Page 15 of Zen's Crash

Frustrated, I gulp down my now-cold coffee and redouble my efforts. By daybreak, I’m not any closer to figuring out who this person is than when I first started. I glance at my watch to find that it’s seven in the morning. I stretch my arms over my head and take a deep breath.

A gentle knock at the door draws my attention. “Come in,” I say loudly.

Evan sticks his head into my office and holds up a coffee cup. “Need more coffee?”

I give him a tired smile. “Yeah, that would be nice. I’ve been up all night.”

“Work or play?” Evan asks lightheartedly.

“Work, I’m afraid.”

“Sorry to hear whatever job you’re on is stealing your sleep.”

“It’s okay. I’m doing this job for family. How’s that girlfriend of yours?”

Evan is practically glowing with happiness. “She’s doing really well. I’m thinking of inviting her to the clubhouse again. Was thinking of inviting her friend as well, if you’d be interested in seeing her again?”

Evan is wise for his years. He saw that we got along like a house on fire and has decided to play matchmaker. Normally, I hate that shit. However, with all this Crone business dragging me down, I could really use a sweet little distraction like Lexi. After thinking it over and taking a sip of my coffee, I jerk my chin at him and say, “Sure. Why not? She beautiful, sweet, and definitely holds up her end of the conversation. I’d love the opportunity to see her again.”

Evan grins. “Kayla said coming to the clubhouse really lifted Lexi’s spirits. She doesn’t leave home much anymore. I think inviting her back is the right thing to do.”

I give him a pat on the shoulder. “I agree. When were you thinking of inviting her?”

He scratches his head, thinking it over. “Maybe this weekend—Friday, and if things go well, Saturday too.”

“You know that’s tomorrow, right?”

His grin turns bashful. “Yeah, I want another amazing night with Kayla.”

“I’ll bet you do. Do we need have the sex talk again?”

“Nope. We’ve decided to wait until we get to know each other better. I’m happy, just having her spend the night. We watchmovies, talk, eat a bunch of snacks, make out a little, and then go to sleep. It’s a pretty amazing way to spend the night if you ask me.”

“Aw, you’re sweetest eighteen-year-old guy in the world. I can tell your old man is a preacher,” I tease.

Evan rolls his eyes. “I ain’t that sweet. Anyway, how about I invite them both around seven tomorrow night?”

“That sounds great. I’ll be here, waiting on Lexi’s smiling face to show up.”

Evan shoots back, “That sounds great. I know she’s only twenty-one, but she seems a lot older. Hanging out with her feels like shooting the shit with old people.”

I snort a laugh. “I’m almost ten years older than she is. Do I seem ancient as well?”

Evan shakes his head playfully, “Nope. It’s because you’re young at heart.”

“You mean I never grew up?”

“Something like that,” Evan mutters.

Glancing back down at my watch, I say, “I’m gonna go home and crash for a while, I need to get a couple of hours of proper sleep.”

“Yeah, get some sleep. Everything will look better once you wake up. That’s what my dad always says.”

I walk out with Evan, but when he heads off to play pool with one of the prospects, I head out the front door. As I ride off on my bike, I marvel at how fate threw Lexi into my path again. Iwasn’t one to believe in people being fated to one another, but I didn’t rule it out either. Shoving Lexi to the back of my mind, I went back to brainstorming how I could figure out the identity of ChaosCrone.

The thought occurred to me that maybe I could flirt with her and get her to meet with me in person—that’s assuming she’s local. But even if she isn’t, if it gets me my sister’s money back, I’d travel to meet her. I’d never flirted with her before because of the age difference and because when I was online, I was there for gaming or work not to pick up women. Then again, I wasn’t trying to get into her pants so much as I was trying to romance information out of her.

I still hadn’t been successful in figuring out how she got my sister’s crypto. It’s almost like she guessed her code. Lori said she never gave her seed phrase to anyone, but maybe she wasn’t as careful as she thought.

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