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CHAPTERTEN
Paris jerked to attention,willing her heart to slow. “Doug?”
“You look pale. Are you okay?”
No, she wasn’t okay. He was there. Doug must have followed her after all. But why?
Without thinking, she placed a palm on her cheek to check if she was cool or perhaps clammy.Nope. If the heat coming off her was any indication, she'd turned red. “I’m not feeling my best.”
Just then, Shirley came over with Paris’ tea and bagel. “This should settle your stomach.”
No one could have said anything better. “Thanks.”
Shirley faced Doug. “Are you staying?”
So much for Shirley being her savior.
“I don’t mind if I do. I’ll just have a coffee. Black.” Without asking if Paris minded, he slid into the booth across from her.
Just what she didn’t need. “Just so you know, my boyfriend is on his way here. He promised to make sure I take care of myself.”
“No problem. I won’t stay long. Look, I’m sorry I didn’t give you a heads up about Dr. Delancey.” He didn't lose a beat after her announcement about her mythical boyfriend.Interesting.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I didn’t mean for the boss to drag you into his office, but we’ve been worried about theft.”
Had Delancey reported back to Doug about what they’d spoken about? Doug’s eyebrows rose, implying he expected an answer. “Are you talking employee theft or something else?” Workers taking things seemed unlikely considering the discrepancies had been quite large.
“We’re thinking maybe some of the workers are selling our stuff on the black market.”
She hadn’t considered that. The fact remained that cocaine was being distributed in this area, and someone needed to stop that. “How can I help?”
Paris was proud of the way she leaned forward and acted sincere. She didn’t have any proof that Doug was complicit in any illegal activity, but he often seemed a bit too evasive when she’d questioned him in the past.
“Just keep checking the inventory and let me know if you notice anything odd.”
Shirley came over with his coffee, set it down, and walked away. She must have been able to tell their conversation was serious.
“Sure. No problem, but I thought you said it was just a clerical error?”
He sipped his steaming drink. “I didn’t want to believe there could be theft, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized you might have been right all along.”
“I hope that’s not true.” Paris wasn’t sure what else to say.
Since the bagel with cream cheese looked so good, she took a bite and then washed it down with her tea. Just then the door opened, and her senses shot to high alert. From the way, Doug stiffened, he’d sensed the shifters too.
Paris looked up and smiled. She’d told Doug she was meeting her boyfriend, so she needed to act like it. When they made it to her booth, Paris reached up and placed a hand on Rider’s arm. “Hey, hon.”
As if she’d just used telepathy, Rider leaned over and kissed her. “Are you okay?”
“I am now.” However, the wicked lust rushing through her veins was not welcome. Okay, it was a little, but just not right now.
Rider straightened, and Grayson stepped slightly behind Doug. If looks could kill, Doug would be dead.
He quickly sipped his coffee, pulled out some money, and tossed it on the table. “Keep your eyes peeled.”
He slipped out of the booth before she had a chance to introduce them, and like the two alpha males that they were, Doug returned Rider's stare before heading off. As soon as he was gone, both Grayson and Rider slid into the booth across from her.
