Stockings and Suspenders (4 page)

 “No,” I said. “I made an extra copy
in case of any problems. I will bring it immediately.”

 I smiled what had to be an evil
grin. I knew if Dravin did not get his packet it was because Charlotte did not want him to have one. She had removed the packet out of his box this
morning, I was sure. She wanted a reason to make me look bad. A reason for
possible termination, however, she would not be able to follow through with her
wickedness. Charlotte was a devious shrew, I’d give her that. She had
never liked me, and after last night at The Fireside Grill, maybe I knew why.

 I picked up the packet from my desk,
ran my hand through my hair then sauntered with confidence into the boardroom.
And today I may add, I looked like a hundred bucks. My hair was under control
and fell in waves around my face and neck. The dress I wore had been pressed
and was spotless. I had taken my time this morning, make-up done to perfection,
and nary a snag in my nude silk stockings to be found.

 Once I entered in through the
boardroom doors, Charlotte looked at me as if she wanted to light me on fire. I
wondered when she last attempted to burn someone at the stake, but I smiled at
her.

 Seated at the long black walnut table
was the entire group. Beside her sat Clay Smith, Dexter Cline, and the man
who wanted to bed me,
among other things
… Dravin Hall. Dravin set
free his ear to ear smile when I placed the packet down on the table in front
of him.

 “Will you require anything else?” I
asked.

 “Yes,” he said just as Charlotte said, “No.”

 Charlotte whirled to look at him. Her
face a frozen mask of horror. Dravin’s aqua blue gaze stilled upon my face,
however.

 “Ms. Hale,” he crooned, “I would like
to speak with you after the meeting. I realize we are closing early today
for the Christmas holiday, however, could you stay? Meet with me at my office,
let’s say noon?”

 I masked a full on grin, nodded, and
gave my best imitation of a business-like calm demeanor. I was positive I would
get my stocking stuffed. In fact, if I had my way, Dravin Hall would be my gift
for 365 days a year.

 “Sure, Mr. Hall.”

 “Oh, and thank you for the proposal,
Ms. Hale,” he said as he picked up the packet.

 I smiled. “Thank you for accepting
it.”

The End

www.londonsaintjames.com

Other Books
by London Saint James:

Master of
Mine

Midnight
Seduction

Enchanted

Requiem

Revelation

CHASING MISS KRINGLE

C.R. Moss

Copyright © 2011

Chapter One

Thanksgiving
Eve – Late Afternoon

“You’re the only one left, Jack.”

Victor’s request had to be some kind
of joke. Yet the rigid set of his wide shoulders and straight face told me
otherwise. Disbelieving what I’d just heard, I continued to stare at my PI
partner and friend. What did Vic mean he wanted me to track down an elf? There
were serious cases to work on, like helping my buddies in Metro track down a
couple of high end thieves.

Suicides and thefts. The holiday
season. What a great time of year.

“I’m not in the mood to be toyed with,
Vic. So, let me get this straight,” I stated with more calm than I felt. Being
side-tracked from important matters was a pet peeve of mine. “You want me to
find a little dude in a pointy green felt hat and long red curly shoes with
bells on the tips? Do I have to remind you I’m an ex-cop? That you hired me to
catch bad guys and help find the missing? I work with you here at LVH-PI. Not
with them.”

I jerked my thumb toward a tan colored
wall littered with stenciling. The design and colors reminded me of the Native
American beaded belts people sold at roadside stands. Vic’s wife, Malory,
worked in the adjoining office. She loved her southwestern motifs, each room
decorated to represent Arizona and New Mexico. Knickknacks and other items of
the same colors dominated all our offices. The décor had too many colors and
crazy patterns, made my head swim, but clients were comfortable when they came
in due to the warm, earthy colors. And in our line of work, people needed to be
put at ease and into a state of trust.

Malory loved what she did for a
living. An ex-showgirl, who still had the body and beauty of a dancer, worked with
her PI team, comprised of mostly women, in the office suites next door. There
were a lot of girls against boys competitiveness in our outfit. The
boys
’
part of the business, headed up by Vic, was Las Vegas Hunters Private
Investigating Services, real cops and robbers, cloak and dagger stuff.

Lory’s side… Las Vegas Hunters
Paranormal Investigating Services.

Being a skeptic, it amazed me how many
people were believers in the paranormal. Even Vic was on the fence regarding
whether or not what his wife’s team sought out was real. But love had a way of
making a man concede to things he wouldn’t otherwise. I was just glad I didn’t
have to worry about stuff like that in my own life.

The paranormal, love, holiday cheer…
all bunk in my book. Great myths people fought hard to believe in and bring to
life only to be disappointed in the end.

Vic sighed and ran a hand over his
tired face, then held up a fist, sticking out his pinky. “One, we don’t know if
it’s a little dude or not,” he said, his Brooklyn accent growing more
pronounced. A sign he was on the verge of complete fatigue. The wrinkles
fanning out from the corners of his eyes and pointing to his inky black hair
seemed like deep canyons. We’d been spending too many late hours on cases
lately. “Reports on the phenomenon are sketchy. Some have seen a child. Others
say angel. Most don’t remember who they saw, just that there was something bad
going on, and after a bright flash of light, things were better. All claimed
something magical happened, and in the spirit of the season, said it was like
they were visited by Santa or one of his helpers. I say elf since it’s short,
sweet and covers it all.” He released his index finger, creating the devil
horns hand gesture. “Two, no, you don’t have to remind me what you once did. I
told Lory you wouldn’t be happy with her request, but her department is
desperate. She’s desperate. All the cases that came in over Halloween are still
outstanding and they really need our help.”

“You mean my help,” the words slipped
out on a huff of breath. I couldn’t help it. There was no way I wanted to be
saddled with a silly gig when there were a couple of well-paid bounties on the
roster that I could chase after.

“Yeah, your help. I’d assist, but
there’re the kids and in-laws and…” Vic dropped the horns and waved his hand in
the air. “You know how Lory gets around the holidays. Don’t be surprised to see
a tree and garland in your office soon. Oh, and she still expects you over to
the house tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. She also wants you over for
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.”

Family dinner…children…stories and
reminiscing… I opened my mouth ready to protest about my things to do, places
to go, people to see list.

Vic held up a hand to stop me from
speaking. “Please don’t say no. You know her persistence is legendary. She’ll
go on and on about how you shouldn’t be alone. I don’t think I can take her
harping on the subject anymore.”

“But I like being alone. It goes with
being a confirmed bachelor.”

“I know that. You know that, but Lory
is determined to have you settle down. She thinks being around our family will
give you the bug to find someone and have a family of your own.”

“Sure, right, cause your kids and
family are heading toward sainthood.”

Vic tossed back his head with a hearty
guffaw, and I joined in on the chuckle. We both understood his family wasn’t
the best example of the perfect, happy home. The Cleavers they weren’t, that’s
for sure. Three rambunctious children, a nine year old girl and two boys at six
and two, they had their hands full. Add in the grandparents staying at the
house for the holidays and all sorts of family dynamics came into play,
dysfunctions reared their ugly head.

Thoughts of family bickering sent a
cold shiver down my back, brought back memories of my time on the force. Family
fights weren’t fun to handle. They were precarious situations especially when
firearms were involved.

Cold winter night… Weapons… Gunshots…
I pushed the memories of the last domestic disturbance call I had responded to
from my mind.

“My children are perfect angels, thank
you very much,” a woman’s voice followed by a laugh sounded from the doorway.
“You know, Jack, my friends and I find you an enlightening topic of
conversation.”

I looked over my shoulder. Vic’s
long-legged, blonde-haired wife leaned against the doorjamb, a smile lingering
on her face. Vic was one lucky SOB catching that hot California babe. Raising
an eyebrow, I slung my arm on top of the chair’s back. “Is that so?”

“We’re all of the same mind that with
your dark good looks and slamming tall-drink-of-water runner’s body you should
be able to find someone.”

“I find women all the time.” I glanced
at Vic and winked. “Another perk of being a bachelor.”

Malory tsked. “You’re incorrigible.
What about that woman you were dating? What happened to her?”

“It didn’t work out.” The statement
was curt, almost harsh sounding, but it was a topic of conversation I didn’t
want to cover. Not working out was an understatement. The woman had been so
clingy and desperate for love it drove me crazy and made me more surly than
normal. Unfortunately, my blunt I-don’t-want-to-talk-about-it tone was lost on
her.

“What about anyone in your apartment
complex or at the gym? I’m sure when you’re running on that treadmill for hours
at a time training for your races you see a lot of ladies come through.”

A shrug was all I answered with. My
sex life shouldn’t be a concern of hers or anyone else’s. After thirty plus
years of living, over a decade of those years with Metro, I understood I had a
problem with commitment. Maybe if the right woman came along though.

She’d have to be the right gal for me,
the perfect feminine complement to my masculine. Someone who could bring light
to the dark corners of my mind, chase away the scattered nightmarish memories
and dreams I had on a regular basis. A tall order no doubt.

If she looked like the woman I saw the
other day, at the gym in fact, that’d be a great bonus. Calling her a Goddess
didn’t do the beauty justice. Some might call her amazonish, but not me. Tall,
toned, curvaceous women, and red-headed to boot, turned me on. A woman at the
gym’s front desk had called the auburn-haired, athletic wonder Kristina. Pretty
name. That chick was someone I wouldn’t mind seeing again and getting to know.
Hell, my cock tightened at the mere thought of delving it into her hot core,
feeling her legs wrap around me, diving my hands into her thick mane. I decided
the next time I saw her I’d ask her out. What could it hurt? It would get Lory
off my back which would be great. Hopefully, Kristina wasn’t one of those
tourists taking advantage of the
free week
specials the gym constantly
had advertised.

“Okay.” Lory tutted again. “Play Mr.
Mysterious. Be the strong, silent type. But you’re a nice guy even if you come
off gruff and rough around the edges. I’ve seen it when you’ve paid attention
to little Allie at our house. She’s a good judge of character, and she adores
you. Plus, I’ll have you know, if you don’t find somebody soon, then I’ll have
to start playing matchmaker. I’ll find the woman who will melt that icy heart
of yours.”

My gaze swung around to Vic. “She
wouldn’t.”

“She would.” With a shrug, Vic pushed
the case folder named
Elf
toward me. “Here’s the intel so far. Take it.
Read it over. If you have any questions, defer to Yente.” He jutted his chin in
his wife’s direction.

“Ha, ha.” She shook her head but kept
a grin on her face. Her golden brown-eyed gaze caught mine. “Jack, I’m glad
you’re going to help me out. In a week or so, my load and Trish’s will be
lightened. We’ll be able to help you out if you haven’t solved the case by
then.”

A week, I thought. I could postpone
starting on the case for a few days, and then by the time she was ready for it,
I could just hand it back without having to subject myself to any weirdness. I
picked up the folder, tipped it to my forehead then toward her. “No problem.”

Chapter Two

Thanksgiving
Day – Early Morning

Five-thirty AM rolled around fast. As
I stood in line at the registration table for the race, my heart beat in a
quick pace. Seemed that no matter how many races I had under my belt, I always
had a case of nerves right before the starting gun fired.