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Jane was a little surprised as well. The bills not only covered the check, which was far more than she’d ever be able to afford for a meal, though far less than she’d seen paid in Arturo’s, but it would be the largest tip she had ever earned. About to slide the money into the register, she saw something slip out and fall to the floor. Bending, she picked it up. She’d been right. She had seen a black card… but it was not a black American Express card.
“What is that?” Sarah asked, leaning forward as if to see better.
“I don’t know,” Jane admitted, her fingertip sliding across the front of the card. It was the size of a credit card and almost as stiff as plastic. And yet, those were the only similarities. Instead of a customer’s name, only one word was written in a beautiful script across the face. Frowning a bit, she noticed that an address of a website ran in block print across the bottom of the card. It still made no sense to her, but she felt a tingle run through her as she looked down at the pink script.Favored. What did that mean?
“Jane, hurry up. I’d like to get home,” another server in line called.
“Oh, sorry, Karen,” she said, sliding the card into her pocket. Finishing her transaction, she moved away only to barely miss bumping into her boss. “Sorry,” she muttered again.
“I just wanted to commend you, Miss Knight. Mr. Masterson made it a point to inform me that your service was exemplary this evening.”
“He did?”
Mr. Arturo smiled. “Yes, Miss Knight, he did. Keep up the good work.”
“I will. Thank you, sir.”
“You’re welcome.” As he walked away, Jane wondered how addressing her boss as sir gave her absolutely no tingling feeling, no sense of expectation or excitement. But addressing a man she’d just met with the same word had caused her entire body to thrum.
“You about ready to go?” Sarah asked. Though the restaurant didn’t close for another half-hour, neither of them had an occupied table.
“Sure, let’s see if there’s anything left to eat.” Mr. Arturo might like to give off the vibe of being a hard ass, and he was when it came to demanding the very best of his employees. But, he was also a nice man. Besides donating generously to various food banks in the area, he also allowed his employees to take home food that had not been served, rather than to have it thrown away. The two women thanked the chef as they accepted the bag containing lasagna, salad, and breadsticks.
“Wait up,” Brian called. “Here, dessert is on me tonight.”
“Thanks, you’re a doll!” Sarah said, accepting another container, this time showing her appreciation in a far more personal way by giving his cheek a kiss. Peeking inside, she said, “Yum, I love cheesecake.”
Though it wasn’t Jane’s favorite, she discovered she was rather glad there was no slice of chocolate cake inside. She doubted that if there had been she would have been able to enjoy it anywhere near as much as she had that one single bite that Mr. Masterson had fed her himself. Sliding her hand into her pocket, she fingered the card. The first chance she had, she’d be logging on to the website to see why this card had been left for her.
* * *
“Damn it! Why give me a card when I can’t access the freaking website!” Staring at the laptop’s screen, she erased the address she’d typed in and tried again. The same result came up. The only thing that appeared was a black screen with the same pink script and the same word, Favored. Below it was a box where she supposed some sort of access code was to be entered. Screw that, she had no idea what to even try.
Sighing, she leaned back against the stack of pillows she’d piled up against her headboard and closed her eyes. Somehow she knew that she was meant to figure this out. She had not given exemplary service, not from the way she’d stumbled over her words and acted like she’d never waitressed before, but still, he hadn’t seemed like the type of person who would pull some sort of joke in retribution. No, he seemed like the sort of man who would… Jane could feel her heart beat a bit faster and her tummy flutter as her thoughts took her to a place she’d been avoiding ever since he’d given her a look of disapproval when she’d dropped the f-bomb.
He might not be one to pull a prank, but she had no doubt that he was a man who wouldn’t hesitate to punish a naughty girl. Naughty girl?Where did that come from? I’m not a girl, I’m a grown woman. Yeah, a grown woman who spends far too many hours reading those books on my Kindle and fantasizing about being one of those characters, one of those sassy girls who finds the man of her dreams… a big, strong, stern man who swears to love and protect her. She squirmed a bit as a scene from the latest book she’d read flashed across her mind’s eye. A man who gives a shake of his head, sends his girl the ‘look,’ and then informs her that she’d be going to bed with a very hot bottom.
Good grief, she needed to get a grip! Those characters weren’t real and those scenes were fiction. Life was not an erotic fairytale! Instead of letting her imagination run wild, she needed to try to find the freaking access code!
She forced her mind back to the problem at hand. Okay, if it wasn’t a joke, what was it? Some sort of puzzle… a test? And if so, what was she missing? Her thoughts ran back across the evening, and her body instantly reacted when she remembered how his fingers had brushed her hair back. Her nipples tightened and she felt her panties becoming a bit damp. Damn, she’d only just changed into clean ones after her shower. What would it feel like to have his fingers touching her body, thumbing her nipples, sinking into her slick… Whoa! Snapping her eyes open, she sat up. That path would not have her solving the puzzle.
Picking up the card, she stroked it, the embossed lettering seemingly giving weight to the word… like it was important. That the person owning the card was somehow special. Her eyes widened. Could it be that simple? Moving her mouse, she clicked it on the box. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment before she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and typed in Mr. Masterson. No new screen opened when she hit enter. Okay, maybe it wasn’t so formal. Typing in the name Sawyer Masterson had her holding her breath and then exhaling loudly when absolutely nothing happened. Crap. Didn’t websites lock someone out when too many incorrect attempts to enter were made?
Come on, think. Why would he leave the card for me unless he wanted me to access this site? She chewed on her lip for a moment and then smiled as she considered the thought she’d just had. Who was holding the card? She was. Entering her name, she gave a squeal of victory when the screen slowly began to change, only to groan when another text box appeared.
Leaning forward, she read the words on the screen.
Welcome, Jane. You are favored. Please enter the password given to you by the one who has chosen you.
“Welcome, my ass,” Jane muttered. “Whatever happened to a simple, ‘I’d like your number so I can call you’? This is all a bit too Mission Impossible if you ask me.”
“What are you mumbling about?” Sarah suddenly asked, dropping onto the bed next to her. Jane slammed the lid of her laptop closed, shocked that she hadn’t been aware of her roommate entering.
“Nothing.”
“Liar, liar, pants on fire,” Sarah said. “Anybody who closes a computer that fast is definitely looking at things she shouldn’t be.” She nudged Jane aside in order to sit right next to her, sharing the mound of pillows. Handing her a fork, Sarah held out the plate that contained the slice of cheesecake.
Jane put a bite on her fork, wishing it was being offered to her by Master… MasterSON!
