“Just everything that happened, and you can’t say it wasn’t weird.”
“Okay, I can grant that. It was odd. But you just need a chance to get to know her. Laken is not like what you think.” The doubt was still evident on Jonesy’s face. “How about we all go for dinner? I’ll call and see if she’s free tonight. Is that good for you?” Mac knew he was challenging his partner and he’d accept it, so he was already reaching for the phone by the time the answer came.
“Yeah, we don’t have any plans.”
“Good.” Mac waited as the phone rang.
“Hello.” The greeting sounded distracted.
“Catch you at a bad time?” Mac asked her.
“Mac.” Laken’s tone warmed. “I’m searching for a missing blueprint page I was assigned to redo today.” He heard the sound of papers shuffling in the background. “Robert’s wife went into labor so he won’t be in to do it. He called and told me he did it… it’s just not where it’s supposed to be.”
“Sounds like you need a detective.”
“Only if you’re volunteering.”
“Actually, what I’m volunteering is dinner.” He pictured her in his mind. The phone pressed to her ear as she thumbed through papers.
“I think I still owe you one.”
“Well, this dinner is with my partner and his wife.” The noise on the line stopped. He couldn’t even hear her breathing. “I want him to get to know you. I’ve talked him into giving you a chance.”
“This is important to you?” There was no mistaking the hesitation.
“Yes, it is.”
A sigh came over the phone before she answered. “All right, what time?”
Mac looked at his partner. “Seven okay?”
Jones nodded, and Laken answered. “Okay.” Her answer was followed by a gasp.
“Laken, you all right?”
“I can’t believe it.” There was definite distress. Her words sounded labored and he became alarmed.
“Laken.”
“That dirty — He took my designs. He stole them. That’s why I wasn’t invited to the presentation, and why he’s been avoiding my questions.”
“Laken, what is it?” Mac called her attention.
“What? Oh, Hoster, my boss… he put his name on my plans for the Galaxy building. That’s the one I told you about. I just found a page of my design with the name plate changed. His name is on it. He took credit for my plans.” Her throat tightened on the words making them hard to get out.
“Are you okay?”
“I just can’t believe it! Did he think I wouldn’t find out? I can’t believe it, after all that work.” Pain filled her voice.
“I’ll be right there.”
“No, no, don’t do that. It’ll cause more trouble. He was ballistic when you were here before. He’s looking for a reason to fire me. Now I know why. I’m going to see if I can talk to him. I’ll see you tonight.” The phone went dead in Mac’s ear, and he found himself wanting to go to her.
****
Laken stared down at the familiar lines on the page. It was the third floor layout. Infuriated, she went on a search and came up with seven pages that had Hoster’s name on them. He hadn’t even changed a single line. Anger filled her so tightly that it hurt to breathe. She fought to control the aggravation, but there was no holding back the need for answers. Out of habit, she rolled the pages up before heading in the direction of Hoster’s office.
“Kathy.” She moved past the secretary’s desk. “I need to see Hoster.”
“He asked not to be disturbed.”
Laken didn’t even slow a step.
Stewart Hoster looked up as she burst in. “What is this?” he demanded.
“That is what I’d like to know.” Laken dropped the blueprint copies on his desk.
Hoster didn’t even bother to look at them. “And…?” he asked with simple arrogance.
“Those are my plans with your name on them.”
“Wrong. They are company plans.” He tilted his nose up.
“This is why you didn’t let me present, because you were taking credit for my work.” Laken fought to remain calm though she wanted to scream at him.
“I was doing what was best for the company. How would it look having a low-level draftsman doing a project of this magnitude? What are you so upset about? If they are picked, you’ll still get your bonus.”
“But that was not what was promised, and you’re taking the credit.”
“What’s the big deal? If they were my original plans, you would have done all the drawing up and making them fit with specs.”
“But—”
“I suggest you’d better get back to work. You’re already on probation.”
“Probation?”
“Yes. And, if you want to speak to me in the future, make an appointment. I will let it go this one time, because it’s obvious you’re overwrought. I understand women can be moody.”
Laken was about to object, but he cut her off before she could speak. “Now leave, Miss Williams, or you’re fired.” He looked back to the papers on his desk, totally dismissing her.
Stunned, Laken left the office.
Kathy was waiting outside the door and closed it behind her. “Are you all right?”
“He stole my designs and threatened to fire me.” She shook her head trying to believe what happened.
“Yeah, calling him a slug is too nice a word for him.”
“I can’t believe he did that. Why would he?”
“Because he knows you’re better than he can ever be. Better than any man in this office. You’re brilliant and he’s a blowhard riding on the backs of others. He plays the game really good, and you don’t play it at all. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think I can continue working with him.”
“You’re not going to do anything drastic are you? Like quitting?” Kathy reached to take her hands.
Laken squeezed them in reassurance. “I won’t do anything rash, but I’m going to think about it. I think I’m going to see if I can get an appointment to see Mr. Warner.”
“You’re going to the big boss? Do you think that’s wise?”
Laken knew that the head of the firm intimidated Kathy, but Laken had always thought he was decently pleasant, though she hadn’t had a lot of dealings with him. He did have a little good old boy attitude, but he’d hired her out of college without any experience. Mind made up, she answered. “Yes, I’m going to call and set an appointment.”
Back at her work area, Laken called up to Mr. Warner’s secretary and took the first appointment available. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until Monday morning. She settled down and tried to focus on work though her heart was not truly in it. The feeling that this was not the place for her and that it was time to break out on her own became more prevalent with each passing hour.
****
Laken decided that Mac really knew his restaurants. The steak place where they went was fabulous. The rolls where hot out of the oven and so good they made her forget how rough the day had been and her trepidation about being there. Once she relaxed, Laken started enjoying herself. Mac’s partner’s wife, Connie, was a vivacious dark-haired pixie of a woman. It didn’t take long to like her.
After the two rocky encounters Mac’s partner took longer to accept. The skepticism he gave off continue to tear at her, though, she guessed she really could give him that. Because her story was still even hard for her to understand and she was living it. She was just glad that Mac had told her there weren’t any murder victims that fit her last dream. So maybe that was all it was, just a nightmare that happened to fit one that had happened.
Fun and relaxation had come into the evening when Jonesy and Mac started to regale her with weird and hilarious things that happened in their jobs. When they finished eating, Connie spoke up that she needed to go freshen up and invited Laken to go with her. Laken took the cue and excused herself.
“I know that wa
s hardly subtle,” Connie started once they were in the restroom, “but I wanted a private moment to talk to you.”
Laken felt unease creep in with each word and was shocked when she continued. “I wanted you to know, I like you, and I was prepared not to. After what Marcus told me, I was expecting a whack job. And I couldn’t figure how Mac could fall for you, especially this fast. He’s seen too much to be fooled easily. Now, I can see why he’s fallen for you. You’re good for him. You’re good together. There’s a connection. You love him.”
Laken couldn’t get her voice to answer so she just nodded. The petite woman wrapped her arms around her and then beamed up.
“I’m so glad. Don’t worry about Marcus. He’ll come around. In fact, he already has. He just has to have time to get over that first impression.”
“You mean me as a nutcase?” Laken squeaked out.
“That’s the one. Wow, that’s something.” Open astonishment showed in Connie’s dark eyes.
“It’s something I wish would just go away,” Laken let out.
“I can understand that. Totally freaky.”
“Very.”
“Well, hang in there and, if you just need to talk, give me a call.”
“Thanks, I might do that. No one else knows about it.”
Connie gave her another hug. “Shall we join the guys?”
“Yeah.” Laken followed her out, feeling like she’d made a new friend.
Chapter Seven
A half hour later, Mac sighed as he followed Laken into her apartment. Catching her hand, he led her to the couch and drew her down with him. He pulled her into his arms, giving her a short, hard kiss before raising his head to look at her. “Well, you seemed to survive the inquisition. How do you feel?”
“Good. I like Connie a lot.”
Mac nodded. “It’s hard not to like Connie. She’s one of those people who everyone likes. What about Marcus?”
“Actually…” She leaned back in his arms to meet his gaze. “I like him better than I thought I would. He still doesn’t believe me, but I can’t hold that against him. I do like him though.”
“He admitted that he might have been wrong about you. He doesn’t think I’m so crazy now for ‘succumbing to your influence’. You’re not as flaky as he thought. Nor a liar.”
“So I’m just slightly delusional,” she said sarcastically.
“Pretty much so.” He laughed, hugging her tight.
She turned in his arms to kiss him. “How does it feel being with a crazy woman?”
“Good, real good.” He slid his hands up in her hair to tilt her head so he could kiss her. One arm came down around her waist, holding her tight against him. When they broke, they only parted a couple inches. His hand stroked through her hair, luxuriating in the feel of the silky strands through his fingers, and a female presence alongside him. “So you enjoyed yourself?”
“Yes, I did. I like your friends.”
“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you then?” He touched a finger under her chin, tilting it up to him. Mac wondered if she was going to deny it and was pleased when she didn’t.
“When you were on the phone with me today, I found one of the blueprint sheets of the plans that I did for the big presentation. The one I didn’t get to present. Well, it had my boss’s name on the name plate that’s in the bottom corner. It tells what the plans are for, who designed them, and which page of the set, so on.” Frustration burned in her eyes. “Anyway, I confronted my boss about it, and he just brushed me off. He said they were company plans and it wouldn’t look good for a lower level draftsman doing the plans for a project of that importance.”
“You mean, outdoing all the upper level people,” Mac remarked and was rewarded with a large smile.
“Thank you.”
“Just making a logical deduction.”
“Yeah, well, he basically told me, that was how it was and live with it, or I’m fired.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No.”
“What are you going to do?” He brushed his knuckles along her cheek.
“What makes you think I’m going to do anything?”
He just looked at her, cocking one eyebrow up.
“You’re a pretty good detective.”
“That’s what they tell me.”
She smiled and sighed. “I made an appointment with the firm’s head, Mr. Warner. Unfortunately, it’s not until next Monday morning. For some reason, I get the feeling he won’t do much about it. It’s just so frustrating after what they promised, all the work that I put in on it, and then not to be recognized at all. It’s not fair. Hoster promised I would still get the bonus for it, but I don’t know if I even have faith in that now.”
“I’m sorry.” His hand came up to cup her cheek.
Laken turned into it to kiss his palm. “Maybe it’s for the best. I’ve been thinking of going out on my own.”
“You mentioned that before.”
“Well, maybe this is the push I need to do it. If I get the bonus, it would help, though it’s not much.”
“You wanted to get out of the city.”
She nodded.
“Any idea where?”
“Not really. I can’t go home because my family is from a real small town, and it won’t support me. I need to stay close enough to the city for the contacts, and so I’m no more than a couple hours away if I need to come in for meetings.”
“You have thought about this.”
“Yes.”
“Well, can you maybe think about a location just north of here about an hour and a half. It’s a college town. Real nice place, I think you’d like it.”
“Mac?” She looked up, startled by what he was hinting at.
“I just want you to start thinking about it. See how it works in your equations…” He paused. “…and in your heart. I know it’s soon. We’ve only know each other a week. But it’s been quite a week and well, one thing I do know is, I care about you. In fact, I think I love you. I want the chance to see if it will work for the rest of our lives. I’m not trying to hurry it, but please think about it.”
Her eyes ran over his face searching for answers he hoped she saw there. “It feels so right,” she whispered breathlessly.
“Yes, it does.” He drew her back down to meet his lips. Laken slid into his embrace and the feeling of love filled the air as the intensity of the kiss grew. In unison they broke. Laken laid her head on his shoulder, and they both fought to catch their breath. They stayed that way for some time.
“I better get going. Sleep tight.” He thought of her last night’s sleep. “Are you going to be all right?”
“I’ll be fine.”
He held her tight a minute more before releasing her so they could move. His hand caught hers, drawing her up with him. They clung together again, both hating to lose the contact. She moved with him to the door, his arm wrapped around her waist. “Dream of me,” he said as he turned her to him for a final kiss.
“I’m sure hoping to.”
“I don’t think there’s any doubt you’ll fill my dreams. I have to work the late shift tomorrow. I promised one of the guys a couple weeks ago to trade with him. So how about I call you and we meet for lunch?”
“That would be wonderful.”
“Good.” He kissed her long and hard, wanting to hold the feeling with him on the way home. He knew it would never satisfy him until she was his forever.
****
Usually working Sunday afternoon shifts didn’t bother Mac, but today he wished he could be with Laken instead. Even though they’d had lunch together Friday, started Saturday with breakfast then spent the whole day until he finally got his home cooked dinner with her that they made together. He had gone over to her apartment again for breakfast earlier that morning. They went for a walk in the park and then watched movies and talked until it was time for him to go to work. It had been a great weekend. He glanced at the clock. Three hours to go. Unfortunately, it
would be too late to see Laken on his way home. Oh well, he’d see her tomorrow.
His phone rang, and a second later he headed out the door. At the entrance to the alley, he felt a sense of dread. Mac could see the crime scene guys unloading their gear. A tow truck stood halfway down the alley. An officer stood to the side talking to a man Mac figured was the driver. He headed toward them.
“Detective.” The officer greeted him. “This is Mr. Erickson. He runs the tow truck. He found the body.”
“Thanks.” Mac turned his attention to the man in his late fifties, with tired eyes, and a paunch hanging over his belt. “Evening sir. Thank you for waiting to talk to me. Can you tell me how you happened to find the body?”
The man paled further and cleared his throat. “Got a call for an impound. It’d been setting here for a couple days, and the building owner there got tired of it because it’s half blocking the dumpster and the garbage picks up tomorrow. I checked the plates. It was listed stolen a couple days ago. So I walked around to check it out — that’s when I saw her. She’s kind of hidden back there. Looks like someone hit her then panicked and ran.”
Mac asked a couple more questions and got his name then headed for the crime scene guys.
“Hey, Rob, another late night?”
“Only way I get to hang out with Amy,” the tech replied, looking back at him.
Mac noticed the petite woman by the front of the car.
Amy spoke before he could greet her. “What can I say, dead people and night, just my thing.”
“Ain’t it everyone’s?” Mac grinned back. “So we got a hit and run?”
“Nope, you’re going to want to walk around here and see this,” Rob said, taking up the conversation.
Mac didn’t like the feeling the words brought and moved around the edge of the car to get a look at the body. The woman was lying face down, her head to the side. She would’ve been pretty if she hadn’t been sitting out in an alley dead for he guessed at least a couple days. His eyes locked on a small bloodstain on her back and the clearly evident grimy footprint ground below it.
The superlative slipped out under his breath.
“Yeah,” Rob agreed. “There’s no doubt about it. No rain to wash down the markings. I’d make a real good guess that it’s the same man.”
Temperature Rising Page 8
