? I drank a lot of coffee. Anyway, this is my roundabout way of asking you out to dinner. I’m hoping you’ll call me back and say yes. I’m also hoping you might have a place in mind since I’m new to town, and so far, my knowledge of food around here doesn’t really go beyond my hotel. Thanks. I mean, good-bye. Talk to you soon.”
