Page 111 of Playing My Rivals

I glance at Jamison. “Let’s meet in an hour.”

“An hour it is.” He moves to sit quicker than I like.

Something about his actions speaks of urgency. Whatever they’re talking about is important to him.

This fucking guy is going to be the death of me.

I get to the restaurant before him on purpose. I need to organize the place for my assault. If he thinks I’m going to take it easy on him, he doesn’t know me very well.

As I was thinking about Dorothy’s brother being an FBI agent and Jamison being his best friend, a thought came to mind. More like a game I’d like to play with Jamison.

I’m going to use him for target practice until the final bullet comes so close to his heart that he’ll be on the edge of death. Then I’ll leave him to his slow, agonizing demise.

I mentally count the chambers of the gun to make sure it’s ready to fire when needed. Each iron slug is accounted for, so let the hunting begin.

Oh, what fun this will be.

My prey is right on time. He brushes by the hostess as if she isn’t there. The urgency I sensed earlier now emanates from him.

Something has him hanging by a thread. I consider it to my advantage, but sometimes spooked animals run away before the shot is taken.

Jamison pulls out the chair across from me and takes a seat. “Hunter, this needs to be brief. I have some important things to take care of.”

“I thought Dorothy was important to you.” I pose it as a question.

He releases a frustrated sigh. “She is but?—”

“Good. Now that we have that squared away, let’s talk about how we move forward from all this.” The bourbon swirls in my glass as I get ready to watch my adversary squirm. “How was your conversation with Dorothy?”

“None of your business. Look, I know we agreed to keep it clean, so can we get on with it? The longer we sit together, the more likely things will come to blows. You know it and so do I.” He runs his hand down the side of his face, glancing toward the door.

Something has him tightly wound and eager to get out of here.

“We did promise to keep it clean. Let’s show her the respect she deserves and take it seriously. We’ll do as we agreed and have a discussion over dinner.”

“I don’t have time for this. Let’s get on with it.”

“What will Dorothy say when she finds out you had no intention of having an actual conversation with me to discuss our issues? I thought we could come to a mutual agreement, but it appears you disagree.” I cock my head to the side and challenge him.

He fakes a laugh. “You have no intention?—”

“Good evening. How are you tonight?” the server asks.

I enjoy a couple of sips from my drink as she engages with us. She takes Jamison’s drink order and gives us more time to look over the menu.

Jamison glances at his watch, then at me. “You can have an hour tops.”

“An hour it is. Let’s take a look at the menu, shall we? We wouldn’t want to hold up our dinner.” I pick up my menu and browse through the pages.

Jamison takes the cue and does the same. The server returns and takes her time reviewing the specials in great detail. She gives us a minute to decide and then finally brings him his drink.

“Here you are.” She places it down but accidentally knocks it over when raising her hand. “Oh no. Let me get you another one. It’s on me.”

She smiles and runs away to fetch him a new one.

“She’s a little clumsy, but at least you get a free drink.”

He glares. “Sure. Let’s focus on the topic. You mentioned moving forward with a mutual agreement. What do you have in mind?”

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