Page 12 of Heart of Stone

One of his eyebrows tweaked up in surprise at my abruptness. Whether or not he liked his job was really none of my business. But if he was insulted by my forwardness, he didn’t show it.

“Of course I do. I would never indulge in anything that I didn’t like,” he replied in a measured tone, mouth moving slowly and deliberately around the piece of gum. A slight smile tugged at the corners of his lips, as if he were enjoying his own private joke. “My job allows me to be in control of my own destiny. And I like to be in control, Miss Cole.”

Just don’t watch him chew. Don’t watch him chew.

I repeated the chant over and over in my head.

“Control?” I practically squeaked.

“I am fascinated with the human mind. Understanding how a person thinks allows me to control a situation. And in my line of work, the only way to be successful is to have the ability to control the will of others. It gives me a certain measure of power, or the upper hand, as some might choose to call it. This can be quite useful when buying and selling real estate. But, with power comes great responsibility and balancing the two takes a considerable amount of control.”

Wow! That’s a bit deep.This guy’s a total control nut.

It was definitely not a simple answer for what I thought was an innocent question. But as I processed his words, I thought they reminded me of something you’d hear Bruce Wayne say in a Batman movie. An image of Alexander Stone in a black cape popped into my head and I had to stifle the giggle that was trying to escape. It came out as a half snort instead.

“I’m sorry, but did I say something funny?” he asked curiously, cocking his head to one side.

“Um, no. Not at all,” I said, attempting to cover up the sudden wave of silliness I was feeling. “I was just thinking that your philosophy about power and control is a little extreme. Cocky…sort of.”

“That may be your perception, however, I’m not a egomaniacal tyrant like you might think. I just happen to like all of my ducks in a row.” He paused and glanced down at his watch again. “Now, as intriguing as this conversation has been, I have to get going. I’m glad your head is feeling better.” He flashed one last delicious smile at me and turned to leave. “It was good to see you again, Miss Cole.”

“Enjoy your day, Mr. Stone,” I murmured pensively.

Ducks in a row, huh?

I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to ruffle his feathers as I watched him proceed to the checkout line.

Boy, does that man have swagger.

On impulse, I strode nonchalantly over to where he stood and grabbed a pack of cinnamon flavored gum off of the shelf in the checkout line.

“You forgot something Mr. Stone,” I said, and casually dropped the pack into his shopping cart. My boldness surprised me. He stared at me in confusion for a minute, looking like he wanted to say something, but stopped himself.

I didn’t give him the opportunity to respond. Instead, I threw a coy smile at him and sashayed away, not really sure what to think about my own abrupt and uncharacteristic spontaneity.

****

She left me feeling relatively stunned. Catching me unawares was not an easy feat, yet I had been almost knocked flat by a woman who appeared to be so completely harmless.

You surprised me, Krystina Cole. Maybe you’re not as innocent as I had originally thought.

I glanced down into the shopping basket at the cinnamon flavored gum, my curiosity piqued. She had initially seemed nervous, but appeared to relax after a bit, revealing a certain degree of audaciousness by ending on a flirtier note. However, any further insight as to what might have been going on in her mind ended there. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t read her. And it was goddamned irritating.

I proceeded through the checkout line, trying to decide what to do about the unreadable woman. Understanding the interworking of ones brain is what I did best. Pulling apart the many layers of an individual to get to the root of what drove them was a skill. Many took years to master the art, but I had a natural knack for it.

Until I met Krystina Cole.

Even a Masters degree in psych wasn’t going to help me to figure her out easily. She would be a challenge. She was like a puzzle that I had to solve, the compelling reason behind the return trip to Wally’s. Unfortunately, I didn’t succeed in unraveling any clues, and only exacerbated the mystery.

She said that Jim was not her boyfriend, but she didn’t exactly say she was single either. So is she?

That lock of hair that falls over her brow. Did she style it like that or is it merely happenstance?

The way she twists her hands. Is it a nervous tick or does she simply have cold hands that she’s trying to warm?

And that delicate blush of hers…

I couldn’t help but picturing that blush spreading to every part of her. An image of her wide, unknowing stare came to mind again and I shook my head to clear it.

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