1 To Catch a Bad Guy

by Marie Astor

  He was just about to stroll into Janet’s office when he heard her voice coming through the doorway. She was on the phone. A little eavesdropping never hurt anybody. He pressed his back against the wall and strained his ear to hear Janet’s conversation. It would not do to get caught red-handed, so in case anyone were to pass by, he had a manila folder filled with important-looking office papers loosely positioned in his hand, ready to drop to the floor at any moment.

  “Hey, Katie. Yes, it was pretty awful. Yes, Andrew was there – Lisa’s horny, geeky cousin. Yes, I’d love to have a drink after work – six o’clock sounds great.”

  Where? Dennis thought desperately. Six o’clock where?

  “Perfect. I’ll see you at the Blue Orchard at six-thirty.”

  Dennis heard the sound of the telephone receiver being replaced and tiptoed down the hall. When it came to establishing contact, accidental encounters were so much better than arranged dates.

  Dennis Walker arrived at the Blue Orchard at five-thirty. He figured that would give him enough time to get a spot by the bar and find a pretty girl to chat up. If his plan were to work, he had to look like he actually had a reason to be there other than stalking Janet. He loosened his tie and hung his shabby suit jacket over the back of his chair. This Dean Snider routine was getting tiresome. Well, at least he was wearing a decent shirt, and his natural charm would just have to compensate for the rest of his appearance. However, the fake glasses went into Dennis’s jacket pocket. Dean Snider’s drab persona had not gotten him very far, and since his boss had just upped the stakes, Dennis Walker was going to change the rules and infuse some much-needed swagger into Dean Snider.

  Dennis eyed the bar crowd, skimming past the usual suit types and eagerly smiling career women who accompanied them. He soon found what he was looking for – a pretty blonde by the other side of the bar. She was typing on her Blackberry intently, no doubt simply keying in gibberish while she waited for her friends to arrive so as not to appear unoccupied. Dennis slunk off his chair and made his way to where the girl was sitting. As he approached her chair, Dennis got a quick glimpse of her Blackberry screen. His hunch had been correct; the screen was filled with meaningless lines of letters and numbers. He pulled the chair next to the girl, but she was too intent on trying to look busy to notice him.

  “Apple martini,” Dennis said.

  “Excuse me?” the girl’s tone was chilly.

  “Your favorite drink – it’s apple martini, isn’t it?”

  The blonde’s eyes widened. “How did you guess?”

  “I have a gift.” Dennis grinned. This was ridiculously easy. He signaled to the bartender. “Two apple martinis, please.”

  The girl put her Blackberry away and eyed him appraisingly. Dennis watched her eyes linger undecidedly over his jacket, grow warmer on his shirt, and finally flash with approval upon reaching his face. He was a handsome-looking fella, even if he did say so himself.

  “To unexpected encounters.” Dennis raised his drink.

  “To pleasant unexpected encounters.” The girl ingested the majority of her drink in one gulp.

  Dennis took a tentative sip. He sincerely hoped that he had not been mistaken in his mark. A loud drunken scene would ruin his plan. “And may I ask what a pretty girl like yourself is doing all by herself in a bar?”

  “Who said I was by myself? I could be waiting for my boyfriend,” the girl added playfully.

  Dennis relaxed. He had not been mistaken after all. His plan was to flirt with the blonde long enough for Janet to notice him. Once the blonde’s date would arrive, Dennis would safely excuse himself and exhibit great surprise at running into Janet, saying something to the effect of this being a small world. “Secretive, huh? Well, may I at least know your name?”

  “Summer.”

  “That’s a beautiful name. I’m Dean.”

  “No, it isn’t. My mom was a rock star groupie and I think she was high when she named me.” Summer finished the rest of her drink. “Do you believe that people’s names determine their destinies?”

  “I can’t say that I do,” Dennis replied distractedly. His attention was occupied by the sight of Janet Maple walking into the bar. Her usual no-nonsense business suit and put-up hair made her stand apart from the rest of the women with their décolletage and tangled manes.

  “Well, I think it does. Take me for example. My name is Summer. What does Summer stand for? Crazy, fun time, which is exactly what men want from me, and once they get it, they just keep on moving along. Do you know that I’ve never been in a relationship that lasted longer than a month? That is if you can even call a one-month affair a relationship.”

  “I’m sure you could call it that,” Dennis conceded.

  “And you were right,” Summer burst out. “I am here alone because my date bailed.”

  Dennis blinked, unsure of how to address Summer’s candidness. Truth be told, he didn’t really care. By now, Janet Maple had been joined by a friend – a tall, lanky redhead. What Dennis really wanted to do was to eavesdrop on their conversation, which was impossible due to yet another flaw in what was now turning out to be a hastily and poorly designed plan: he had expected Janet and her friend to sit by the bar, but the two women chose to sit at a table instead. The only solution was to quickly disengage himself from Summer and think of a way to join Janet and her friend.

  Janet took a long swallow of her martini. After the traumatizing weekend, she needed a drink.

  “So, let me get this straight,” Katie said after she had downed some of her whiskey sour. “You got pawed by Andrew Foley – Lisa’s sex-obsessed cousin who used to ogle you when you were teenagers?”

  “Affirmative.” Janet took another long swallow of her dirty martini and popped one of the blue cheese-stuffed olives into her mouth. “These are delicious.”

  “And then what did you do?”

  “I told him that he was a jerk and walked to my parents’ house.”

  “I meant did you tell Lisa that she’s an idiot for setting you up with him?”

  “I did tell her to stop setting me up on dates.” Janet reflected on that morning’s conversation with her boss. In all the years she had known Lisa, it was the firmest stand Janet had ever taken with her.

  “And what did she say? Did she at least apologize?”

  “In her own way,” Janet answered evasively. As annoyed as she was with Lisa, she was not in the mood for bashing her. After all, the two of them were bound by many ties. Lisa was still her boss, and Janet was going to be the maid of honor in Lisa’s wedding to Paul Bostoff.

  “And how are the wedding plans progressing?” Katie asked, as though reading Janet’s thoughts. “Has she got you running around on a twenty-four-hour itinerary, catering to her every whim?”

  “Look, Lisa can be unreasonable at times, but I’m not going to complain about the wedding. She has asked me to be her maid of honor and I agreed. Let’s leave it at that.” To indicate that this topic of conversation had been closed, Janet bit into another olive, but the sight of the dark-blond man by the bar made her choke.

  “You okay?” Katie pushed a glass of water toward Janet.

  Janet thankfully gulped the soothing liquid. “Don’t look now, but there’s a guy from work by the bar.”

  “Is he cute?” Katie whispered conspiratorially, her eyes darting to the very place where Janet told her not to look.

  “Don’t stare at him!”

  “Geez, relax, will ya? There’s a huge crowd – I don’t even know which one he is.”

  “The tall one, in a blue shirt.”

  “The James Dean look-alike with the slutty blonde?”

  “Yeah, that’s him.”

  “He’s cute,” Katie pronounced her verdict after a momentary deliberation. “What does he do?”

  “He is in IT.”

  Katie nodded approvingly. “A solid and practical profession. I’m getting sick and tired of dating lawyers. They are the most self-absorbed and narcissistic bunch of
men on the planet. Litigation lawyers are the worst – so pompous. Don’t ever date a lawyer.”

  “Oh, I think I’ve learned my lesson on that one,” Janet replied, wondering if Katie had forgotten about Alex.

  “I’m sorry, Janet. I wasn’t thinking,” Katie instantly caught on. “But back to the present. What’s the story with the cute IT guy?”

  “No story.” Janet finished the last of her drink. “We chat at work sometimes.”

  “We chat at work sometimes? Come on, Janet, it’s me you’re talking to. Do you like him or what?”

  Janet nodded. “He is kind of cute, but….”

  “But what?”

  “Dating at work could be complicated, and I don’t want to complicate things too much now,” Janet added quickly. She certainly had plenty of things to be anxious about at work without having to worry about Dean Snider.

  “’I don’t want to complicate things right now?’ Things are always complicated: that’s the nature of life. Sounds to me like someone is being a chicken.”

  “Sounds to me like someone is being overly nosy,” Janet shot back, already regretting having mentioned Dean. “Besides, he’s clearly not interested in me: as you can see, he’s got a date.”

  “A date, please! I’m sure it’s some girl he just met at the bar. Speaking of which, there’s an interesting development.” Katie’s eyes darted toward the bar again.

  Even though she knew she should not, Janet let her eyes follow the direction of Katie’s glance, and in spite of herself, she was delighted by what she saw.

  Summer was droning on, “Take my mother for example, she has been married three times, and each time she changed her last name. No wonder she has no direction in life. I mean, how could she possibly become her own person? She’s had so many last names, it’s dizzying!” Summer’s voice grew dangerously acrimonious. “You’re not really listening to me, are you?”

  “Yes, I am listening,” Dennis replied distractedly. He really could not care less about what Summer thought. He had noticed Janet and her redheaded friend glance at him surreptitiously and whisper excitedly afterwards.

  “What did I just say then?”

  “Excuse me?” Dennis nearly snorted his drink through his nostrils. This was getting perilously ridiculous.

  “You heard me. What did I just say?” Summer placed her hands on her hips.

  He tried to bring Summer’s exact words to memory, but failed – she had been babbling something about her mother… “Your mother has been married three times,” Dennis finally remembered.

  “Is that fella bothering you, sweetheart?” A middle-aged playboy squeezed his trim body next to Summer’s chair.

  “He’s doing quite the opposite; he’s ignoring me.”

  “A beautiful girl like you? How’s that possible?”

  “Yes, he is.” Summer pouted, no doubt hoping to elicit jealousy from Dennis, a ploy that under normal circumstances might have worked, but now it only provided a much-needed means of escape.

  “I’m afraid I was,” Dennis admitted. “But I’m sure a gentleman such as yourself will appreciate Summer for the entertaining conversationalist that she is. Summer, it was a pleasure meeting you.” Dennis tossed two twenties on the bar stand and, without waiting for a response from Summer, started to make his way to Janet’s table. His face had already assumed an expression of surprise at running into a coworker so unexpectedly: it was a small world indeed.

  “Looks like our Romeo has a rival.” Katie grinned.

  Janet could not resist a smile. It was amusing to watch Dean Snider being forced out by a middle-aged Burt Reynolds look-alike. Apparently Dean’s date preferred older men, and even though Janet did not have any plans for herself and Dean, she was glad to know that at least for tonight he too was single. Unless, of course, he managed to pick up another girl, which given Dean’s good looks and the fact that the night was still young was quite a viable possibility. Oh well… Janet snuck one last glance at Dean so as to wish him a mental good night, but she had not been quick enough. Their eyes locked, and his hand rose in a wave of recognition as he started to advance in the direction of their table.

  “Quick – look the other way,” Janet whispered. “He is walking over here.”

  “Oh, goody.” Katie rubbed her palms excitedly. “This is going to be fun.”

  A moment later, Dean was smiling at her with that charming smile of his, his blue eyes shining with a mischievous spark. “Janet – fancy meeting you here!”

  Janet noticed how different he looked outside of the office. He had taken his glasses off and loosened his tie – insignificant alterations, but somehow his whole demeanor channeled a sexy and mysterious vibe.

  “Dean, what a surprise!” Janet’s voice sounded much more eager than she had planned. “Do you come here often?”

  “Not really. Just stopped by for a drink after work, but I’m glad that I did.” Dean winked.

  Before Janet could think of an equally flirty remark, Katie cut in, “Your date gave you the slip, huh?”

  “You could say that.” Dean grinned, not flustered in the least. “I think she prefers older men,” he added.

  “I love a man who can be a good sport about being rejected,” Katie approved.

  Wishing Katie would be quiet, Janet made a belated introduction, “Dean, this is my friend, Katie Addison.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Katie.” Dean smiled. “May I join you ladies for a drink? I’m in need of recompense after tonight’s fiasco,” he added. However, his tone was anything but hurt – in fact, it was playful. No doubt, he was used to randomly picking up girls at bars and replacing them just as frequently.

  Janet hesitated. It was supposed to be Katie’s and her girls’ night out.

  “By all means.” Katie motioned to an empty chair. “You don’t mind, Janet, do you?”

  “No, of course not,” Janet conceded, darting an askance glance at Katie. No doubt Katie thought she was doing Janet a favor, but she would not be the one having to face Dean at work day after day. From now on, when it came to coworkers, Janet wanted to keep things purely professional.

  Dennis settled into a chair next to Janet. “Drinks are on me. What will it be?”

  “Whiskey sour for me and a dirty martini for Janet.” Katie beat Janet to the punch, nixing her plan to avoid alcohol. Dean’s proximity was inebriating enough. What with his charming smile and baby-blue eyes, Janet’s head was already swimming.

  “Excellent choice.” Dean signaled for the waitress and placed the order, adding a vodka martini with onions for himself.

  “So, Dean, it sounds like you’re a man of the world, and I was wondering if you could help Janet and me settle a little dilemma we’ve been struggling with.”

  Dean leaned in closer, propping his elbows on the table. “I don’t know about the man of the world bit, but I’ll give it my best.”

  “What’s your opinion about dating coworkers?” Katie asked innocently.

  Suppressing the urge to strangle her friend, Janet kicked Katie’s foot underneath the table.

  “Excellent question.” Dean nodded. “An issue that has been raised numerous times by various media sources, including such paragons as Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan.”

  Katie raised an eyebrow. “You read Cosmopolitan?”

  “I read all kinds of magazines,” Dean deadpanned back.

  Mercifully, the waitress arrived with their drinks, and Janet prayed that the subject of the conversation would be forgotten, but her hopes were fruitless.

  “As I was saying,” Dean continued, taking a drink of his martini, “numerous opinions have been voiced on the subject, but none of them were conclusive. My personal view is that one never knows when Destiny might knock on one’s door, so I say, if you hear your Destiny knocking, open the door,” Dean concluded with a sidelong glance at Janet.

  Really? Janet thought, could this guy get any smugger? First he invites himself over to our table and now he’s making sug
gestive innuendos. But, then, she could not very well blame him for the latter since Katie had pretty much invited Dean’s remark with her impertinent question.

  “Well said.” Katie nodded. “Don’t you agree, Janet?”

  This had done it. “I think that it’s important to look who’s at the door first, or risk opening one’s door to a burglar.”

  “Ah, but the search for love implies danger. Without risk, reward cannot be gained.” Dean grinned.

  “And on that note I’m going to leave you two.” Katie rose from her chair completely ignoring Janet’s outraged look. “I’ve got to prepare for a deposition tomorrow.”

  Deposition? Janet nearly spurted her drink through her nostrils. Katie would not know how to depose a witness to save her life. Her legal work had always been behind the scenes, but she clearly was intent on playing Cupid tonight, and there was no stopping her.

  “You’re a lawyer?” Dean asked.

  “Guilty.” Katie smiled.

  “I didn’t know you transferred into litigation, Katie.” Janet gave her friend a pointed look.

  Katie waved her hand. “It’s just happened – I’m helping out a new partner. Well, gotta run. Dean, it was a pleasure meeting you.”

  “Likewise, Katie.”

  Janet nodded silently as she watched Katie take her leave. From her behavior, one would think that Katie was an expert on dating, but as far as Janet knew, her friend’s love life situation was about as dire as her own. Speaking of which, now that she had been involuntarily set up with Dean Snider, she had to think of something to say. She could not very well just sit there like a fish.

  “So, how do you like working at Bostoff so far?” Dean asked.

  “It seems that every time you see me, you ask me this question,” Janet pointed out, immediately regretting her snippiness. The guy was just trying to make conversation. “It’s all right,” she added hurriedly. “I’m still feeling my way around things, but it’s coming along.” She smiled, thinking that she was putting up a very good front.