Page 5 of The Will

“Two half-truths,” thought Alex.

Mr. Harrison wanted people to believe his story, but Alex could tell that he hadn’t and still didn’t feel a responsibility for his niece. He also did not regret whatever the misunderstanding was. Alex watched the rest of the video with no further observations due to the nature of the conversation being pleasantries and goodbyes. Alex wrote a quick reply to Cy’s email, “Definitely lying, especially about why he wants her found.”

He noticed a new text message from Jimmy and clicked to open it. It was a video file. Alex once again hit play and found himself watching a woman of mid-height from the back. Her curls bounced off her shoulders as she walked, and the video panned down the back of her to focus on her ass. Then, it slowly zoomed in to track her ass bouncing as she strode across the floor. Alex felt his dick stirring in his pants and had to adjust so parts were not getting pinched. His body’s reaction didn’t surprise him, Jimmy had been right— her ass was amazing.Damn.Alex hoped that was not the target, as he loved a fine ass.

Alex was distracted from the video as he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. A city bus was pulling up at the corner of the street, near the parking lot entrance. It opened its doors for passengers to disembark, so Alex casually watched people exit until he caught a familiar outfit, the one that he had just been watching. Jimmy’s mystery woman stepped off the bus with a computer bag on her shoulder, and now Alex could see she was shapely in the front as well. Her curls were blowing around her face as she walked toward the office building.

Alex started up his vehicle and moved toward the front of the parking lot, placing his vehicle in the front row. He stepped out of his vehicle in time to see Jimmy moving to step out of the bus, so he waved him off. That confirmed it. Alex was in a great deal of trouble.

He had to meet with a woman, whose fine ass he had been watching on his phone, and try to not imagine touching her. His cock was already objecting to the plan. Professionalism was going to be difficult. Alex finally walked across the parking area to the sidewalk running in front of the office building. He made a beeline to his target and stepped directly into her path. She almost walked into him, but he cleared his throat, making her stop and turn her attention to him and not whatever she was trying to see in the building's lobby. It was probably him she was looking for, but she couldn’t know that.

“Oh, excuse me,” she mumbled. “I didn’t see you there and I have to meet someone.”

“I know, Chloe,” he said calmly, “I’m Alex Moore, you’re here to see me.”

Chloe looked up at him and with one soft, “Oh,” promptly fainted.

Chapter 5

Alexcaughtherrightbefore she fell to the ground. She was pressed up against him, not totally coherent, and whispered, “candy.”

Alex lifted her into his arms and walked to the SUV, like he did it every day, while the employees milling about stopped to gawk at him. She might have looked bigger in size to her coworkers, but Alex figured she was only about five foot six or seven inches, and probably weighed more than society would say is acceptable, but when you bench pressed over 250 pounds— she didn’t feel heavy to him.

He opened the passenger side door and set her in the seat, then went to work looking for her bag. He found it tucked under her computer satchel at her side. Alex stripped both bags over her head and rifled through her purse in search of candy. Finding a peppermint, he popped it into her mouth.

She moved the candy around in her mouth for about five minutes, slowly swallowing the sugar as it broke down on her tongue. Alex now studied her features. Her hair, which Jimmy had pointed out, was a collection of soft curls and waves with wispy bits near her hairline. From a distance it had appeared to be a dirty or dark blonde, but when you were close up as Alex was, you could see an array of golds and reds. Alex was willing to bet it changed colors depending on the light in the room. Her face itself was round, with freckles sprinkling the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were closed, her long lashes fanning right above those freckles. When she finally opened her eyes, he was met with a strange combo of green and brown in her irises that gave her eyes an illusion of a golden glow. She scooted up in the seat, trying to place some distance between herself and Alex.

“Hold on,” said Alex, with his hands up to show he would not grab her. “Are you feeling better now?”

Chloe looked at this large man standing next to her, he had broad shoulders and looked like he never skipped an arm day. His hair was cut short, a neat field of raven black that matched his clean cut beard. It all gave a stern look to his face that Chloe was sure screamed villain or thug to some people. He wasn’t overly tanned, but he looked like he might work outside, and as Chloe looked into his tropical lagoon-colored eyes, she could see faint lines in the corners. His facial expression was one of worry, so Chloe tried to smile before answering him. “A bit,” she said, swallowing more of the melted candy. “I forgot to eat today,” she added with a chuckle.

Alex nodded. “Well, we need to talk anyway, so let’s go get you something to eat. My treat. Sound good?”

“Yes, please,” came her response. “Besides, I don’t think I can walk into the building right now without a bunch of questions from them.” She gestured to her coworkers who were all on the sidewalk talking and staring.

With that decision, he got her set and then took them to a little Mexican café downtown. He pulled up out front and then looked over at her. “Any issues with tacos, burritos, and margaritas?” he asked.

Chloe shook her head and tried to get down from the vehicle, but Alex was already there, opening the door and supplying a hand to help her step down. She was surprised, as most guys she had dated didn’t do things like that for her. It was almost like her height and weight made them think she didn’t enjoy being pampered. They were very wrong. She thanked him as they stepped inside the restaurant.

He got them a table and once they got set with menus, he leaned over and said, “I hope you will not eat all lady-like and precise just because of me. It is clear you need to eat, so please order what you want. We can talk once you feel this hunger fog has lifted.”

Chloe was almost shocked enough by his words to let her mouth hang open, but caught herself and clenched her jaw shut. She ordered what she thought she could eat, and he ordered his own food plus a few à la carte items that matched her order.

Was he ordering extra for her? Who does that?

He also ordered a pitcher of margaritas and a Corona with lime. While Chloe loved margaritas, she was also keenly aware that tequila made her clothes fall off like in the country song by Joe Nichols. Chloe knew she was very uninhibited once alcohol was involved. She thought of herself as a whore at those times, but considering she still had problems with trusting men, especially during sex, she really should give herself a break. Chloe looked Alex up and down in a “Would I tap that” frame of mind. The answer from Chloe’s mind and body was a solid “yes, and then come back for round two as well.” The food and drinks showed up right as Chloe’s thoughts began to wander to more explicit territory, giving her a reason to drop her gaze and busy herself with eating.

Alex had, in fact, ordered the extra items for Chloe. She had ordered a good amount of food, but Alex was a planner and knew even if she didn’t eat the extra, she could have leftovers to take home. Alex caught her looking at him right before the food arrived and could have sworn it was a sexual inquiry from a horny woman. The wait staff had interrupted it with their order.

Alex poured her a full glass of margarita, which she watched intently even while nibbling on her rice and tacos. Once he finished she tried to wait, but ended up grabbing the glass and sighing once she had some. He squeezed the lime into his beer. He was driving, so he wanted to make sure he didn’t join her in drinking cocktails, although it looked like she would be fun to drink with from her enthusiasm alone. Once they had eaten for a bit, emptying more than half of the dishes ordered and relaxing into each other's company, Alex decided it was time, “Chloe, are you ready to talk now?”

Chloe stopped in the middle of taking a sip of her drink and nodded to him. “Okay, what was this meeting for again?”

Alex swallowed some of his beer before speaking. “Well, I wasn’t honest with your boss about why I was there. I will tell you, but I would prefer you didn’t immediately try to run away. Will you agree to that first?”

Chloe narrowed her eyes and paused for a moment, looking in his eyes, and sighing. “Okay, I promise for the moment, but I reserve the right to change my mind.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “I am here because your family is looking for you.”

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