Read Online Inked in the Steel City Series by Ranae Rose - Free Book Online Page B

direction Ashley had gone.
     
    Mina silently agreed. A part of her would have liked to knock Ashley down in retaliation, but she didn’t dare. Unlike that spoiled brat, she needed her job. It was hard enough making ends meet on her teller’s pay as it was – unemployment was not an option. Besides, she was in the running for the junior loan officer position that had opened up a few weeks ago. If she got the job, she’d have her own Ashley-free cubicle, not to mention a pay increase. The possibility of promotion had been in the back of her mind ever since she’d submitted her application, though she tried not to think about it too much. If she got her hopes up any higher she’d end up hating her current job if she didn’t get the position. Suppressing a sigh, she attended to the customer who’d arrived and watched the whole spectacle with a look of surprise pasted across his face. She quickly cashed his check and gave it to him in the requested small bills.
     
    “Are you still being considered for that junior loan officer position?” Amy asked after the man left.
     
    Mina nodded. “As far as I know.”
     
    Amy frowned. “So I guess you’re not interested in helping me kidnap Ashley, drive her to the nearest body of water and toss her in?”
     
    Mina snorted. “I’m afraid not. Not that the idea doesn’t have a certain appeal…”
     
    Amy laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be out of here and in your own cubicle soon enough.”
     
    It was a mark of how miserable Ashley had made their jobs that they fantasized about a cubicle. “Why,” Mina asked, “did Chris say anything about the job?”
     
    Amy shook her head. “No, but you’re the best teller we have and he said he’d prefer to hire a current employee instead of an outside candidate.”
     
    The doors swung open, admitting several customers at once.
     
    “I hope you’re right.”
     

Chapter 5
     
     
     
    Mina had cooked dinner for Jess before leaving the apartment, and Karen had volunteered to stay there with Jess for the evening. So there was no reason why Mina shouldn’t relax and enjoy her time with Eric – or at least, there wouldn’t have been if she’d already made her confession. But she hadn’t, which meant that Eric still didn’t know that she was a fourteen year old girl’s sole legal guardian. He didn’t even know what she did for a living. He didn’t know her.
     
    But they’d kissed. Mina’s mind kept reminding her of that, as if it meant anything. A kiss didn’t mean much more than a handshake to most women her age nowadays, did it? Well, maybe a little more, but few people gave it the significance that her heart was trying to assign to it. She tried not to think of the feel of Eric’s lips against hers as she settled into her seat at the cozy restaurant table. “This place seems nice.” Eric had picked her up at her apartment at seven as he’d promised and taken her to a Mexican restaurant known for their specialty fajitas. She loved Mexican food, but couldn’t seem to muster up much of an appetite as the hostess handed her a menu.
     
    “It’s a favorite of mine,” he said as he took a seat. “The fajitas really are amazing.”
     
    She managed a smile as a waiter hurried by their table, the platter he carried sizzling and exuding a surprisingly tempting aroma. “Mexican food is actually my favorite, too.”
     
    “Yeah.” He smiled ruefully. “Karen called to let me know that.”
     
    Mina sighed. “Maybe I should be surprised, but I’m not.”
     
    He laughed. “Neither am I. I got the feeling that she was trying to push us together the other night at Ruby’s.”
     
    “You have no idea,” Mina said, thinking back to the heated conversation she and Karen had shared that afternoon in the restaurant’s bathroom. “But anyway, I appreciate how nice you were to Jess. I know she can be chatty.”
     
    He shrugged, revealing a hint of a smile. “She’s quiet as a mouse compared to