This wasn't supposed to happen Jason thought to himself. It was just an easy job. Get what he needed then leave, but it wasn't working out that way. All the work, all the plans, and all the hours spent in surveillance of the place would be lost if he didn't get his act together. He ran his fingers through his thick black hair. She wasn't even his type. Then why was he so attracted to her? She was on his mind constantly and that wasn't good. Someone could get hurt and it might be her.
He couldn't remember a time before her. There had been other women. Plenty of them, but they weren't like her. Women who would throw themselves at him. Clamor to be in his bed. He had his pick, any number of them and sometimes more than one. Now that seemed like a distant memory. This one struck a nerve in him. She was in his head as well as his pants. He got a hard on every time he saw her and he had never wanted to make love to a woman more than he did her. Damn! He sounded like one of those perverted stalkers you hear about on the news or some made up detective show on TV. He was better than that he told himself as he watched the Price International Import Emporium from the protective cover of the van that held his surveillance equipment. For the last month, he had staked out the business sometimes in the van or sometimes as a passerby pretending to be waiting for a bus on the street corner. Once he even entered the emporium pretending to be lost and looking for directions just to see what the place was like. That's where he got a close look at her. There she sat at a desk hair pinned back at the base of her neck dressed in a navy blue suit, white pearls, tall heels, and comfortable in her own skin looking professional and demur at the same time. He tried not to stare, but there was something that drew him to her. He had left that day wanting her even more.
The reason for the surveillance was that there were rumors of drug trafficking worth millions being laundered through the business and it was Jason's job to get that proof. The only problem was the woman who entered the building at 8am and left at 5pm Monday through Friday was in the way. One afternoon just before the sun went down he was across the street leaning against the pole of a street light smoking a cigarette. The weather had turned cool so he pulled his coat about him to keep the chill from going through him. It didn't help much then lost all thoughts of the weather when he saw her. She opened the door to the emporium and closed it tightly behind her. She had long dark chestnut colored hair that was swept away from her face by the breeze and cascaded over her shoulders not like the girls on the upside of town that straightened their hair or turned it six different colors just to get attention. Hers was soft and natural. The kind of hair he wanted to run his hands through. She had a face that needed little makeup and deep set brown eyes that he could get lost in and full lips that needed to be kissed, but only by him. She wasn't reed thin, but had a fullness to her figure where a man could lose himself in exploring every inch of her body. She wore a red overcoat that was cinched at the waist with an open collar and fell just below her knees showing her legs that were long and slender with her calves tight and firm from the tall black heels that she wore on her feet.
Jason couldn't help but watch her as she began to walk down the sidewalk as was her usual manner, except this time she waited at the cross walk for the light to turn, stepped off the curb and crossed the street to where he was standing. She was no more than three feet from him when she stepped up onto the curb and stopped. He could smell her perfume in the air. It was light, but spicy just the way he liked it as if she had worn it just for him. She smiled at him and he knew she had him.
"Hi," she said warmly. "It's a little chilly tonight."
"Yea, the weather's turning," he managed to say.
She eyed him carefully, "Haven't I seen you before?"
Jason dropped the cigarette he had been smoking onto the pavement and stubbed it out with the heel of his shoe.
"I could swear I know you," she continued.
Jason scrambled for an answer, "I stopped in to your place to ask for directions. I was looking for an old friend. I had just got into town and didn't know exactly where he lived."
"Oh," she said. "Did you find your friend?"
"Yea," Jason lied. "It worked out well. I'm actually staying with him."
She smiled at him again, "That's good."
It was now or never. He knew it was wrong and he would probably regret it, but he had to make a move.
"My name is Jason and I know we've just met and you have every right to turn me down, but can I buy you a drink? That's of course, if you don't have other plans."
"Well Jason," she began eyeing him carefully. He was a very attractive man, well-mannered and intelligent. Those attributes alone in her world were hard to find. "My name is Christy and I don't drink, but you could buy me a cup of coffee at the diner just around the corner," she said easily.
"Maybe a bite to eat as well?" he pushed.
"We'll see how much I like the coffee," she smiled at him.
Jason chuckled, "Fair enough."
They turned and walked towards the Brick Oven diner where Jason opened the door for Christy to enter. They found a corner booth and were immediately asked what they wanted from a heavy set waitress in a blue uniform with the name tag, "Annie" written on it.
"Two coffees," Jason replied to her question of what they would have.
"Cream?" she asked.
"Yes," he answered.
Christy removed her coat and laid it across the bench seat near the wall. Her two piece suit was a deep pink and when she leaned forward to look at the menu, he could see the crevice that was her cleavage inviting him to come closer. His mouth watered with desire as his eyes strained to see how deep it went. She was toying with him. He knew it.
"You know I think I am a little hungry," Christy said. "I think I'll have the blue plate special."
Jason pulled himself together long enough to scan the menu and order the same when the waitress delivered their coffee then watched Christy's delicate hands stir the cream into it until it was a golden brown. She brought the cup to her lips where she took a sip as if it were a fine wine and sighed as the warm of the brew slid down her throat.
"Mmmm it tastes good," she commented.
Jason cleared his throat and focused on his own cup of coffee adding cream and sugar to suit his taste. He took a gulp of it giving him the few moments he needed to clear his mind.
"So what type of work do you do?" Christy asked.
"Investments," he blurted out without thinking. It was his usual pick up line.
"Investing in what?" she asked.
"A lot of things," he gave her an impish grin.
"Oh," she said. "So that's how it is."
"Don't get me wrong. It's legitimate."
