Read Online Steal: A Bad Boy Romance by D.G. Whiskey - Free Book Online Page B

people—it was always a good idea to
make sure it never bit me in the ass.
    A
man in a black suit striding up the hill caught my eye. He walked with a
purpose, and although he didn’t openly display any identification, his demeanor screamed FBI.
    Agent Clark.
    My
lip curled at the sight of the man’s mustache . What
were the odds that the agent assigned to catch me would be walking down the
same street at the same time?
    Thankfully,
he wasn’t expecting to see his quarry on the street in the middle of the day. I
used my phone as an excuse to duck my head, knowing that any sudden changes in
direction or attitude would tip off the agent that something wasn’t right.
    We
passed each other with no incident, and I resisted the urge to look back to
make sure he’d kept walking. Breathing didn’t come easy until after I turned
onto Market and lost myself in the greater pedestrian traffic there.
    That was close. What the hell is
he doing in San Francisco? I thought I’d left him back in New York.
    I
would have to be more careful in the city from now on.
    Kat’s
office wasn’t far from the condo building, and the Mexican joint she’d
suggested for lunch lay in between. I timed my arrival to line up with the
precise moment the clock struck noon.
    Kat
waited in the entrance of the restaurant with her phone out. She looked from it
to me with a wide grin. “Right on the dot again, Mr. Marine. How do you do
that?”
    “Magic.
It’s the only explanation.”
    Her
face lit up with a genuine laugh. The sight of her breathed fresh air into my
lungs, as if I wasn’t a complete person outside of her presence.
    “It
sure seems like magic. Let’s sit down.”
    The
restaurant was decorated like a typical white-owned Mexican venue. Stereotypes
abounded everywhere, from the oversized sombreros hanging off every surface to
the mariachi music in the background. Hopefully the food would be better.
    “Vegan,
huh?”
    Kat
shrugged. “I’m not a vegan, but I’ve been trying to eat less meat. Help out the
environment, you know? I have a few friends who swear by this place and I’ve
been meaning to try it out.”
    The
menu looked… interesting.
    “Cashew
cheese? That’s different.”
    Kat
chuckled. “I might avoid that one. These faux pulled pork tacos sound fantastic
though.”
    “Faux
pulled pork?” I flipped through the menu. “Huh. Jackfruit. They’re creative,
I’ll give the vegans that.”
    We
picked through the menu, joking and laughing about the substitutions we found
before settling on orders.
    “How
has it been at work this week? Has your boss made any moves on you?” I asked
casually, but the core of my being strained forward to hear the reply.
    “Not
yet. I haven’t even seen him since then. I’ve been doing everything I can to
avoid him, and he’s been out of the office a lot which has helped. Otherwise,
it’s been… okay. Still not sure how I can salvage the situation. It might be
time to start looking for other work now, so I can just leave on my own terms.”
    Muscles
I hadn’t even known were clenched relaxed. “It’s still early. The quarter just
started. If you ramp up a new strategy over the next month, you still have two
months to sign new clients and meet your targets, right?”
    She
bit her nail. Kat had developed that habit back when we were younger and it
must have stuck with her all this time. I had to strain to not see fifteen year
old her sitting across from me.
    “That’s
true. I have time to work with. The problem is that I don’t have any great
ideas for anything that will make a huge difference. I have to show the entire
country what ARCANE is and why it’s something they need.”
    I
nodded. “That’s a tall order.”
    “It
is.”
    “Have
you looked into the charity thing, yet?”
    She
winced. “I did. My friend pointed out they couldn’t justify spending the money
on our services when what they have already works fairly well. It would
probably be the same story for most of the