Page 41 of Rewind

And then it occurred to him where he’d seen the face of his attacker. In a picture he’d seen of his father with his wife Soo-ah, there had been two bodyguards in the background.

His killer was one of the guards.

Chapter

Fifteen

Amina, glanced at her watch and wondered how much longer she needed to wait for her lunch companion. Even though she rarely took her full lunch hour out of the office, she knew she’d go over her hour since the person she was supposed to meet was already ten minutes late and factoring in ordering food, waiting for it and eating, she’d get back to the office late.

Ethan was at the hospital today and Dr. Carter probably wouldn’t mind but she was still anxious.

She tapped her foot impatiently. “Where are you?” she mumbled under breath.

Was their plan doomed before it was properly put into action?

After another five minutes passed, Amina released a heavy sigh and grabbed her purse. As she was about to get up and leave, a heavily pregnant woman waddled over to her table.

“Are you Amina Fletcher?”

Jasmine wore a black spaghetti strap, maxi dress. It’s A-line cut, didn’t disguise her rounded stomach. She was a beautiful woman with golden brown skin, green eyes and the thickestlashes Amina had ever seen. Amina didn’t know if they were false or not, but they really accentuated Jasmine’s eyes.

She wore her hair in long straight box braids that flowed down her back. She didn’t look a day over 21 and if that was the case, Pastor Caldwell was even grosser than Amina realized.

Amina stood up and held out her hand to the other woman. “Yes, I’m Amina Fletcher. Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

The other woman look at Amina’s hand hesitantly before giving it a weak shake. She then took the seat opposite of Amina’s. “Sorry, I’m late but I can’t move very fast these days and I get tired so easily.”

Amina smiled, hoping to put the other woman at ease. She could sense Jasmine’s uneasiness and couldn’t blame her. She’d be wary if a stranger contacted her out of the blue and wanted to discuss her situation.

Amina was aware that Jasmine had only come because she’d been offered money through the agency Ethan had used. Jasmine received 1000 dollars to meet up with Amina and she’d get an addition 1000 after this lunch.

“It’s okay. I’m glad you could make it.”

The waitress stopped by to take Jasmine’s drink order.

“Oh! Can I get a Strawberry Daiquiri? Virgin of course.” She rubbed her belly.

“Coming right up. Are you ladies ready to order or did you need more time?”

“I need a minute,” Jasmine responded and picked up her menu.

The waitress nodded and walked away.

“Hmm, I’ve never been to this restaurant before. I looks really fancy.”

Amina shrugged. “It was close to my job and we’ve ordered from here before so I figured this was as good a place as any.They have good panini sandwiches, and the stuffed chicken marsala is delicious.”

“This is your treat right?” Jasmine asked without looking up from the menu.

“Of course.”

“Am I allowed to get an appetizer as well?”

“You can order whatever you’d like.”

“Oh, don’t tell me that. The way my appetite has been lately I can eat a whole lot. I was told when I got to this stage of my pregnancy it would be harder to eat because the baby would take up so much room but that hasn’t been the case for me. I’d eat myself into a coma if that was possible. I know I’m going to sound super greedy, but can I order something for here and to go? That way I don’t have to worry about cooking tonight.”

Amina didn’t mind shelling out for lunch but she wondered if Jasmine was simply testing her to see how much she could get out of this. She didn’t know what kind of woman she was dealing with but if this meeting led to taking down the Caldwell’s then Amina was willing to purchase everything on the menu for Jasmine. “Sure. You’re welcome to order as much as you want.”

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