Page 53 of Indiscretion

The two men had a staring contest for a long time. Eventually, Dawson turned to me and smiled. “Thank you, Naomi.”

I took that as my cue and, with a nod, went back out to my desk. After that, there wasn’t much more yelling. Twenty minutes later, Mr. Fanning stormed out of the office. He walked so briskly past my desk, he caused a wind that shifted some papers into the air. Dawson picked them up as they floated to the ground.

“Five o’clock, Mr. Fanning!” he yelled after the client. “That’s our deadline. Get back to me before that.”

The man never stopped walking. Once we heard the front door open and slam closed, Dawson hung his head and laughed. “How the hell do you know the weight of a million dollars cash? I was expecting you to take a totally different direction. I thought you’d hit him with not filling out the required paperwork for traveling with more than ten grand in currency.”

I chuckled as well. “I grew up outside of D.C., so most of our school field trips were to government buildings and Smithsonian museums. In sixth grade, we went to the Bureau of Engraving, where they print the money. They have a glass box with a million dollars in tens stacked. I remember the guy telling us the weight was two-hundred-and-twenty-two pounds. I don’t know why, but that fact stuck in my head. I just divided that number by ten, figuring he’d pack hundreds not tens. Plus, I’ve stood next to stacks of cash that were confiscated in drug busts. I know it would be more paper than he could carry.”

“That was even better than I could’ve done. You must’ve been kick-ass on cross examination.”

I’d been feeling all revved up about getting to interrogate someone again, but his comment took the wind out of my sails.

Dawson must’ve noticed my crestfallen face. “Did I upset you by putting you on the spot like that?”

I lifted my hand and forced a smile. “No, it just…felt good. And now it hit me that I’ll never be able to do that again—interrogate a witness—unless I’m playing pretend like I just did.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I complain about this business a lot, but I can’t imagine not being able to do it anymore. So I get it. I really do.”

I smiled sadly. “Thanks.”

“How about I buy you some lunch? I’m pretty sure you just scared Mr. Fanning into taking a deal. It’s the least I can do.”

I took a deep breath and nodded. “Sure, why not?”

Dawson and I walked two blocks, and he stopped in front of a small restaurant. “This is the place.”

“Vegan Palace? We don’t have to go here. I can get a salad almost anywhere.”

He opened the door and gestured for me to walk in ahead of him. “I’ll find something. The menu is pretty big.”

“You’ve been here before?”

Dawson shook his head. “I looked it up online.”

“When?”

He shrugged. “The other day.”

Interesting.The man who poked fun at me for eating rabbit food had done research on good local vegan places.

The waitress sat us at a table. I opened the menu and started perusing, but Dawson just sat there. “Do you already know what you want?” I asked.

“No, but I’ll just get whatever you get. Unlike you, I’m not picky.”

“I’m not picky.”

He sipped the water. “Right.”

“I’m not. I just don’t eat meat.”

“Or eggs.”

“Right.”

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