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“I don’t see how. I’ve been a guest at your house.”
“Uninvited,” he pointed out.
“Invited,” she argued. “You picked me up and took me home. And whether or not you can admit it, you like me okay. I don’t mean in a weird way. I’m not picking that up from you. But you find me interesting.”
“Finding someone interesting is a far cry from actually liking them.”
“Now, you’re just being argumentative.”
“Leave your backpack in the car. Try to look . . . professional,” he said, though it was a joke.
“I’ll lock it in the trunk.”
He nodded and they got out of the car using opposite doors and met at the trunk. Rex unlocked it with his remote and Ravinia dropped the backpack inside, looking surprisingly tense after he slammed it shut.
“That’s everything I own,” she explained.
“I’m not going to keep it from you.”
She nodded slowly, accepting that. Despite their age difference, sometimes she seemed vast eons older than he was, which he found slightly annoying. He pulled on the front door handle of the insurance agency, only to realize it was still a minute before nine and hadn’t opened yet.
They waited outside in silence. Rex honestly didn’t know what to do with her. The hell of it was, she wasn’t completely wrong. For all the aggravation she gave him, he enjoyed her company . . . somewhat.
A rattle of keys came from the other side and the shade went up on one-half of the glass doors. They could peer inside to see a woman opening up for the day.
“Good morning,” she said, holding open one door before lifting the blinds on the other one. She wore black boots and a red knit dress with a wide black belt, and her hair was held back by a thin black headband. She was chic and trendy, maybe a little overdressed for office work, but her clothes were a far cry from Ravinia’s garb.
Ravinia didn’t miss that. Her gaze raked the other girl from head to toe.
“I called and left a message. I’m Joel Kingston, here to see the owner.” He gave her a smile.
“I’m sorry. Beth’s not here yet.”
“Beth Harper?” he confirmed.
“Yes.”
“We’ll wait,” Ravinia said, plopping down in one of the two chairs in the waiting area.
The girl looked conflicted. “I’m . . . not really sure Beth’s coming in this morning. Today’s her husband’s birthday.”
Rex said, “Oh. So . . . you think she’ll be in tomorrow?”
“Maybe. Maybe even today. I don’t know. I’d have to check.” The woman pressed her lips together and spoke quickly, as if the faster she said it, the less of a betrayal it might be. “Her husband passed away about a year ago, and it’s a ritual, you know?” She said it as if she thought the idea was a little crazy. “She could be on her way. I just don’t know if I can call . . .”
“This is a business, isn’t it?” Ravinia stated flatly.
Rex quickly overrode her. “I could leave a card.”
The girl nodded, but Ravinia looked at him as if he were nuts. “I’m not leaving,” she told him.
“We’ll work it out,” he told the girl, handing her a card from his wallet. From the vantage of his height, he could see over the large room, which was divided by a number of cubicles, half of them populated by heads, some with headsets on, others just bent to some task. The puck-puck-puck sound of computer keys could be heard, and somewhere a cell phone began to ring. It was cut off quickly, probably snatched up by one of those with a bent head.
“I’ll try calling her,” the girl relented.
“Thank you.” If Rex could’ve, he would’ve clapped his hand over Ravinia’s mouth. She might be good at surveillance, but the fine art of wheedling information from people clearly escaped her.
“Would you like coffee or water while you wait?” the girl asked as she moved away.
