Who Glares Wins (Lexi Graves Mysteries) (6 page)

"No parents, no boyfriend.
Ex-foster kid.
She pretty much doesn't have anyone
,
except her friend. The police think she took off. I don't think so."

"Why?"

"She wouldn't leave without telling the friend."

From
my peripheral vision,
I saw Fl
etcher roll his eyes.
Ass
.

"That isn't it enough to go on,
"
Solomon pointed out, holding his hand out for the file. I pushed it towards him and he skimmed through it.

"It is for the friend. She knows her.
She says this isn't her behavio
r
;
she wouldn't leave without telling her anything."

"Plenty of people do," said Solomon. "It happens every day.
She has no ties to the area.
"

"I think we should take this case."

"Do you have anything stronger than a hunch? Sign of crime? A call for help?"

I shook my head. "No. She just vanished. Her car was impounded, ten, uh, eleven days ago."

"Most people who vanish don't want to be found."

"She might want it. Maybe she's hurt."

"There's no sign of that."

"But..."

"
We can't take every case, Lexi,” Solomon said, with finality, as he passed the folder back to me. “Tell Elisabeth Fong to go back to the police. Put her in touch with Garrett
,
if you want to throw her a bone.”

Flaherty and Delgado quietly shuffled their case files and closed them.
Lucas
pretended to read his. Fletcher didn't do a thing
, not even smirk
. I wasn't sure if it was because no one wanted to get involved,
or
no one
wanted to tussle with the boss—
the ab
andoned case,
for instance
—or
because they all agreed that Marissa Widmore wasn't interesting enough to chase up.
Even worse, that I couldn’t handle my own case.

"I think..."

"I want you working this case." Solomon held up his file. We hadn't even discussed his and no one had asked
yet
. "We need to take the cases we can work with. Not the ones based on hunches. Dismissed."

The four men filed out
of
the room and I watched as
Flaherty
tossed
his case onto his desk to deal with later,
but
before it went
into the archive box
of turned
-
down cases
that
we kept just outside the door of the conference room.

"Please," I said, laying my hands on the table, fingers splayed. "Solomon, this woman is certain something happened to her friend. Lily wouldn't leave me without saying something. Friends don't do that."

"Friends do all kinds of weird shit."

I lowered my voice. Not that anyone was hovering, but just in case. "Solomon..."

"Lexi." Solomon's voice took on a warning tone and he leaned forward, elbows on the desk, his fingers steepled together. His face took on the stern edge that I was getting used to when he shut down. "I've said no."

"But..."

"This is business." Solomon's voice dropped an octave. "And if you want
to earn
respect
from
the other guys, you need to bring more to the table than a hunch."

That stopped me still. "They don't respect me?"
Suspecting was one thing. Hearing it was quite another.

Solomon didn't answer. Instead he got up, walked around the table and shut the door before returning to his seat. I could feel my nostrils flaring as the insult
mushroomed
in my mind. "They
only
see a
beautiful
woman who has no background in law enforcement, no skills in investigations. They don't know
why
I've brought you here."

"What? They think I'm... Jeez, Solomon, they think I'm your bit on the side or something?" I watched him closely. He didn't move a muscle
,
but he didn't deny it either. "They do, don't they?" I
persisted
. That explained the smiles when I wore dresses and heels,
in contrast to their faded denim and blazers,
and
the over-simplified explanations when
ever
I asked a question,
as well as
the reticence to take me on a case to learn the procedures. It explained
Fletcher in the office
yesterday
when they didn’t think I could hear
. They thought I was an idiot.

"If they do, they'd
never
say it to my face," said Solomon
, his mouth tightening
.

"I hate that you even let them think it
,
"
I snapped,
the
hurt
evident
in my voice.
Not that I was
hurt at the thought of being
Solomon's, that wasn't the problem. I thought he was great, scary
,
but great. He was smart, successful,
and
looked like he and the gym had an especially close relationship
. Plus,
he owned his own business. Most women I knew wanted someone just like him, minus the scary
;
b
ut he was my boss. The problem was that
my colleagues
were guys who would
never
respect any man who wasn't pulling his
own
weight,
much
less a woman who slept with the boss
just to get
a job. I could see my future as it was panning out right now. A couple of weeks more
,
and I'd be making them all coffee, doing their filing
,
and wondering how the hell I got into this mess.

"You aren't going to say anything?"
I asked when he didn’t move.

"You want me to open the door and yell, '
H
ey, I'm not sleeping with Lexi
.
' Hmm?"

My eyes widened.
"No!"

"They'd definitely think we were if I did that," Solomon pointed out. "And just because we haven't
,
doesn't mean we won't."

I scraped my chair back, got
to my feet and grabbed the folder
, my jaw stiff
at his
prediction
.

Solomon stood at the same time, towering over me. "Lex."

"Fu..."

"Don't say it," he warned, his voice low again. "I'm your boss. I won't take shit from any employee."

"I'm not just any employee," I protested, my voice low as a whisper.

"You are here.
You want to be treated like an employee
. T
hat’s what I’m doing
;
and right now, I’m warning you.
"

We glowered at each other
.
T
hen, with my mouth set in a thin line, I walked into the communal office area
. I was
acutely aware that each of my four asshole colleagues were all pretending to do something else other than
ear
wigging
, and
I
forced myself to sit at my desk. If I walked out the office right now,
my lip quivering,
I would l
ook
silly and petulant,
un
like Flaherty
,
who didn't give a rat's ass if we took his case or not.

Instead, I snuck the file into my purse because I wasn't prepared to give up on Marissa Widmore
, not
just yet.

While I sat there, pretending to be engrossed in the background checks that landed on my desk
—
another side of Solomon's business
was vetting people and employees for clients—I
was acutely aware that the conversation hadn't gone the way I planned. What
I
meant to say was
something along the lines of
“
I'm just as good as
they
.
”
I might not have years on the force,
like Flaherty,
or a background in one of the national agencies
like Fletcher and Delgado
, but I
did have
a history of
talking about law enforcement and understanding it. I was a good shot, a thinker, and, crucially
for
this business, people talked to me
without suspecting I had a wire taped to my chest
. I had
a lot my colleagues didn't have
,
and none of it
had
to do with lying on my back.

What I ended up saying sounded like even though I protested about the way my colleagues clearly regarded me
.
I implied to Solomon
that
there was more to our relationship than
business
. I was fairly certain he'd never kissed any of the guys, and, oh boy, had he kissed me before, but that was as far as it went. I'd go
tten my job fair and square.
He
ha
d come to
me
and
offered.
I
didn't
beg for it. Implying there was anything more between us was just as bad as Fletcher, Flaherty, Delgado and
Lucas Givens
' sordid little minds assuming there was.

I didn't know what to make of Solomon's
assertion
that things mi
ght be different between us in the future than
they were now. As far as I knew
,
since the last time he'd kissed me, months ago, and now,
he never indicated
that he wanted anything more from me. I'd almost put it down to a fun flirtation that hadn't gone anywhere
,
and now I didn't know what to think.

I did know I was thinking way too much about Solomon kissing me.

Halfway through my stack of background checks
,
I'd had enough. I put the completed reports in my out tray, locked my laptop in the desk drawer, grabbed my purse and walked out
,
without saying goodbye. I didn't even look back to see if Solomon noticed me leaving because there was no way I should care what he thought, except whethe
r I was doing a good job or not. It hurt me inexplicably that he might think not.

As I clattered down the stairs, each heel ringing out a sharp note, I realized I hadn't even asked about Solomon's case. For the first time in my role as
Lexi Graves, PI
, I didn't even care about the job. I was furious.

In my car, I called Lily. "Let's go out tonight," I said. "Somewhere loud
,
where the drinks are cheap and the men are pretty."

"How about mid-priced and sexy?"

"Bring it on."

"Cool. I'm at the gym. I'll be home in an hour."

"I'm on my way."

Chapter Three

There was nothing like a girl date to take my mind off sanctimonious men who made me furious. The only problem
being that
the best conversation was usually
centered on
the subject of
said men.

Lily and I started off in O'Grady's because it was quiet and most cops wouldn't get in until later
.
B
y
that
time
,
we planned to take off to a club
to
drink and dance until our feet couldn't take anymore. I hadn't been to a club in ages so chances were, we would be home before
turning
into pumpkins.

"Tell me about your date last night," I said, because I didn't want to think about my own man
-
issue.

"It was lovely,” Lily gushed as she picked up her wine glass. “
We went to the Dragon for Chinese and he was very sweet."

"I feel a
‘
but
’
coming on."

"But the sparks just weren't there. He was no Officer Tasty."

"You have got to stop holding my brother up as the
gauge
for all men."

"I can't help it. I still get butterflies when I see your brother."

"I could beat them out of you?" I suggested.
“If I do it often enough
,
you’
ll
get
a Pavlovian response to him.”

One side of Lily’s upper lip curled in displeasure.
"Thanks
,
but no. How's the fine Detective Maddox?"

"He's gr
eat," I said
, taking
a sip of my wine
.
It slipped down my throat a lot better than the platitudes I told myself on my way back to my apartment.
"Better than great. He said the '
b
' word."

"Bastard child? Butt sex?"

"No!
” I blinked. “
Boyfriend!"

“He only just worked it out
!
What a sweetie.”
Lily laughed. "Does he have a clone? Brothers? Friends?"

Actually, I'd never met his family, didn't recall asking about siblings
,
and hadn't met his friends. "Uh
-
oh," said Lily when I told her that.

"Uh
-oh,
what?"

"How long have you been dating?"

"Two months
and a bit
,
b
ut he used the boyfriend word yesterday and didn't even flinch."

"Excellent.
I once dated a guy who vomited at the ‘b’ word.
"

"
I remember.
About that uh
-
oh?"

Lily took a fortifying sip and placed the glass on the table. Her fingers toyed with the stem.
"He hasn't introduced you to anyone?" Lily pulled a face. I think it was supposed to be
something
between unimpressed and sympath
etic
. And, maybe, wondering what was so wrong with me that he didn't introduce me to his family or friends. Uh
-
oh. Now I was wondering.
Did he think they wouldn’t like me? My whole family liked me and there were a lot of them.

"You think that's bad?"
I squeaked.

"No
-o
-
o
," she said, drawing out the vowel.

"It's bad," I decided. "Maybe his friends won't like me. Maybe I'm not pretty enough. Is it my job?
I thought PI sounded better than temp.
"

"Stop that. You're
very
pretty and your job is cool. Way b
etter than saying you're a temp,
"
Lily assured me.

"Oh my God. Guys didn't like me when I was a temp?"

"No, they liked you
,
but you don't impress
M
ama by saying you're dating a temp."

"Do guys even care?"

"I don't know. I haven't met any mothers in a long time."

We both took a long drink. "You know what really pisses me off about guys?" I said to Lily
without waiting
for an answer before plowing on. "The guys in my office think I'm sleeping with Solomon."

"You haven't
yet
?" Lily asked, surprised.

"No!"

"But he's a fox."
She wiggled her eyebrows.

"I know, but I haven't, and I don't want them to think I have. They think I suck at my job. I haven't even had my own case yet." I took another sip and thundered on. "Maddox isn't keen that I work for him
,
and that's without knowing I kissed him."

"You work with assholes," said Lily.

"That's what I thought
this afternoon, and before that
,
I liked them. Well, not Fletcher
,
but that’s his fault
. I'm every bit as good as they are!"

"Sure you are," said Lily
,
pouring
me another drink.

"You want to know what Solomon said when I brought it up?"

"What?"

I mimicked Solomon. "Just because we haven't
,
doesn't mean we won't."

The glass hovered at her lips.
"No. Way."

"I know,
"
I sighed, a knot tightening in my stomach.

"He wants to sleep with you,
"
Lily decided.
The knot got tighter.

"I don't even want to think about that. Maddox gets my heart rate up enough as it is."

Lily's eyes focused on something over my shoulder. "Don't look now
,
but your brothers just walked in."

"Shoot. I hoped we'd have
already
left by the time they got here." I turned around and waved
,
and
e
ach of my three brothers
waved back
. Turning to Lily, I said, "I hope you're not man
-
hunting tonight. These three will ruin it for you."

"One of them
is
unmarried," she said, and waved
.
H
er face
lit
up as
soon as
she saw Jord, the youngest of my brothers and the object of her unreturned affection
.

It would have been rude to ignore my brothers after that
,
so Lily and I moved over to a larger booth, sitting with them. Somehow
,
Lily angled
herself
in so that she got to sit
beside
Jord, who, come to think of it, didn't look
to
o unhappy about it. After ten years of Lily
’s
unconcealed overtures
, perhaps he was finally warming up to her. Miracles
did
happen.

"I hear you're playing baseball with Maddox," I told them.

Daniel flexed his knuckles and grinned wickedly. "Yeah," he
said. "We joined Garrett's team
especially for the event."

"Please don't damage him," I said. "He has to fight crime
and do...
other stuff." Sex stuff wouldn't sit well with the family
,
but Maddox's abilities weren't to be knocked. Not that we're prudes, and I'm fairly certain they kn
e
w all about the birds and the bees
.
I mean,
Garrett and Daniel have five children between them and Jord chases anything in a skirt except Lily. They just don't think anyone is good enough for me. Also, our sister
,
Serena
,
married an ass and they don't want to end up related to another one, which is fair enough.

"Figured you dumped him," said Jord,
signaling to the waitress and curling his hand so it looked like
he was holding
a mug
,
then
he
held up three fingers. She nodded and scooted to the bar.

"Why's that?"

"You two look like you're on a girls
-
only night."

"We are. You three are crashing it. Besides, I may have a boyfriend, but I'm not dead."

Jord raised an eyebrow. "Boyfriend, huh?"
He made kissy noises and pretended to vomit.

"You cannot hurt him," I emphasi
z
ed. "Plus
,
he's your superior."

"Garrett,
you rank,
you'll have to hurt him," said Jord
, winking
at me. "Only playing with you, sis."

"Yeah," agreed Garrett, which was reassuring until he added, "
w
e wouldn't
warn
you first."

"Shouldn't you two be at home
,
putting the kids to bed?" I asked.

Daniel checked his watch. "Not until eight."

"The teenager doesn't sleep
until the
daylight hours," added Garrett. "And I'm not due home for an hour."

"What about you, Jord?" Lily asked. "Out all night?"

We all sat back as the waitress slid three beer mugs from her tray onto the table and took Jord’s money.

"Maybe, maybe not. Haven't decided."

"I'd try and persuade you," I said, taking in his jeans and shirt. "But unless you're going home to put on a cute dress and heels, you can't come with us tonight."

"The only dress and heels that make it into my apartment leaves in the morning," laughed Jord
, clinking
his glass against Daniel's. Garrett laughed
too.
I cut a glance at Lily
,
who was quietly sipping her wine, not commenting. I aimed and kicked Jord hard under the table.

He winced as my foot connected with his shin.
"What the...!"

"Oops," I said. "Sorry."

Jord glanced at Lily and back to me, his face a little paler
as she pretended to read the label of our bottle
. Well
,
strike me down with the sensitivity stick! "No worries,
easily done
" he said. "Actually
,
I was planning on studying for my exams. Can't be a beat cop forever."

"Really? Good for you. Mom and Dad will be proud."

Jord pinked a little a
s he
swallowed his beer.

I reached for my purse. "Guys, this has been fun, but you're cramping our style. Time to go, Lily."

"You bet," she said. "Been nice seeing you all." She was out
of
the booth in a flash. "I'm going outside to call a cab." She moved off before anyone said anything a
s
I sidled out
of
the booth, shrugging on my denim jacket, a concession to the turning weather.

"That cab might be a while," said Daniel, nudging me and pointing. I followed his eyes to where Lily
paused
at the entrance to the bar
. She was
laughing as a guy leaned into her
and
said something, making her laugh again. "Hey, Garrett, that's Anderson, isn't it? Works with you?"

"Used to," said Garrett. "Nice guy."

"Seems to like Lily," I said, sitting again, noticing Jord scowl
as Lily flicked her hair and smiled brilliantly at the man
. "Is he asking her out on a date?" I mock
whispered.

Daniel grinned
as two cell phones were pulled out
. "I see a phone number exchange going on."

"You know, Jord," Garrett chipped in
as he drummed his fingers on the table
,
"
i
f you got your shit together and asked Lily out, you could spend less time scowling and more time smiling."

"I am not interested in Lily," Jord said for the umpteenth time
,
and once again, we just ignored him. Just because he protested, didn't mean he
always
spoke the truth. Unfortunately
,
that made me think of the Solomon situation
.
It was
why I really needed to be out drinking and laughing
;
not thinking about
what I was going to do tomorrow, especially
after walking
out without
even
hearing the case he wanted me on.
The idea of going to work actually made my stomach churn. Or that could
have
be
en
the
three
large glasses of wine. Hard to say.